Terra nullius

The British relocation to Australia began in 1788 when the New South Wales colony was founded. One of the most well-known cases of the terra nullius trial was the petition of the British Empire for the legality of its claims on the Australian continent. Moreover, all the natives of Australia were declared subjects of the British Crown, which were subject to British law. Local laws and customs were considered void.

This concept lasted in Australian law until 1992 , when the High Court of Australia abolished the concept of terra nullius . Aborigines got the right to live according to their own laws and customs. Thus, in Australia there are two legal systems: traditional and Anglo-Australian.

Antarctica

Although part of the Antarctic territory is subject to territorial claims by some states, none of them can exercise their sovereignty, since according to the Antarctic Treaty, territories and waters south of 60 ° south latitude are allowed to be used purely for scientific purposes. Mining, as well as military maneuvers and trials are prohibited. Countries that have made claims in Antarctica do not prevent the establishment of research stations in other countries. Also in the Antarctic there are territories free of territorial claims, for example, Mary Bird Land ^[1] .

Svalbard

Svalbard was considered terra nullius , until February 9, 1920, Norway gained sovereignty over the archipelago according to the Svalbard treatise . Prior to this, the archipelago was used as a base for whaling by various countries.

Greenland

After Norway gained complete independence in 1905 , it refused to recognize Danish sovereignty over Greenland , which was Norwegian possession. In 1931, the Norwegian whaler Halvard Devold, on his own initiative, occupied the uninhabited eastern coast of Greenland. Subsequently, this capture was supported by the Norwegian government on the grounds that Greenland is terra nullius . Two years later, the Permanent Court of International Justice ruled in favor of Denmark , with which Norway agreed.

Gornja Shiga

After the collapse of Yugoslavia and the war, Croatia and Serbia have mutual claims of sovereignty over some disputed territories, which, however, do not belong to the wooded uninhabited territory of Gornaya Siga, 7 km² in size, on the banks of the Danube, which no country claims to lose more important remaining disputed territories.

In 2015, the Free Republic of Liberland (Liberland) was proclaimed on the territory of Gornaya Sig .

Western Sahara

In 1976, Spain withdrew the administration from Western Sahara , and Morocco and Mauritania divided the former Spanish colony. Mauritania later withdrew its troops from Western Sahara and abandoned territorial claims on it, and Morocco occupied almost its entire territory. Currently, the proclaimed Sahara Arab Democratic Republic , which de facto controls no more than 20% of the territory of Western Sahara, has been recognized by about a hundred states.

However, according to the UN , Western Sahara is terra nullius , since neither its statehood nor the occupation of Morocco is recognized by the UN until a referendum is held throughout the territory.

Bir Tawil

In 1899, Great Britain and Egypt declared Sudan their condominium . The northern border of the country was established along the 22nd parallel. But in 1902, Great Britain unilaterally changed the border, giving Sudan a Halaib triangle of 20,580 km². Egypt received from the Sudan the region of Bir-Tawil with an area of ​​2060 km². At the same time, no relevant treaties were concluded with Egypt, where the occupying British army was de facto, but which de jure was at that time an independent state and was recognized as such, including by Great Britain.

Egypt refuses to recognize the 1902 border and, accordingly, its sovereignty over Bir Tawil. Sudan, in turn, recognizes the border established by the British, along which Bir-Tawil does not belong to Sudan. Thus, this territory is nobody's land on which the laws of any state do not apply.

In 2014, the Kingdom of North Sudan was proclaimed on the territory of Bir-Tawil.

Neutral zones on the Arabian Peninsula

The neutral zone between Saudi Arabia and Iraq was an area of ​​7044 km² on the border between the two states; it existed from 1922 to 1981-1991.

There was also a neutral zone on the border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait , with an area of ​​5770 km². It existed from 1922 to 1969-1970.

Scarborough Reef

The Scarborough Islands group is located in the South China Sea and is the subject of a territorial dispute between China , Taiwan and the Philippines .

The Philippines claims the islands on the grounds that Scarborough Reef is terra nullius and is located in their exclusive economic zone . The PRC states that Chinese fishermen discovered the island back in the 13th century, and therefore the reef is a Chinese territory.

No man’s lands often become the object of territorial claims of virtual states : for example, the Grand Duchy of Westarctica claims the only no man’s land of Antarctica ^[2] - Mary Bird’s land ^[3] , the Kingdom of Northern Sudan - the neutral land of Bir-Tawil between Egypt and Sudan ^[4] , and Liberland Free Republic , the Ecological Danube Principality of Ongal ^{[5] [6] [7]} , the Kingdom of the Enclave ^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]} and the Principality of Celestinia ^{[13] [14]} - on no man's land along the Danube between Croatia and Serbia .

• Indigenous peoples
• Aborigines of Australia
• Colonialism
• Unrecognized and partially recognized states
• Virtual state
• Disputed territory
• International legal recognition

• Ownership Rights of Indigenous Peoples of North America, Australia, and New Zealand (Russian)
• S. Sokolovsky. The category of “indigenous peoples” in Russian politics, legislation and science (Russian)
• Mabo Day in Australia (Russian)
• Stuart Banner: Why Terra Nullius? Anthropology and Property Law in Early Australia // Law ans history review