TITLE:
The Doctrine of Occupation through “Terra Nullius” as a Right of Self-Determination of Peoples and the Legal Status of “Liberland” Territory under International Law
AUTHORS:
Joseph Ooko Nyangaga
KEYWORDS:
Annexation, Doctrine, Occupation, Peoples, Rights, Self-Determination, Terra Nullius, Territorial
JOURNAL NAME:
Beijing Law Review,
Vol.13 No.1,
March
15,
2022
ABSTRACT: There has been much written about the legality of peoples’ right to self-determination, particularly the external aspect that involves the secession of a state or the formation of a new state through the landmass division of an existing state. This article departs from discussing the right of peoples to self-determination through secession and instead investigates the doctrine of occupation through terra nullius as an aspect of the right of peoples to self-determination. This article contends that the relationship between peoples’ right to self-determination and terra nullius is untenable under current international law. As a result, the author of this article disputes the liberland territory’s claim as State under the claims of terra nullius, arguing that claims of terra nullius cannot be legally claimed by an individual person, despite the territory meeting some of the requirements set out in Article 1 of the Montevideo convention on how to recognize a State. To reach its conclusion, this study employed a qualitative research method.