Uti possidetis - Citizendia

Uti possidetis (Latin for "as you possess") is a principle in international law that territory and other property remains with its possessor at the end of a conflict, unless provided for by treaty. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together nation-states in adherence to recognized values and standards A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations. Originating in Roman law, this principle enables a belligerent party to claim territory that it has acquired by war. Roman law is the legal system of Ancient Rome. As used in the West the term commonly refers to legal developments prior to the Roman/Byzantine state's adopting The term has historically been used to legally formalize territorial conquests, such as the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German Empire in 1871. Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen generally Elsass - Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification

In the early 17th century, the term was used by England's James I to state that while he recognized the existence of Spanish authority in those regions of the Western Hemisphere where Spain exercised effective control, he refused to recognize Spanish claims to exclusive control of all territory west of longitude 46° 37' W under the Treaty of Tordesillas. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Western Hemisphere, also Western hemisphere or western hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies West The Treaty of Tordesillas ( Portuguese: Tratado de Tordesilhas, Spanish: Tratado de Tordesillas) signed at Tordesillas (now in

More recently, the principle has been used to establish the frontiers of newly independent states following decolonization, by ensuring that the frontiers followed the boundaries of the old colonial territories from which they emerged. Decolonization refers to the undoing of Colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction This use originated in South America in the 19th century with the withdrawal of the Spanish Empire. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries By declaring that uti possidetis applied, the new states sought to ensure that there was no terra nullius in Spanish America when the Spanish withdrew and to reduce the likelihood of border wars between the newly independent states. Terra nullius ( English pronunciation ˈtɛrə nəˈlaɪəs Latin pronunciation ˈtɛrːa nʊlːˈiʊs is a Latin expression deriving from In this, however, they were not wholly successful, as the War of the Pacific (1879–1883) and Chile's loss of the oriental Patagonia (1881) demonstrated. The War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Saltpeter War in reference to its original cause was fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Llao LLaojpg|thumb|250px| Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche, Argentina

The same principle was applied to Africa and Asia following the withdrawal of European powers from those continents, and in locations such as the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union where former centralized governments fell, and consituent states gained independence. See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 In 1964 the Organisation of African Unity passed a resolution stating that the principle of stability of borders – the key principle of uti possidetis – would be applied across Africa. The Organisation of African Unity ( OAU) or Organisation de l'Unité Africaine ( OUA) was established on 25 May 1963. Most of Africa was already independent by this time, so the resolution was principally a political directive to settle disputes by treaty based on pre-existing borders rather than by resorting to force. To date, adherence to this principle has allowed African countries to avoid border wars; the notable exception, the Eritrean-Ethiopian War of 1998-2000, had its roots in a secession from an independent African country rather than a conflict between two decolonized neighbours. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the Conflicts in the Horn of Africa On the other hand, the colonial boundaries often did not follow ethnic lines, and this has helped lead to violent and bloody civil wars among differing ethnic groups in many post-colonial (and post-Communist) countries, including Sudan, Zaire, Angola, Nigeria, and the former Yugoslavia. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. The Republic of Zaire (pronunciation; République du Zaïre was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between October 27, 1971 Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (República de Angola Pronounced ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈgɔlɐ Repubilika ya Ngola is a country in south-central Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian

The principle was affirmed by the International Court of Justice in the 1986 Case Burkina-Faso v Mali:

[Uti possidetis] is a general principle, which is logically connected with the phenomenon of obtaining independence, wherever it occurs. See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour Its obvious purpose is to prevent the independence and stability of new states being endangered by fratricidal struggles provoked by the changing of frontiers following the withdrawal of the administering power.

References

Helen Ghebrewebet: "Identifying Units of Statehood and Determining International Boundaries: A Revised Look at the Doctrine of Uti Possidetis and the Principle of Self-Determination", Verlag Peter Lang 2006, ISBN 3631550928.