Under British colonial law, aboriginal Australians had no property rights in the land, and colonization accordingly vested ownership of the entire continent in the British government. Terra nullius is a Latin expression meaning "nobody's land", and was a principle sometimes used in international law to justify claims that territory may be acquired by a state's occupation of it. Terra nullius is a common law doctrine later adopted in the international law. Terra nullius is derived from res nullius and res nullius is a term in natural law.

Terra nullius and sovereignity. This section looks at the meaning of terra nullius and the constraints on sovereignty and treaties in the Australian context. Rooted in Natural and Roman law 5 and included in European common law traditions, "continuous use and possession of the land from time immemorial" 6 legitimated land title.

1. It explains how community interest led to cross-party support for a document of reconciliation. Initially, the right of discovery was valid when the lands discovered were unoccupied, i.e., a true "terra nullius." International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, preamble Advancing reconciliation requires bringing Canadian law and policy into line with international human rights law, which has condemned doctrines of superiority, including discovery and terra nullius, as colonial and racist.

This can be done either implicitly or explicitly. It can also be that the previous owner has given up their ownership. Definition of terra nullius in the Definitions.net dictionary. It according to Latin terra nullius means a “land belonging to nobody.” The issue of whether any land in South Sudan belong no one was never an issue during the period liberation struggle of 1983 to 2005. Terra nullius was still relevant to international law in the 1970s, as evidenced by the UN General Assembly's request to the International Court of Justice in 1974 to determine the status of the Western Sahara (Rio de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra) at the time of colonization by Spain. Unclaimed territory, formally correct terra nullius, is a word from International law.It is used to talk about land which has never been under the rule of any state. What does terra nullius mean? Terra nullius elsewhere.

Terra nullius Yet the racist Meaning of terra nullius. (for example, Iceland.) The doctrine of terra nullius remained the law in Australia throughout the colonial period, and indeed right up to 1992.