uti possidetis juris
The principle provides that when a colony becomes independent, its borders are the administrative boundaries that existed at the moment of independence. It was first applied to the Spanish American republics in the nineteenth century and was later adopted by African States in 1964 to avoid border wars.
In the Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Mali) case (ICJ, 1986), the Court described it as a general principle connected with decolonisation, aimed at preserving stability. The principle can conflict with self-determination, because colonial lines often divided ethnic groups; international law has generally preferred stable borders.
Example
Applying uti possidetis juris, the Chamber of the ICJ fixed the boundary along the line of the former French colonial administrative districts.
In Indian law
- Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Republic of Mali) (ICJ, 1986)
See also
state succession · self-determination · terra nullius
Read more in the study notes
- Possession: the idea, Roman and English law, and the theories (Legal Concepts)
- State succession: theories, kinds and consequences (Public International Law)