Territory is crucial in determining the sovereignty of a State. As has been noted in international legal doctrine, ‘a State without a territory is not possible’. This does not mean territoriality is the single criterion of personality in international law; however Statehood without a reasonably defined geographical base is inconceivable. The theory of Territory examines the concept of territorial acquisition such as conquest, cession, secession and terra nullius. It defines the role of Territory in the sovereignty of a particular State. Discussion also focuses on territorial exclusivity and territorial sovereignty of a State wherein the boundaries, the jurisdiction and the right to self-determination of the State are examined. Further discussion also focuses on other existing issues regarding the extent of Territory.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on Territory. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library's subject heading (keyword) Territory is instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
Sources of international law
- Schofield, R.N. and E. Evans (eds.), Arabian Boundaries: New Documents 1966-1975, Slough, Cambridge Archive Editions, 2009.
- Schofield, R.N. (ed.), Arabian Boundaries: Primary Documents 1853-1957, Farnham Common, Archive Editions, 1998-1993.
Treaties
- League of Nations Treaty Series
- Parry, C. and B.H.W. Hill (eds.), The Consolidated Treaty Series, Dobbs Ferry, Oceana Publications, 1961-1986.
- United Nations Treaty Series Online
Case-law
A. Permanent Court of International Justice
- Status of Eastern Carelia
- Jaworzina (Polish-Czechoslovakian Frontier)
- Monastery of Saint-Naoum (Albanian Frontier)
- Interpretation of Article 3‚ Paragraph 2‚ of the Treaty of Lausanne (Frontier between Turkey and Iraq)
- Lighthouses in Crete and Samos
- Free Zones of Upper Savoy and the District of Gex (France/Switzerland)
- Legal Status of Eastern Greenland
→ For texts PCIJ case-law, click here.
B. International Court of Justice
- Minquiers and Ecrehos (France/United Kingdom)
- Sovereignty over Certain Frontier Land (Belgium/Netherlands
- Arbitral Award Made by the King of Spain on 23 December 1906 (Honduras/Nicaragua)
→ For texts ICJ case-law, click here.
C. International Arbitral Tribunals
- Arbitral Award between Portugal and the United Kingdom, regarding the Dispute about the Sovereignty over the Island of Bulama, and over a part of the Mainland opposite to it.
- Award in regard to the Validity of the Treaty of Limits between Costa Rica and Nicaragua of 15 July 1858
Decisions of 22 March 1888, 30 September 1897, 20 December 1897, 22 March 1898, 26 July 1899
- The Chamizal Case (Mexico, United States), 15 June 1911
→ More case-law to be found in Reports of International Arbitral Awards and International Law Reports.
UN Declarations and Resolutions
The resolutions and decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council may provide valuable information on territorial questions. Although they cannot themselves constitute international law or serve as conclusive evidence of a rule of customary law, such resolutions do have value in providing evidence of existing or emerging law. This point of view has been acknowledged by the International Law Commission.
As every Member State has been recognized and has a vote in the UN General Assembly, finding General Assembly resolutions that passed unanimously or near-unanimously may serve as an excellent starting point in the legal research process. Pay attention to the language of the resolution. Those with firm obligations versus those that are merely aspirational or advisory in nature are more likely to be considered valuable as evidence of customary international law.
→ Official Document System Search. ODS is the UN's Official Document System. You can search for UN declarations, resolutions and other documents by keywords, then narrow your search.
→ Start Your Research: (7) Resolutions and Decisions of International Organizations.
Reference works
- Barberis, J.A., El territorio del Estado y la soberanía territorial, Buenos Aires, Editorial Ábaco de Rodolfo Depalma, 2003.
- Distefano, G., L'ordre international entre légalité et effectivité: le titre juridique dans le contentieux territorial, Paris, Pedone, 2002.
- Ezenwajiaku, J.C., State Territory and International Law, Abingdon; New York, Routledge, 2021.
- Giraudeau, G., Les différends territoriaux devant le juge international: entre droit et transaction, Leiden; Boston, Martinus Nijhoff, 2013.
- Kohen, M.G. (ed.), Territoriality and International Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2016.
- Prescott, V. and G.D. Triggs, International Frontiers and Boundaries: Law, Politics and Geography, Leiden, Martinus Nijhoff, 2008.
- Shaw, M.N. (ed.), Title to Territory, Aldershot, Ashgate/Dartmouth, 2005.
- Storey, D., Territories: the Claiming of Space, New York, NY, Routledge, 2012.
- Tarchichi, M.H., Le droit international de la délimitation des frontières, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2021.
Selected books and articles
- Ahmed, D.M.A, Boundaries and Secession in Africa and International Law: Challenging Uti Possidetis, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015.
- Bardonnet, D., "Les frontières terrestres et la relativité de leur tracé", Recueil des cours, 1976-V, Tome 153, pp. 9-166.
- Bastid, S., "Les problèmes territoriaux dans la jurisprudence de la Cour Internationale de Justice", Recueil des Cours, 1962-III, Tome 107, pp. 361-495.
- Bernstein, I., Delimitation of International Boundaries: a Study of Modern Practice and Devices from the Viewpoint of International Law, Tel Aviv, University Press, 1974.
- Blum, Y.Z., Historic Titles in International Law, The Hague,Nijhoff, 1965.
- Boggs, S.W., International Boundaries: a Study of Boundaries Functions and Problems, New York, Columbia University Press, 1940.
- Castellino, J. and S. Allen, Title to Territory in International Law: a Temporal Analysis, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2003.
- Dodds, K., The New Border Wars: The Conflicts that will Define Our Future, London, Diversion Books, 2021.
- Foucher, M., Le retour des frontières, Paris, CNRS Editions, 2016.
- Huth, P.K., Standing Your Ground: Territorial Disputes and International Conflict, Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press, 1996.
- Jennings, R.Y., The Acquisition of Territory in International Law, Manchester, Manchester University Press; New York, Ocean, 1963. [2017 Edition].
- Kacowicz, A.M., Peaceful Territorial Change, Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 1994.
- Kohen, M.G., Possession contestée et souveraineté territoriale, Geneva, Graduate Institute Publications, 2014.
- Lalonde, S., Determining Boundaries in a Conflicted World: the Role of Uti Possidetis, Montreal; Kingston, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002.
- López Martín, A.G., El territorio estatal en discusión: la prueba del título, Madrid, McGraw Hill, 1999.
- Marchueta, M.R., O conceito de fronteira na época da mundialização, Lisboa, Cosmos, 2002.
- Milano, E., Unlawful Territorial Situations in International Law: Reconciling Effectiveness, Legality and Legitimacy, Leiden; Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2006.
- Miyoshi, M., Considerations of Equity in the Settlement of Territorial and Boundary Disputes, Dordrecht, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1993.
- Nicol, H.N. and I. Townsend-Gault, Holding the Line: Borders in a Global World, Vancouver; Toronto, UBC Press, 2005.
- Serita, K., The Territory of Japan: Its History and Legal Basis, Second Edition, Singapore; Berlin, Springer, 2023.
- Núñez, J.E., Territorial Disputes and State Sovereignty: International Law and Politics, Abingdon; New York, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.
- Oduntan, G., International Law and Boundary Disputes in Africa, London, New York, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2015.
- Petersen, J., European Territorial Governance: Methode europäischer Raumentwicklung, Hamburg, Verlag Dr. Kovač, 2016.
- Pratt, M. and J.A. Brown (eds.), Borderlands under Stress, The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 2000.
- Sanchez Rodriguez, L.I., “L’uti possidetis et les effectivités dans les contentieux territoriaux et frontaliers, Recueil des cours, 1997, Tome 263, pp. 149-382.
- Sharma, S.P., International Boundary Disputes and International Law, Bombay, Tripathi, 1976.
- Sharma, S.P., Territorial Acquisition, Disputes and International Law, The Hague; Boston; London, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1997.Shaw, M.N., "Settling Territorial Disputes", Le procès international: liber amicorum Jean-Pierre Cot, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2009, pp. 255-281.
- Srebro, H. (Ed.), International Boundary Making, Copenhagen, International Federation of Surveyors, 2013.
- Taylor Favrel, M., "Territorial and Maritime Boundary Disputes in Asia", Oxford Handbook of the International Relations of Asia, New York, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 524-546.
- Thirlway, H., "Territorial Disputes and Their Resolution in the Recent Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice", Leiden Journal of International Law, 31 (2018), No. 1. pp. 117-146.
- Treverton, G.F., Dividing Divided States, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.
- Vasquez, J.A., "The Significance of Territory", Territory, War and Peace, London, Routledge, 2011, pp. 209-226.
- Weckel, P. (dir.), Le juge international et l’amagement de l’espace: la spécificité du contentieux territorial, Paris, Pédone, 1998.
- Wilson, T.M. and H. Donnan (eds), Border Identities: Nation and State at International Frontiers, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
For all peer-reviewed articles in the PPL Catalogue, click here.
Periodicals, serial publications
- Boundary and Territory Briefing
- IBRU International Territory Briefing Series
- International Boundary Studies Series
Atlases, Geography, Encyclopedias
- Anderson, E.W., International Boundaries: A Geopolitical Atlas, London, TSO, 2003.
- Biger, G., The Encyclopedia of International Boundaries, New York, 1995.
- Brownlie, I., African Boundaries: a Legal and Diplomatic Encyclopaedia, London, C. Hurst & Company, 1979.
- Calvert, P. (et al.) (ed), Border and Territorial Disputes of the World, Fourth Edition, London, Harper, 2004.
- Foucher, M., Fronts et frontières: un tour du monde géopolitique, Nouv. éd. entièrement ref., Paris, Fayard, 1991.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Territory, Abandonment, by Marcelo G. Kohen.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Territory, Discovery, by Marcelo G. Kohen and Mamadou Hébié.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Territory, Lease, by Yaël Ronen.
- Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Territorial Integrity and Political Independence, by Samuel K.N. Blay.
- Répertoire de droit international: Frontière – Jean-Marc SOREL – Juillet 2017
- Sovereign Limits [More info]