Acquisition and Loss of State Territory

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State territory means the sphere within which a state enjoys sov sovereignty ereignty.. Thee con Th onccep eptt of so sovver erei eign gnty ty is en enjo joyyed wi with thin in th thee domain dom ain of state state te terri rrito tory ry.. According to Bodin, Hobbes and Austin sovereignty  has three main characteristics and these are as follows: (1) Sov Sovereignty ereignty is essential in the State. (2) Sov Sovereignty  ereignty  is indivisible ( pow power er is give to individual or group as a  whole). (3) Sovereignty is unlimited and illimitable. ( but that does not mean that a State has an absolute pow po wer to do what atev ever er it wan ants ts). ).

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Occupation ( occupying a territory for the very first time that was not previously occupied by any State) Starke Star ke ha hass gi give ven n thr hree ee el elem emen ents ts of oc occu cupa pati tion on and thes th esee ar aree: (1) Oc Occcup upat atiion co con nsi sist stss in es esttabl bliishi hing ng sove so vere reig ignt nty y ov over er a te terr rrit itor ory y. (2 (2)) th that at te terr rrit itor ory y is no nott under the authority of any other State. (3) that territory is whether newly discovered or an unlikely case - abandoned by the State formely in control.

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Case

laws Islan Is land d of Pa Pala lama mass Ar Arbi bitr trat ation ion (1 (192 929) 9) (A (Aw war ard d of th thee PCIJ) Dispute between America and Netherlands over the Island Isl and of Palama Palamas. s. America claimed to have acquired it under a treaty of  1898 189 8 wi with th Spai Spain. n. Netherla Net herlands nds claime claimed d to ha have ve acqu acquire ired d it it sinc sincee 170 1700. 0. It was held that although the said Island was discov disc overe ered d by the Spaniar Spaniards ds they nev never er occ occupied upied it and establi est ablish sh con contr tract actss wi with th the the inhabi inhabitan tants ts of the Island. Island.

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asttern Eas

Green Gree n Lan Land d Case PCIJ Series A/B No. 53: the Permanent Court of International Justice laid down the following followin g two tests: (1) There must be an intention and will to act as sovereign over the concerned territory to occupy a ter erri rittor oryy. (2 (2)) Th Ther eree sh shou ould ld be so some me ac actu tual al ex exer erci cise se or displa disp layy of suc such h aut author hority  ity  Facts of the case: in 1931 Norway declared her sovereignty  over the Eastern part of Green Land. On the other hand Denm De nmaark al also so cl claaim imed ed he herr so sovver ereeig ignt ntyy over th thee sa said id territory. During the second world war the allied forces had declared that the whole Greenland was a part Denmark and even even Norway Norway acc accepted epted it.

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It means means right acquired acquired by a State over over the territory territory of other State by Possession. Dictionary meaning: laying down authoritatively According to D.H.N. Johnson, a State may acquire some part of territory only when the following conditions are fulfilled: (1) When it has not accepted the sovereignty of  any other State over the said territory and took the said territory under its possession. (2) possession should be peaceful. (3) possession should be without interruption. (4) Possession should be in public. (5) possession should be for a definite period. (6) Possession should be observed as mat matte terr of right. right.

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According to Starke,  Title by accretion accretio n occurs when new territory is added mainly through natural causes, to territory already under the sovereignty of the acquired State. State Territor Territoryy + other territory (acquired (a cquired by natural natural causes like like flood f lood etc.) No formal act or assert assertion ion of title is necessar necessaryy.

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Cession

may be either be a voluntary act or in consequenc consequencee of 

a wa warr. Sovereignty over the territory is transferred to other State to exercise exer cise sov sovereignty ereignty.. Union of India v Sukumar Sengupta AIR 1990 S C 1692. In the  year 1974 agreements were entered into between India and Bangladesh wherein Tin Bigha area was given to Bangladesh to connect Dahagram and Panbari Mouza of Bangladesh. As per the agr agreem eement ent Lea Lease se in per perpetu petuity ity wa wass giv given en ov over er the sa said id area at the rent of half a rupee per annum. Later on India  waived its right to charge rent from the said area. But it was ment me ntio ione ned d in in th thee ag agrree eeme ment nt th that at th thee so sovver erei eig gnt ntyy over th thee sa said id area shall continue to be vested in India. The court held that this th is do does es no nott am amou ount nt to ces essi sion on of the the sa said id ter erri rittory by In Indi dia. a.

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This mode has become obsolete after the commencement commenc ement of U.N. U.N. Charter. Article 2(4) of the said authority says that the members of U.N shall respect the territorial integrity  and political independenc independencee of each other and shall not usee fo us forrce ag agai ains nstt ea each ch ot othe herr. Example: annexation of Kuwait by Iraq. After annexation Iraq declared Kuwait its 19 th province but Security  Council declared that such annexation was null nu ll an and d voi oid. d. Subs Subseq eque uent ntly ly ku kuw wai aitt was fr free eed. d.

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Lease means a contract by which the owner of the property allows other to use it for a specified time in return of payment. Ex. Panama leased Panama Canal area to USA., lease of Tin Bigha land to Bangladesh by  India. Pledge: Sometimes for money a State may pledge a part pa rt of its its ter erri rittor oryy to an anot oth her St Stat ate. e. Plebiscite: West Iran claimed by both Netherland and Indonesia. A plebiscite was held under the auspices of  U.N. The people of West Iran declared to merge with Indonesia. Indon esia. Kash Kashmir mir issue.

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CESSION.

OPERATION OF NATUR E. SUBJUGATION. (BY DEFE ATING) PR ESCRIPTION. R EV  OLT T. (BAN (BANGL GLAD ADESH/E AST PAKIS AKIST TAN) EV OL DER ELICTION: WHEN A STATE FAILS TO EXER CISE ITS SO VER EIGNTY O VER TH THE SAID TERRITORY. LOSING A TERRITORY BY GRANTING INDEPENDENCE TO A COLONY