Thursday, April 26, 2012

Island of Palmas Case (United States v. The Netherlands) case brief

Island of Palmas Case (United States v. The Netherlands)
(Scott, Hague Court Reports 2d 83 (1932), (Perm. Ct. Arb. 1928), 2 U.N. Rep. Intl. Arb. Awards 829)

Procedural History:
Arbitration of territorial dispute.

Overview:

-The United States (P) claimed that the Island of Palmas was part of the Philippines but the Netherlands (D) claimed title as well.
-The United States (P) claimed the Island of Palmas was part of the Philippines and had been ceded by Spain by the Treaty of Paris in 1898.
-The United States (P), as successor to the rights of Spain over the Philippines, based its claim of title in the first place on discovery. The Netherlands (D) claimed that it had possessed and exercised rights of sovereignty over the island from 1677 or earlier to the present.

Issue:

Can an inchoate title prevail over a definite title founded on continuous and peaceful display of sovereignty?

Rule:

-An inchoate title cannot prevail over a definite title found on continuous and peaceful display of sovereignty.

Analysis:

The arbitrator examined evidence of contracts made by the East India Company and the Netherlands (D). The Netherlands (D) also based its claims on conventions it had with the princes and native chieftains of the islands. Spain was found not to have had dominion over the island at the time of the Treaty of Paris in 1898.
Outcome:

-An inchoate title cannot prevail over a definite title founded on continuous and peaceful display of sovereignty. The continuous and peaceful display of territorial sovereignty is as good as title. Discovery alone, without any subsequent act, cannot suffice to prove sovereignty over the island. There is no positive rule of international law that islands situated outside territorial waters should belong to a state whose territory forms the nearest continent  or large island. No one contested the exercise of territorial rights by the Netherlands (D) from 1700 to 1906. The title of discovery, at best an inchoate title, does not prevail over the Netherlands, (D) claim of sovereignty.

Also see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_Palmas_Case

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