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Methods of Acquiring Sovereignty

REFERENCES
taiwandocuments.net/sovereignty.htm
https://education.nationalgeographic.or ... territory/

See -- https://www.taiwanbasic.com/key/dc/axioms66.htm (has useful information and definitions)


accretion is the force of nature acting to change the geographic frontier of a state.

annexation

adjudication is a settlement by law of sovereignty issues over territory through a recognised international authority such as the International Court of Justice.

cession is the peaceful transfer of territory between states by treaty. Cession may occur in peacetime or be stipulated in the peace treaty following a war. Financial or other consideration may be given for the territory being ceded. However in a peace treaty, it often occurs that the cessation of military operations is regarded as sufficient consideration.


discovery is the act of finding a previously unknown geographic area.

occupation (of terra nullius) Terra nullius (/ˈtɛrə nʌˈlaɪəs/, plural terrae nullius) is a Latin expression meaning "nobody's land".[1] It was a principle sometimes used in international law to justify claims that territory may be acquired by a state's occupation over it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius


prescription is the manner of acquiring property by a long, honest, and uninterrupted possession or use during the time required by law. The possession must have been possessio longa, continua, et pacifica, nec sit ligitima interruptio (long, continued, peaceable, and without lawful interruption)



self-determination is the deciding by the inhabitants of a territory on the form of government they shall have, without reference to any other authority, especially one to which it has been subject.


terra sine domino: [spoken of populated territory] "land without master," land with no central government, abandoned territory.

terra nullius: [spoken of unpopulated territory] uninhabited islands or lands.

undemarcated territory: territory lying within the geographic scope of a peace treaty, but which (1) lies in disputed border areas, and/or (2) is not specifically designated as belonging to one country or another.



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conquest is the acquisition of sovereignty over territory by force of arms, exercised by an independent power which reduces the vanquished to the submission of its territory.

Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms (Many examples in history)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest

The evolution of the concept of military occupation must be understood. From the second half of the 1700's onwards, international law came to distinguish between the military occupation of a country and territorial acquisition by invasion and annexation, the difference between the two being originally expounded upon by Emerich de Vattel in his opus The Law of Nations (1758). The distinction then became clear and has been recognized among the principles of international law since the end of the Napoleonic wars in the 1800's. A more formal codification was done in the 1907 Hague Conventions and their accompanying Regulations.

A general summary can be made by saying that in the pre-Napoleonic era, in most parts of the world, the "conqueror" merely annexed the territory, and was recognized as the "annexor."

In the post-Napoleonic world, these customary norms began to change, and international law said that the "conqueror" could only be regarded as "the occupying power, " which may also be termed as "the (principal) occupying power," since the law of agency is always available.

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prescription is the manner of acquiring property by a long, honest, and uninterrupted possession or use during the time required by law. The possession must have been possessio longa, continua, et pacifica, nec sit ligitima interruptio (long, continued, peaceable, and without lawful interruption)
https://www.taiwandocuments.net/sovereignty.htm

prescription: (1) the process of acquiring title to property by reason of uninterrupted possession of specified duration, (2) acquisition of ownership or other real rights in movables or immovables by continuous, uninterrupted, peaceable, public, and unequivocal possession for a long period of time.
Comments: Certain countries with a long history have obtained title to their lands based on "prescription." However, Taiwan was a territorial cession in Article 2b of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT), hence there must be a clear transfer of territorial title in order to be recognized as valid. The doctrine of "prescription" cannot be invoked under such conditions. This analysis is fully confirmed when we recognize that October 25, 1945, was the beginning of the military occupation of Taiwan, and international law specifies that "military occupation does not transfer sovereignty."

"De facto control" does not constitute ownership as we can clearly see from US military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Such military occupation does not mean that the US has possession of the de jure sovereignty over these lands.
https://www.twdefense.info/trust3/int-law-doc.html


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Occupation and Acquisitive Prescription
http://www.ejil.org/pdfs/16/1/289.pdf

Question for ChatGPT
What countries in the world today have acquired their sovereign status through the international law doctrine of prescription?


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Popular sovereignty

https://www.twdefense.info/trust3/int-law-doc.html

popular sovereignty: the doctrine that the state is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power.

Comments: The sovereignty as spoken of in any discussion of the disposition of Taiwan in the post-WWII period is "territorial sovereignty," which is the right of a government to exclusively exercise its powers within a particular territory. As such, "territorial sovereignty" must be based on having "territorial title." In regard to matters of territorial cession, no instances have been found in the post-Napoleonic period where "the people" (in some anonymous fashion) were deemed to hold the "territorial title" to any areas. Rather, "territorial title" is held by a government. This clarification is very important for discussing the details of Taiwan's international legal position.


While it is often heard that the Taiwanese people enjoy "popular sovereignty," in practice this just means that they have the right to vote and to elect their representatives to various levels of councils, and to the Legislative Yuan.
https://www.taiwanbasic.com/ebooks/trel ... egalwp.htm



"Popular sovereignty" is the right for the people to hold elections, to institute impeachment proceedings and the like. However, this should not be confused with "territorial sovereignty," also sometimes called "state sovereignty."

The "territorial sovereignty" of a country is always owned by the government, and this fact is easily seen by overviewing the subject of "territorial cession."

Customary international law in the post-1830 period has clearly established that territorial cession is accomplished by treaty. Relevant examples are too numerous to mention. In the history of the United States, for example, all territorial cessions were done via the specifications of a treaty, including the following well-known examples: Louisiana in 1803, Florida in 1821, California in 1848, Alaska in 1867, Guam in 1899, Puerto Rico in 1899, Virgin Islands in 1917, etc.

Notably, the local populace had little or no say in the final disposition of these territories. Typically however, when each territory was ceded, there was a specification in the peace treaty to the effect that the members of the local populace could retain their "original nationality" by undertaking a certain registration procedure within a one year period. Failing to complete this procedure, the members of the local populace would be considered to have gained the nationality of their new (i.e. "receiving country") national government, according to its laws and regulations.

The many examples of territorial cession in the post-1830 period clearly show the true facts of how "territorial sovereignty" is dealt with. In 100% of all cases, territorial cession is conducted between governments. The government is construed as holding the title to the territory, and hence the government is recognized as having the final say in territorial cession matters (whether in regard to "ceding" or "receiving" territory.)

After researching these aspects of the historical and legal record, it is clear that the territorial sovereignty of a country or geographic area is owned/held by a government, it is not owned/held by the local populace.
https://www.taiwanbasic.com/un/truelegal.htm



Constitutional law studies


See Legislative Yuan conference on sovereignty, Legislative Yuan head stresses popular sovereignty
Old treaties show sovereignty: experts
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan ... 2003777137

“Under the principle of popular sovereignty and the charters of the United Nations, it is clear that Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to all the people of Taiwan,”

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* ALTERNATE THEORIES OF SOVEREIGNTY *

The United States recognizes that Taiwan is a Part of China

In the Joint Communiques, the United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States does not challenge that position."

Thus the US said it "acknowledges" the Chinese position but did not endorse it. Using similar language, a 1979 Normalization Communique establishing US - China diplomatic ties also did not state affirmatively that the US recognized Taiwan as part of China.

Then-President Carter gave strict instructions to the US negotiators to reject the Chinese position that Taiwan was a "Province of China." In the end, the Normalization Communique was finalized to say that the US merely "acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is a part of China."

"By only acknowledging 'the Chinese position,' the United States did not adopt it or claim it as its own," White House staffers later explained.

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* ALTERNATE THEORIES OF SOVEREIGNTY *

Terra Nullius

terra nullius: [spoken of unpopulated territory] uninhabited islands or lands, abandoned lands, etc. which are not being used for the advantage of human beings.
Comments: In late 1945, Taiwan had a population of approximately six million, and could certainly not be claimed under the doctrine of "terra nullius."


Terra Sine domino

terra sine domino: [spoken of populated territory] "land without master," land with no central government, abandoned territory.
Comments: Taiwan was Japanese territory up until April 28, 1952. There is no basis under international law to say that by 1949 Taiwan had already become "terra sine domino," and was thus subject to casual annexation by any other country such as the ROC.

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* ALTERNATE THEORIES OF SOVEREIGNTY *

Self-Determination


Questions for ChatGPT

The United Nations Charter says . . . . .

But Catalonia didn't receive any assistance from UN officials, or UN related organizations, . . . . . .

So, has the doctrine of "territorial integrity" already overridden the concept of "self-determination" in the modern world?

What are six or seven of the more widely known "independence movements" in the world today, and are these movements getting any support from United Nations' officials? Has the UN made any statements about the legitimacy of such independence movements here in the 21st century?

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Treaty of Shimonoseki

unequal treaty, "invalid from the beginning"

territorial cession is not stealing

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We were there when the treaty came into force, so the territory belongs to us

Appears to be an application of "postliminium" . . . . . .

Although neither the ROC nor PRC are signatories to the SFPT, but the benefits to which China is entitled are specified in Article 21. and Formosa and the Pescadores (Article 2(b)) are not included . . . .

[ Japan held the terr. sov. of Formosa and the Pescadores up to April 28, 1952. ]

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SFPT did not cede Taiwan to China, but T.T. did

Otherwise why did T.T. specify that Taiwan residents are ROC citizens

If recognizing T.T. then automatically recognizing SFPT

Two parties to T.T., one ceded, one received

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Article 6 SFPT

But Taiwan has been separated from Japan, so no longer part of Japan.

Also, Gen. Order no. 1 was cancelled. Therefore after late April 1952, it cannot serve as a legal reference.