THC Science

The Clipperton Island Case, was an arbitration case over the sovereignty of Clipperton Island between France and Mexico. The case was adjudicated by the King of Italy in 1931 and forms an important precedent in international law, particularly in matters of territorial sovereignty and the role of arbitration in resolving disputes between nations.

Background

Clipperton Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pacific Ocean, became the subject of a territorial dispute between France and Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[1]^[2] The island gained significant attention due to its strategic location in the Pacific Ocean and the potential for guano deposits, which were used to enhance fertilizer.^[3]^[4] Initially France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States all laid claims to Clipperton.^[5] Quickly both the United Kingdom and United States dropped their claims on the island leaving only France and Mexico.^[6]

On November 17, 1858 Lieutenant Victor Le Coat de Kervéguen on the French merchant ship L 'Amiral took possession of Clipperton for France.^[6] Upon arriving in the Kingdom of Hawaii a notice of France's annexation of Clipperton was published on November 17th, 1858 in a local newspaper on the island.^[7]^[8]

In 1897 a Mexican expedition raised the Mexican flag on Clipperton as a way to strengthen their claim to Clipperton.^[9] In 1905 the Mexican government established a military garrison on the island and later erected a lighthouse under the orders of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz.^[10]^[11] By 1914 around 100 Mexican settlers landed on the island to further establish Mexico's claim.^[12]^[13] Due to the start of the Mexican Revolution supply ships ceased visiting the island and by 1917 many had perished from scurvy,^[14] with the survivors being rescued and returned to Mexico.^[15]^[16]

Arbitration

There is no reason to suppose that France has subsequently lost her right by derelictio, since she never had the animus of abandoning the island, and the fact that she has not exercised her authority there in a positive manner does not imply the forfeiture of an acquisition already definitively perfected."

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy

On March 2, 1909 the two countries signed an agreement in Mexico to submit the dispute to arbitration and selected King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy to arbitrate the dispute over Clipperton.^[17]^[18] On January 28, 1931 Victor Emmanuel rendered his decision awarding the island to France.^[1]^[17]

France's argument for it's ownership of Clipperton was based on its 1858 claim and the formal annexation of the island and that the land was terra nullius.^[18]^[19] Additionally France had maintained it's ownership of Clipperton when other nations had claimed or landed on Clipperton.^[20] Mexico made the claim that Clipperton had been discovered by the Spanish Navy and that the papal bull of Alexander VII in 1492 had given sovereignty of the island to Spain.^[21]^[22] Following Spain's recognition of Mexico in 1836 following the Mexican War of Independence Mexico retained all of the Spanish territory including the adjacent islands and annexed lands.^[23]^[24] Additionally Mexico had both geographic proximity and effectively occupation of the island in the early 20th century.^[2]^[25] The core legal question was which principle was more important in international law: historical claim or effective occupation.^[26]

Impact on International Law

An important result of the Clipperton Island case was that the occupation of a territory is not always a requirement for making a claim on it.^[27]^[28] Nations wishing to make a claim on territory are required to exercise exclusive authority on the territory.^[17]^[29] Although the levels of exclusive authority are interrupted on a case by case basis with areas such as the Artic and Clipperton being uninhabitable having a much lower bar then territory with a native population.^[20]^[29]^[30] Frances continued claims of sovereignty over the island even when Mexico made claims, was an important part of the arbitration going in their favor.^[28]

The Clipperton Island case and later the Island of Palmas case created the standard for how nations approach acquiring new land that is terra nullius.^[27]^[31]

References

^ ^a ^b Dickinson, Edwin D. (1933). "The Clipperton Island Case". American Journal of International Law. 27 (1): 130–133. doi:10.2307/2189797. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2189797. S2CID 147177707. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Mark A. (1977). "Sovereignty Over Unoccupied Territories—The Western Sahara Decision". Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. 9 (1): 135–159. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
^ Teall, J. J. H. (1898). "A Phosphatized Trachyte from Clipperton Atoll (Northern Pacific)". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 54 (1–4): 230–233. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1898.054.01-04.20. ISSN 0370-291X. S2CID 129862014.
^ Goldberg, Walter M. (2018), "Pacific Islands and the Politics of Fertilizer", The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands, World Regional Geography Book Series, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 133–155, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_6, ISBN 978-3-319-69531-0, retrieved 2023-12-31
^ "Mysterious Island in the Pacific". Otago Daily Times. Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. October 15, 1898. p. 3.
^ ^a ^b Myhre, Jeffery (1986). The Antarctic Treaty system : politics, law, and diplomacy (1st ed.). Boulder, Colorado, United States of America: Westview Press. pp. 8–9.
^ "Empire of France!". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. 15 Jan 1859. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
^ Pardon, Daniel (2020-05-15). "1858 : Napoléon III déclenche la guerre des drapeaux à Clipperton" [1858: Napoleon III launches the War of the Flags at Clipperton]. Tahiti Infos (in French). Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
^ Derrig, Ríán (2021), "Was Rockall Conquered? An Application of the Law of Territory to a Rock in the North Atlantic Ocean", Bliainiris Éireannach an Dlí IdirnáisiúntaThe Irish Yearbook of International Law, Hart Publishing, p. 65, doi:10.5040/9781509950904.0007, ISBN 978-1-5099-5087-4, S2CID 237982783, retrieved 2023-12-31
^ Remiro Brótons, Antonio (2015-01-01), del Castillo, Lilian (ed.), "19 About the Islands", Law of the Sea, From Grotius to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 318–336, doi:10.1163/9789004283787_020, ISBN 978-90-04-28378-7, retrieved 2024-01-06
^ Arnaud, Gabriela (2015). Clipperton, Una Historia de Honor y Gloria [Clipperton, A History of Honour and Glory] (in Spanish). Mexico: Bubok Editorial. ISBN 978-84-686-8274-7.
^ "About Clipperton Island". ClippertonProject.com. The Clipperton Project. 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
^ Aldrich, Robert; Connell, John (1992). France's overseas frontier: départements et territoires d'outre-mer (1st ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-521-39061-3.
^ Jean-Baptiste, Philippe; Fourré, Elise; Charlou, Jean-Luc; Donval, Jean-Pierre; Corrège, Thierry (2009). "Gaining insight into Clipperton's lagoon hydrology using tritium". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 83 (1): 39–46. Bibcode:2009ECSS...83...39J. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.03.017. S2CID 42281088. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
^ Crothers, R.A., ed. (1917-08-09). "Ten More Saved From Island Plague". San Francisco Bulletin. Vol. 124, no. 106. San Francisco, California, United States of America. Associated Press. p. 10.
^ Hight, G.T., ed. (1918-02-14). "Tales of Horror Rivals Fiction". The Bristow Enterprise. Vol. 17, no. 39. Bristow, Nebraska, United States of America. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b ^c Emmanuel, Victor (1932). "Arbitral Award on the Subject of the Difference Relative to the Sovereignty Over Clipperton Island". American Journal of International Law. 26 (2): 390–394. doi:10.2307/2189369. ISSN 0002-9300.
^ ^a ^b McConnell, WH (1970). "The Legal Regime of Archipelagoes". Saskatchewan Law Review. 35 (2). Retrieved 2024-01-06.
^ Evans, Malcolm D.; Lewis, Reece (2023). Islands, law and context: the treatment of islands in international law. Elgar international law. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80220-763-7.
^ ^a ^b Schwarzenberger, Georg (1957). "Title to Territory: Response to a Challenge". American Journal of International Law. 51 (2): 308–324. doi:10.2307/2195709. ISSN 0002-9300.
^ Pope Alexander VI (25 September 1493). Dudum siquidem (in Latin) – via Wikisource.
^ Usuki, Eiichi (2021). "Japan's Claim to Takeshima". In Huth, Paul K.; Kim, Sunwoong; Roehrig, Terence (eds.). The Dokdo/Takeshima dispute: South Korea, Japan and the search for a peaceful solution. Maritime Cooperation in East Asia (1st ed.). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Nijhoff. p. 94. ISBN 978-90-04-44789-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ Arias, Juan de Dios; Olavarría y Ferrari, Enrique de (1880) tomo IV page 392 (in Spanish)
^ Robertson, William Spence (1918). "The Recognition of the Spanish Colonies by the Motherland". The Hispanic American Historical Review. 1 (1): 70–91. doi:10.2307/2506014. JSTOR 2506014.
^ Van Dyke, Jon M. (1982). "Uninhabited Islands: Their Impact on the Ownership of the Oceans' Resources". Ocean Development and International Law. 12: 265.
^ Buderi, Charles L.O.; Ricart, Luciana T. (2018-05-15). "The Early Seventeenth Century to the End of the Eighteenth Century: Were the Islands Still Terra Nullius?". The Iran-UAE Gulf Islands Dispute: A Journey Through International Law, History and Politics. Queen Mary Studies in International Law. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff (published 2018). doi:10.1163/9789004236196_006. ISBN 978-90-04-23618-9.
^ ^a ^b Dugard, John (1999). International law : a South African perspective (2nd ed.). Cape Town, Republic of South Africa: JUTA Law. p. 118.
^ ^a ^b Dixon, Martin (2013). Textbook on International Law (7th ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957445-2.
^ ^a ^b Head, Ivan (1963). "Canadian Claims to Territorial Sovereignty in the Arctic Regions". McGill Law Journal. 9 (3).
^ Johnson, Eric (1976). "Quick, before it Melts: Toward a Resolution of the Jurisdictional Morass in Antarctica". Cornell International Law Journal. 10 (1).
^ Li, Victor (1976). Garth, Bryant G. (ed.). China's changing role in the world economy. Praeger special studies in international economics and development (2nd ed.). New York, United States of America: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-01280-9.

[Dickinson1933-1] Dickinson, Edwin D. (1933). "The Clipperton Island Case". American Journal of International Law. 27 (1): 130–133. doi:10.2307/2189797. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2189797. S2CID 147177707. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-28.

[:3-2] Smith, Mark A. (1977). "Sovereignty Over Unoccupied Territories—The Western Sahara Decision". Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. 9 (1): 135–159. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-12-28.

[3] Teall, J. J. H. (1898). "A Phosphatized Trachyte from Clipperton Atoll (Northern Pacific)". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 54 (1–4): 230–233. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1898.054.01-04.20. ISSN 0370-291X. S2CID 129862014.

[4] Goldberg, Walter M. (2018), "Pacific Islands and the Politics of Fertilizer", The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands, World Regional Geography Book Series, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 133–155, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_6, ISBN 978-3-319-69531-0, retrieved 2023-12-31

[5] "Mysterious Island in the Pacific". Otago Daily Times. Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. October 15, 1898. p. 3.

[:2-6] Myhre, Jeffery (1986). The Antarctic Treaty system : politics, law, and diplomacy (1st ed.). Boulder, Colorado, United States of America: Westview Press. pp. 8–9.

[7] "Empire of France!". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu, Hawaii. 15 Jan 1859. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

[8] Pardon, Daniel (2020-05-15). "1858 : Napoléon III déclenche la guerre des drapeaux à Clipperton" [1858: Napoleon III launches the War of the Flags at Clipperton]. Tahiti Infos (in French). Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-01.

[9] Derrig, Ríán (2021), "Was Rockall Conquered? An Application of the Law of Territory to a Rock in the North Atlantic Ocean", Bliainiris Éireannach an Dlí IdirnáisiúntaThe Irish Yearbook of International Law, Hart Publishing, p. 65, doi:10.5040/9781509950904.0007, ISBN 978-1-5099-5087-4, S2CID 237982783, retrieved 2023-12-31

[10] Remiro Brótons, Antonio (2015-01-01), del Castillo, Lilian (ed.), "19 About the Islands", Law of the Sea, From Grotius to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 318–336, doi:10.1163/9789004283787_020, ISBN 978-90-04-28378-7, retrieved 2024-01-06

[11] Arnaud, Gabriela (2015). Clipperton, Una Historia de Honor y Gloria [Clipperton, A History of Honour and Glory] (in Spanish). Mexico: Bubok Editorial. ISBN 978-84-686-8274-7.

[ClippertonProject-12] "About Clipperton Island". ClippertonProject.com. The Clipperton Project. 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2018.

[13] Aldrich, Robert; Connell, John (1992). France's overseas frontier: départements et territoires d'outre-mer (1st ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-521-39061-3.

[14] Jean-Baptiste, Philippe; Fourré, Elise; Charlou, Jean-Luc; Donval, Jean-Pierre; Corrège, Thierry (2009). "Gaining insight into Clipperton's lagoon hydrology using tritium". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 83 (1): 39–46. Bibcode:2009ECSS...83...39J. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2009.03.017. S2CID 42281088. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2023.

[15] Crothers, R.A., ed. (1917-08-09). "Ten More Saved From Island Plague". San Francisco Bulletin. Vol. 124, no. 106. San Francisco, California, United States of America. Associated Press. p. 10.

[16] Hight, G.T., ed. (1918-02-14). "Tales of Horror Rivals Fiction". The Bristow Enterprise. Vol. 17, no. 39. Bristow, Nebraska, United States of America. p. 8.

[:4-17] Emmanuel, Victor (1932). "Arbitral Award on the Subject of the Difference Relative to the Sovereignty Over Clipperton Island". American Journal of International Law. 26 (2): 390–394. doi:10.2307/2189369. ISSN 0002-9300.

[:5-18] McConnell, WH (1970). "The Legal Regime of Archipelagoes". Saskatchewan Law Review. 35 (2). Retrieved 2024-01-06.

[19] Evans, Malcolm D.; Lewis, Reece (2023). Islands, law and context: the treatment of islands in international law. Elgar international law. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80220-763-7.

[:6-20] Schwarzenberger, Georg (1957). "Title to Territory: Response to a Challenge". American Journal of International Law. 51 (2): 308–324. doi:10.2307/2195709. ISSN 0002-9300.

[21] Pope Alexander VI (25 September 1493). Dudum siquidem (in Latin) – via Wikisource.

[22] Usuki, Eiichi (2021). "Japan's Claim to Takeshima". In Huth, Paul K.; Kim, Sunwoong; Roehrig, Terence (eds.). The Dokdo/Takeshima dispute: South Korea, Japan and the search for a peaceful solution. Maritime Cooperation in East Asia (1st ed.). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Nijhoff. p. 94. ISBN 978-90-04-44789-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

[23] Arias, Juan de Dios; Olavarría y Ferrari, Enrique de (1880) tomo IV page 392 (in Spanish)

[24] Robertson, William Spence (1918). "The Recognition of the Spanish Colonies by the Motherland". The Hispanic American Historical Review. 1 (1): 70–91. doi:10.2307/2506014. JSTOR 2506014.

[25] Van Dyke, Jon M. (1982). "Uninhabited Islands: Their Impact on the Ownership of the Oceans' Resources". Ocean Development and International Law. 12: 265.

[26] Buderi, Charles L.O.; Ricart, Luciana T. (2018-05-15). "The Early Seventeenth Century to the End of the Eighteenth Century: Were the Islands Still Terra Nullius?". The Iran-UAE Gulf Islands Dispute: A Journey Through International Law, History and Politics. Queen Mary Studies in International Law. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff (published 2018). doi:10.1163/9789004236196_006. ISBN 978-90-04-23618-9.

[:0-27] Dugard, John (1999). International law : a South African perspective (2nd ed.). Cape Town, Republic of South Africa: JUTA Law. p. 118.

[:1-28] Dixon, Martin (2013). Textbook on International Law (7th ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957445-2.

[:7-29] Head, Ivan (1963). "Canadian Claims to Territorial Sovereignty in the Arctic Regions". McGill Law Journal. 9 (3).

[30] Johnson, Eric (1976). "Quick, before it Melts: Toward a Resolution of the Jurisdictional Morass in Antarctica". Cornell International Law Journal. 10 (1).

[31] Li, Victor (1976). Garth, Bryant G. (ed.). China's changing role in the world economy. Praeger special studies in international economics and development (2nd ed.). New York, United States of America: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-01280-9.

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 == Background ==
-Clipperton Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pacific Ocean, became the subject of a territorial dispute between France and Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="Dickinson1933">{{Cite journal |last=Dickinson |first=Edwin D. |date=1933 |title=The Clipperton Island Case |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0002930000135754/type/journal_article |url-status=live |journal=[[American Journal of International Law]] |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=130–133 |doi=10.2307/2189797 |issn=0002-9300 |jstor=2189797 |s2cid=147177707 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153940/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/clipperton-island-case/AD446A982E29CC6941B99EA1259C4FB9 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |access-date=2023-12-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Mark A. |date=1977 |title=Sovereignty Over Unoccupied Territories—The Western Sahara Decision |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=jil |url-status=live |journal=[[Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=135–159 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716205856/https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=jil |archive-date=16 July 2022 |access-date=2023-12-28}}</ref> The island gained significant attention due to its strategic location in the Pacific Ocean and the potential for [[guano]] deposits, which were used to enhance fertilizer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Teall |first=J. J. H. |date=1898 |title=A Phosphatized Trachyte from Clipperton Atoll (Northern Pacific) |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1898.054.01-04.20 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society |language=en |volume=54 |issue=1–4 |pages=230–233 |doi=10.1144/GSL.JGS.1898.054.01-04.20 |issn=0370-291X |s2cid=129862014}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Goldberg |first=Walter M. |title=Pacific Islands and the Politics of Fertilizer |date=2018 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_6 |work=The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands |pages=133–155 |access-date=2023-12-31 |series=World Regional Geography Book Series |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_6 |isbn=978-3-319-69531-0}}</ref> Initially France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States all laid claims to Clipperton.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 15, 1898 |title=Mysterious Island in the Pacific |language=en |pages=3 |work=Otago Daily Times |location=Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand}}</ref> Quickly both the United Kingdom and United States dropped their claims on the island leaving only France and Mexico.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Myhre |first=Jeffery |title=The Antarctic Treaty system : politics, law, and diplomacy |publisher=Westview Press |year=1986 |edition=1st |location=Boulder, Colorado, United States of America |pages=8–9 |language=en-US}}</ref>
+Clipperton Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pacific Ocean, became the subject of a territorial dispute between France and Mexico in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="Dickinson1933">{{Cite journal |last=Dickinson |first=Edwin D. |date=1933 |title=The Clipperton Island Case |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0002930000135754/type/journal_article |url-status=live |journal=[[American Journal of International Law]] |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=130–133 |doi=10.2307/2189797 |issn=0002-9300 |jstor=2189797 |s2cid=147177707 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410153940/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/abs/clipperton-island-case/AD446A982E29CC6941B99EA1259C4FB9 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |access-date=2023-12-28}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Mark A. |date=1977 |title=Sovereignty Over Unoccupied Territories—The Western Sahara Decision |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=jil |url-status=live |journal=[[Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law]] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=135–159 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716205856/https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2180&context=jil |archive-date=16 July 2022 |access-date=2023-12-28}}</ref> The island gained significant attention due to its strategic location in the Pacific Ocean and the potential for [[guano]] deposits, which were used to enhance fertilizer.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Teall |first=J. J. H. |date=1898 |title=A Phosphatized Trachyte from Clipperton Atoll (Northern Pacific) |url=https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/GSL.JGS.1898.054.01-04.20 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society |language=en |volume=54 |issue=1–4 |pages=230–233 |doi=10.1144/GSL.JGS.1898.054.01-04.20 |issn=0370-291X |s2cid=129862014}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Goldberg |first=Walter M. |title=Pacific Islands and the Politics of Fertilizer |date=2018 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_6 |work=The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands |pages=133–155 |access-date=2023-12-31 |series=World Regional Geography Book Series |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_6 |isbn=978-3-319-69531-0}}</ref> Initially France, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States all laid claims to Clipperton.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 15, 1898 |title=Mysterious Island in the Pacific |language=en |pages=3 |work=Otago Daily Times |location=Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand}}</ref> Quickly both the United Kingdom and United States dropped their claims on the island leaving only France and Mexico.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Myhre |first=Jeffery |title=The Antarctic Treaty system : politics, law, and diplomacy |publisher=Westview Press |year=1986 |edition=1st |location=Boulder, Colorado, United States of America |pages=8–9 |language=en-US}}</ref>
-On November 17, 1858 Lieutenant Victor Le Coat de Kervéguen on the French merchant ship L 'Amiral took possession of Clipperton for France.<ref name=":2" /> Upon arriving in the Kingdom of Hawaii a notice of France's annexation of Clipperton was published on November 17th, 1858 in a local newspaper on the island.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=15 Jan 1859 |title=Empire of France! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/127171891/ |work=The Pacific Commercial Advertiser |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627051449/https://www.newspapers.com/article/127171891/ |archive-date=27 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pardon |first=Daniel |date=2020-05-15 |title=1858 : Napoléon III déclenche la guerre des drapeaux à Clipperton |language=fr |trans-title=1858: Napoleon III launches the War of the Flags at Clipperton |work=Tahiti Infos |url=https://www.tahiti-infos.com/1858-Napoleon-III-declenche-la-guerre-des-drapeaux-a-Clipperton_a191124.html |access-date=2023-06-01 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601190654/https://www.tahiti-infos.com/1858-Napoleon-III-declenche-la-guerre-des-drapeaux-a-Clipperton_a191124.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Mexico made the claim that Clipperton had been discovered by the Spanish Navy and that the papal bull of [[Pope Alexander VII|Alexander VII]] in 1492 had given sovereignty of the island to Spain.<ref>{{cite wikisource |wslink=Dudum siquidem |title=Dudum siquidem |wslanguage=la |author=Pope Alexander VI |date=25 September 1493}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Usuki |first=Eiichi |title=The Dokdo/Takeshima dispute: South Korea, Japan and the search for a peaceful solution |date=2021 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-44789-9 |editor-last=Huth |editor-first=Paul K. |edition=1st |series=Maritime Cooperation in East Asia |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=94 |language=en |chapter=Japan's Claim to Takeshima |editor-last2=Kim |editor-first2=Sunwoong |editor-last3=Roehrig |editor-first3=Terence}}</ref> Following Spain's recognition of Mexico in 1836 following the [[Mexican War of Independence]] Mexico retained all of the Spanish territory including the adjacent islands and annexed lands.<ref>Arias, Juan de Dios; Olavarría y Ferrari, Enrique de (1880)  tomo IV [https://archive.org/stream/mxicotravsde04tomorich#page/392/mode/2up page 392] {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robertson |first=William Spence |date=1918 |title=The Recognition of the Spanish Colonies by the Motherland |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2506014 |journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=70–91 |doi=10.2307/2506014 |jstor=2506014}}</ref> In 1897 a Mexican expedition raised the Mexican flag on Clipperton as a way to strengthen their claim to Clipperton.<ref>{{Citation |last=Derrig |first=Ríán |title=Was Rockall Conquered? An Application of the Law of Territory to a Rock in the North Atlantic Ocean |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509950904.0007 |work=Bliainiris Éireannach an Dlí IdirnáisiúntaThe Irish Yearbook of International Law |pages=65 |access-date=2023-12-31 |publisher=Hart Publishing |doi=10.5040/9781509950904.0007 |isbn=978-1-5099-5087-4 |s2cid=237982783}}</ref> In 1905 the Mexican government established a military garrison on the island and later erected a lighthouse under the orders of [[List of Presidents of Mexico|Mexican President]] [[Porfirio Díaz]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Remiro Brótons |first=Antonio |title=19 About the Islands |date=2015-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004283787/B9789004283787_020.xml |work=Law of the Sea, From Grotius to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea |pages=318–336 |editor-last=del Castillo |editor-first=Lilian |access-date=2024-01-06 |publisher=Brill {{!}} Nijhoff |doi=10.1163/9789004283787_020 |isbn=978-90-04-28378-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Arnaud |first=Gabriela |year=2015 |title=Clipperton, Una Historia de Honor y Gloria |language=es |trans-title=Clipperton, A History of Honour and Glory |publisher=Bubok Editorial |location=Mexico |isbn=978-84-686-8274-7}}</ref> By 1914 around 100 Mexican settlers landed on the island to further establish Mexico's claim.<ref name="ClippertonProject">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ClippertonProject.com/expeditions/clipperton-island-2012/about-clipperton-island/|title=About Clipperton Island|website=ClippertonProject.com|publisher=The Clipperton Project|date=2014|access-date=11 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117040649/http://www.clippertonproject.com/expeditions/clipperton-island-2012/about-clipperton-island/|archive-date=17 January 2014}}</ref> Due to the start of the Mexican Revolution supply ships ceased visiting the island and by 1917 many had perished from [[scurvy]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jean-Baptiste |first1=Philippe |last2=Fourré |first2=Elise |last3=Charlou |first3=Jean-Luc |last4=Donval |first4=Jean-Pierre |last5=Corrège |first5=Thierry |date=2009 |title=Gaining insight into Clipperton's lagoon hydrology using tritium |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272771409001334 |url-status=live |journal=[[Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science]] |language=en |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=39–46 |bibcode=2009ECSS...83...39J |doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2009.03.017 |s2cid=42281088 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213225012/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272771409001334 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |access-date=1 April 2023}}</ref> with the survivors being rescued and returned to Mexico.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1917-08-09 |editor-last=Crothers |editor-first=R.A. |title=Ten More Saved From Island Plague |work=San Francisco Bulletin |location=San Francisco, California, United States of America |pages=10 |volume=124 |issue=106 |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1918-02-14 |editor-last=Hight |editor-first=G.T. |title=Tales of Horror Rivals Fiction |work=The Bristow Enterprise |location=Bristow, Nebraska, United States of America |pages=8 |volume=17 |issue=39}}</ref>
+On November 17, 1858 Lieutenant Victor Le Coat de Kervéguen on the French merchant ship L 'Amiral took possession of Clipperton for France.<ref name=":2" /> Upon arriving in the Kingdom of Hawaii a notice of France's annexation of Clipperton was published on November 17th, 1858 in a local newspaper on the island.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=15 Jan 1859 |title=Empire of France! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/127171891/ |work=The Pacific Commercial Advertiser |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627051449/https://www.newspapers.com/article/127171891/ |archive-date=27 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pardon |first=Daniel |date=2020-05-15 |title=1858 : Napoléon III déclenche la guerre des drapeaux à Clipperton |language=fr |trans-title=1858: Napoleon III launches the War of the Flags at Clipperton |work=Tahiti Infos |url=https://www.tahiti-infos.com/1858-Napoleon-III-declenche-la-guerre-des-drapeaux-a-Clipperton_a191124.html |access-date=2023-06-01 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601190654/https://www.tahiti-infos.com/1858-Napoleon-III-declenche-la-guerre-des-drapeaux-a-Clipperton_a191124.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
+In 1897 a Mexican expedition raised the Mexican flag on Clipperton as a way to strengthen their claim to Clipperton.<ref>{{Citation |last=Derrig |first=Ríán |title=Was Rockall Conquered? An Application of the Law of Territory to a Rock in the North Atlantic Ocean |date=2021 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509950904.0007 |work=Bliainiris Éireannach an Dlí IdirnáisiúntaThe Irish Yearbook of International Law |pages=65 |access-date=2023-12-31 |publisher=Hart Publishing |doi=10.5040/9781509950904.0007 |isbn=978-1-5099-5087-4 |s2cid=237982783}}</ref> In 1905 the Mexican government established a military garrison on the island and later erected a lighthouse under the orders of [[List of Presidents of Mexico|Mexican President]] [[Porfirio Díaz]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Remiro Brótons |first=Antonio |title=19 About the Islands |date=2015-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004283787/B9789004283787_020.xml |work=Law of the Sea, From Grotius to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea |pages=318–336 |editor-last=del Castillo |editor-first=Lilian |access-date=2024-01-06 |publisher=Brill {{!}} Nijhoff |doi=10.1163/9789004283787_020 |isbn=978-90-04-28378-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Arnaud |first=Gabriela |year=2015 |title=Clipperton, Una Historia de Honor y Gloria |language=es |trans-title=Clipperton, A History of Honour and Glory |publisher=Bubok Editorial |location=Mexico |isbn=978-84-686-8274-7}}</ref> By 1914 around 100 Mexican settlers landed on the island to further establish Mexico's claim.<ref name="ClippertonProject">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ClippertonProject.com/expeditions/clipperton-island-2012/about-clipperton-island/|title=About Clipperton Island|website=ClippertonProject.com|publisher=The Clipperton Project|date=2014|access-date=11 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117040649/http://www.clippertonproject.com/expeditions/clipperton-island-2012/about-clipperton-island/|archive-date=17 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Robert |title=France's overseas frontier: départements et territoires d'outre-mer |last2=Connell |first2=John |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-521-39061-3 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |pages=43 |language=en}}</ref> Due to the start of the Mexican Revolution supply ships ceased visiting the island and by 1917 many had perished from [[scurvy]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jean-Baptiste |first1=Philippe |last2=Fourré |first2=Elise |last3=Charlou |first3=Jean-Luc |last4=Donval |first4=Jean-Pierre |last5=Corrège |first5=Thierry |date=2009 |title=Gaining insight into Clipperton's lagoon hydrology using tritium |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272771409001334 |url-status=live |journal=[[Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science]] |language=en |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=39–46 |bibcode=2009ECSS...83...39J |doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2009.03.017 |s2cid=42281088 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213225012/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0272771409001334 |archive-date=13 February 2020 |access-date=1 April 2023}}</ref> with the survivors being rescued and returned to Mexico.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1917-08-09 |editor-last=Crothers |editor-first=R.A. |title=Ten More Saved From Island Plague |work=San Francisco Bulletin |location=San Francisco, California, United States of America |pages=10 |volume=124 |issue=106 |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1918-02-14 |editor-last=Hight |editor-first=G.T. |title=Tales of Horror Rivals Fiction |work=The Bristow Enterprise |location=Bristow, Nebraska, United States of America |pages=8 |volume=17 |issue=39}}</ref>
+== Arbitration ==
-In 1909 France and Mexico agreed to send the issue of Clipperton to arbitration and selected selected the King of Italy to arbitrate their dispute.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Dixon |first=Martin |title=Textbook on International Law |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-957445-2 |edition=7th |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |publication-date=2013 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Murphy |first=Sean |title=International Law Relating to Islands |date=2017 |publisher=The Hague Academy of International Law |edition=1st |series=The Pocket Books of The Hague Academy of International Law |volume=32}}</ref>
-France based its claim on the discovery, while Mexico relied on geographical proximity and its own acts of authority over the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Dyke |first=Jon M. |date=1982 |title=Uninhabited Islands: Their Impact on the Ownership of the Oceans' Resources |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/ocdev12&id=271&div=&collection= |journal=Ocean Development and International Law |volume=12 |pages=265}}</ref>
-Mexico sends settlers to the island.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Robert |title=France's overseas frontier: départements et territoires d'outre-mer |last2=Connell |first2=John |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-521-39061-3 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |pages=43 |language=en}}</ref>
-During this period of time the great powers worked to acquire as much territory as was possible including uninhabited islands such as Clipperton. During this time France also acquired the [[Iles Eparses]] in the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aldrich |first1=Robert |title=France's overseas frontier: départements et territoires d'outre-mer |last2=Connell |first2=John |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-521-39061-3 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |pages=51 |language=en}}</ref>
-== Arbitration Process ==
 {{Quote box
 | quote = There is no reason to suppose that France has subsequently lost her right by derelictio, since she never had the animus of abandoning the island, and the fact that she has not exercised her authority there in a positive manner does not imply the forfeiture of an acquisition already definitively perfected."
@@ Line 27: / Line 16: @@
 | align = right
 }}
-In 1909 the two countries agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration and selected [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|King Victor Emmanuel III]] of Italy to arbitrate the dispute over Clipperton.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McConnell |first=WH |date=1970 |title=The Legal Regime of Archipelagoes |url=https://canlii.ca/t/7n3ls |journal=Saskatchewan Law Review |language=en |volume=35 |issue=2 |access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref>
+On March 2, 1909 the two countries signed an agreement in Mexico to submit the dispute to arbitration and selected [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|King Victor Emmanuel III]] of Italy to arbitrate the dispute over Clipperton.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Emmanuel |first=Victor |date=1932 |title=Arbitral Award on the Subject of the Difference Relative to the Sovereignty Over Clipperton Island |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0002930000081756/type/journal_article |journal=American Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=390–394 |doi=10.2307/2189369 |issn=0002-9300}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=McConnell |first=WH |date=1970 |title=The Legal Regime of Archipelagoes |url=https://canlii.ca/t/7n3ls |journal=Saskatchewan Law Review |language=en |volume=35 |issue=2 |access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref> On January 28, 1931 Victor Emmanuel rendered his decision awarding the island to France.<ref name="Dickinson1933" /><ref name=":4" />
-The Clipperton Island case and later the Island of Palmas case created the standard for how nations approach acquiring new land that is [[terra nullius]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Victor |title=China's changing role in the world economy |publisher=Praeger |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-275-01280-9 |editor-last=Garth |editor-first=Bryant G. |edition=2nd |series=Praeger special studies in international economics and development |location=New York, United States of America |editor-link2=Stanford Journal of International Studies}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dugard |first=John |title=International law : a South African perspective |publisher=JUTA Law |year=1999 |edition=2nd |location=Cape Town, Republic of South Africa |pages=118 |language=en-za}}</ref>
+France's argument for it's ownership of Clipperton was based on its 1858 claim and the formal annexation of the island and that the land was [[terra nullius]].<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Malcolm D. |title=Islands, law and context: the treatment of islands in international law |last2=Lewis |first2=Reece |date=2023 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-80220-763-7 |series=Elgar international law |location=Northampton}}</ref> Additionally France had maintained it's ownership of Clipperton when other nations had claimed or landed on Clipperton.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Schwarzenberger |first=Georg |date=1957 |title=Title to Territory: Response to a Challenge |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0002930000185203/type/journal_article |journal=American Journal of International Law |language=en |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=308–324 |doi=10.2307/2195709 |issn=0002-9300}}</ref> Mexico made the claim that Clipperton had been discovered by the Spanish Navy and that the papal bull of [[Pope Alexander VII|Alexander VII]] in 1492 had given sovereignty of the island to Spain.<ref>{{cite wikisource|title=Dudum siquidem|author=Pope Alexander VI|date=25 September 1493|wslanguage=la|wslink=Dudum siquidem}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Usuki |first=Eiichi |title=The Dokdo/Takeshima dispute: South Korea, Japan and the search for a peaceful solution |date=2021 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |year=2021 |isbn=978-90-04-44789-9 |editor-last=Huth |editor-first=Paul K. |edition=1st |series=Maritime Cooperation in East Asia |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=94 |language=en |chapter=Japan's Claim to Takeshima |editor-last2=Kim |editor-first2=Sunwoong |editor-last3=Roehrig |editor-first3=Terence}}</ref> Following Spain's recognition of Mexico in 1836 following the [[Mexican War of Independence]] Mexico retained all of the Spanish territory including the adjacent islands and annexed lands.<ref>Arias, Juan de Dios; Olavarría y Ferrari, Enrique de (1880)  tomo IV [https://archive.org/stream/mxicotravsde04tomorich#page/392/mode/2up page 392] {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robertson |first=William Spence |date=1918 |title=The Recognition of the Spanish Colonies by the Motherland |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2506014 |journal=The Hispanic American Historical Review |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=70–91 |doi=10.2307/2506014 |jstor=2506014}}</ref> Additionally Mexico had both geographic proximity and effectively occupation of the island in the early 20th century.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Dyke |first=Jon M. |date=1982 |title=Uninhabited Islands: Their Impact on the Ownership of the Oceans' Resources |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/ocdev12&id=271&div=&collection= |journal=Ocean Development and International Law |volume=12 |pages=265}}</ref> The core legal question was which principle was more important in international law: historical claim or effective occupation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buderi |first=Charles L.O. |url=https://brill.com/view/title/22146 |title=The Iran-UAE Gulf Islands Dispute: A Journey Through International Law, History and Politics |last2=Ricart |first2=Luciana T. |date=2018-05-15 |publisher=Brill {{!}} Nijhoff |isbn=978-90-04-23618-9 |series=Queen Mary Studies in International Law |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |publication-date=2018 |language=en |chapter=The Early Seventeenth Century to the End of the Eighteenth Century: Were the Islands Still Terra Nullius? |doi=10.1163/9789004236196_006}}</ref>
-Both
+== Impact on International Law ==
-An important result of the Clipperton Island case was that the occupation of a territory is not always a requirement for making a claim on it.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
+An important result of the Clipperton Island case was that the occupation of a territory is not always a requirement for making a claim on it.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dugard |first=John |title=International law : a South African perspective |publisher=JUTA Law |year=1999 |edition=2nd |location=Cape Town, Republic of South Africa |pages=118 |language=en-za}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Dixon |first=Martin |title=Textbook on International Law |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-957445-2 |edition=7th |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |publication-date=2013 |language=en}}</ref> Nations wishing to make a claim on territory are required to exercise exclusive authority on the territory.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Head |first=Ivan |date=1963 |title=Canadian Claims to Territorial Sovereignty in the Arctic Regions |url=https://lawjournal.mcgill.ca/article/canadian-claims-to-territorial-sovereignty-in-the-arctic-regions/ |journal=McGill Law Journal |volume=9 |issue=3}}</ref> Although the levels of exclusive authority are interrupted on a case by case basis with areas such as the Artic and Clipperton being uninhabitable having a much lower bar then territory with a native population.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Eric |date=1976 |title=Quick, before it Melts: Toward a Resolution of the Jurisdictional Morass in Antarctica |url=https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cilj/vol10/iss1/7/ |journal=Cornell International Law Journal |volume=10 |issue=1}}</ref> Frances continued claims of sovereignty over the island even when Mexico made claims, was an important part of the arbitration going in their favor.<ref name=":1" />
+The Clipperton Island case and later the Island of Palmas case created the standard for how nations approach acquiring new land that is [[terra nullius]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Victor |title=China's changing role in the world economy |publisher=Praeger |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-275-01280-9 |editor-last=Garth |editor-first=Bryant G. |edition=2nd |series=Praeger special studies in international economics and development |location=New York, United States of America |editor-link2=Stanford Journal of International Studies}}</ref>
-Frances continued claims of sovereignty over the island even when Mexico made claims, was an important part of the arbitration going in their favor.<ref name=":1" />
-== Impact on International Law ==
 == References ==

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Revision as of 00:02, 7 January 2024

Background

Arbitration

Impact on International Law

References

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