Introduction 

• State is the fundamental concept on which International Law is based. 
• The state has no existence without a territory. 
• The existence of a state is determined by its territory and sovereignty. 

What is Territory? 

• It is a geographic concept. 
• Land, rivers, lakes, roofs, islands, internal or international waters, territorial space, and air space are all included in it.  
• four kinds of regime that can apply to a territory: 
  • Res nullius: Acquired territory but has not been granted with state sovereignty. 
  • Res communis: Territory that cannot be governed by a state such as the high seas and the exclusive economic zones. 
  • Terra nullius: State having its own status and never belonged to any other state. 
  • Territorial Sovereignty:  
    • State having sovereign right to exercise over its territory without interference from any other state in its territory. 
    • It gives supreme power to the state. 
    • According to maxim quidquid est in territorio est etiam de territorio all individuals and property within the state’s borders are its property. 

What is Sovereignty? 

• Sovereignty is the full right and power of a governing body over itself, without any interference from outside sources or bodies. 
• However, in practical terms, no country can exercise sovereignty by being isolated with other countries; it must collaborate with other nations under a defined set of international law. 
• According to the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, “national political authorities are responsible to the citizens internally and to the international community through the UN”. 
• Therefore, it is appropriate to say that an authority’s right to sovereignty is not unfettered. 

What are the Modes of Acquisition and Loss of State Sovereignty? 

• Accusation of Territorial Sovereignty 
  • There are five modes of acquiring territorial sovereignty widely accepted internationally given below: 
  • Occupation: 
    • It is a way by which a state appropriates over the territory which does not belong to any other state. 
    • It is generally newly discovered territory or may be abandoned by the former state. 
    • This can be done by raising the flag over a territory or making a formal declaration. 
    • Later, effective control over the occupied territory was required to constitute occupation. 
  • Annexation: 
    • When conquest turns into subjugation. 
    • Conquest is taking possession of the territory of enemy by military force in war. 
    • After conquering the title must be formally annexed to the conquered territory. 
    • This has become unlawful by paragraph 4 of Article 2 of UN Charter, which refrains the states from acquiring territories by force. 
    • In recent times, the annexation requires further treaty of cessation. 
  • Accretion 
    • When a new land is formed generally through natural causes and get attached to a state's territory, it is known as accretion. 
    • If the change is slight and gradual boundary may be shifted byt if the change is violent and excessive the boundary to stay same along with the original riverbed. 
    • This acquisition needs no formal act or assertion by the acquiring state. 
  • Cession 
    • It is a transfer of sovereignty from one state to another. 
    • It occurs by a formal agreement between the two states. 
    • It could be done for a portion of a ceding state or a complete territory. 
    • When the complete state is transferred to another state then it is the merger of the ceding state into the acquiring state. 
    • Cession is done voluntarily by purchase, exchange, gift, voluntary merger or by annexation. 
  • Prescription 
    • It is a way of acquiring territory of another state by peacefully exercising the de facto sovereignty over a long period of time.  
    • It is different from the occupation. It is the acquisition of the territory previously occupied by some other state. 
    • The length of time must be adequate, and the continuous de facto exercise of sovereignty is required. 
    • The possession of the acquiring state must be public i,e, all the other contracting state must be aware of it. 
    • It is to be done with the consent of the former state. 

Loss of Territorial Sovereignty 

• When a state loses its territory by any of the means discussed in acquisition. 
• The intention is required by the dereliction state to divest itself and its effective control. 
• Revolt is a mode of losing state territory which does not correspond to any of the modes of acquiring state. 

What are the Cases on Acquistion and Loss of Sovereign Territory? 

• Western Sahara Case (1975): The observation was made that the existence of state sovereignty is state activity on an adequate scale showing conclusively the exercise of authority. 
• Norway-Denmark Dispute Over Eastern Greenland [Denmark v. Norway (1933)]: According to Permanent Court of Justice (PCIJ) presence of control and intention of acquisition of the state over the concerned territory must be effective for occupation. 
• Minquiers nd Ecrehos case [France v. United Kingdom (1975)]: In this case it was held that for occupation the effective control must be continuous by the acquiring state. 
• Sugandha Roy v. union of India (1971): It was held that in Cession the sovereignty of the state is transferred to another state indisputably. 
• Malaysia v Singapore (2008): Singapore used to exercise de facto sovereignty over the Pedre Branca/Palau Batu Puteh of Malaysia till 1980 which resulted into acquisition by Singapore by prescription as held by the court. 
• Frontier lands Dispute [Belgium v. Netherlands (1959)]: it is held by the PCIJ that mere routine and administrative acts performed by locals Netherlands officials could not displace the legal title of Belgium concluded duly under a convention does not amount to prescription. 
• United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. 
• Cessation of Germany by France of the region of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871. 
• Annexation of Goa by India. 
• Revolution in East Pakistan gave birth to Bangladesh (loss of sovereign territory). 

Conclusion 

There are numerous processes through which the state acquires the territory. The modes discussed are highly difficult. The modern international law allows acquisition by treaty which is the only legal way for acquisition. The law applicable to the state are the primary law which determines the legality and illegality of acquisition. Internation peace is the result of peaceful resolution of dispute related to territory.