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Mabo Case and the Doctrine of terra nullius

Doctrine of terra nullius

Terra nullius literally means ‘land belonging to no one’, and referred not only to territory that was inhabited, but also yo territory inhabited by people who had no system of law or social or political organization that was recognised by the English. Instead of recognising the laws and customs that existed at time of colonisation, the British government declared the land of the colony of New South Wales to be terra nullius.
Subsequent legal developments:
The federal Parliament, in response to the Mabo case enacted the Native Title Act 1993(Cth). Section 3 outlines the purposes of this Act:
• To provide for the recognition and protection of native title
• To establish ways in which future dealings affecting native title may proceed and to set standards for those dealings
• To establish a mechanism for determining claims to native title
• To provide for, or permit, the validation of past acts invalidated because ...

Posted by: Carlos Hernandez

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