botswana/namibia - Cour international de Justice

(b) as regards notification when this not effected at the time State authority was established. In these situations
the jurisprudence recognises acquisitive prescription, on the condition that there should have been silence on the
part of the sovereign, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the effective exercise, continuous and
uninterrupted, of territorial sovereignty (peaceful possession). The requirement of these two conditions stems
from the Award given on 23 October 1909 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the case of the Maritime
Boundaries between Sweden and Norway, or the Grisbadarna case; from the Arbitral Award given on 15 June
1911 between the United States and Mexio in the Chamizal case (A.J.I.L., 1911, in particular pp.805-807); and
from the Arbitral Award given on 4 April 1928 by Professor Max Huber in the Island of of Palmas case (R.S.A.,
Vol. II, pp.850 and 868 and R.G.D.I.P., 1935, pp.176 in fine, 177 and 198 in fine, 199..."]
650. Another standard French authority, Nguyen Quoc Dinh, Daillier and Pellet, describes the
legal position thus:
"3_ La prescription acquisitive ou usucapion permet l'acquisition d'un territoire étranger par
un État qui y exerce son autorité de manière continue et pacifique pendant une longue
période. L'État qui possédait ce territoire est présumé, du fait de sa passivité face à l'atteinte à
sa souveraineté, avoir renoncé à ses droits. Par l'usucapion, la possession acquise de bonne foi
se transforme en droit de souveraineté.
Il est souvent contesté que la prescription acquisitive soit reçue en droit international positif,
tant l'institution est attentatoire à la souveraineté territoriale et contraire au principe du
consensualisme. Il reste qu'elle correspond également à certaines réalités historiques,
marquées par un développement progressif de la souveraineté et culminant dans la possession
territoriale incontestée. Elle s'est révélée utile surtout pour des possessions territoriales
éloignées et à des époques où la densité des actes de puissance publique était moindre
qu'aujourd'hui: l'arbitre Max Huber y fait allusion dans l'affaire de l'ile de Palmas (R.S.A.
vol.II, p.843) et la C.I.J. dans l'affaire du Droit de passage en territoire indien (Rec. 1960,
p.39).2
[2 Translation:
"3. Acquisitive prescription or usucapion allows the acquisition of foreign territory by a State which exercises its
authority over it continuously and peacefully over a long period. The State which possessed the territory is
presumed, by the fact of its passivity in face of the threat to its sovereignty, to have renounced its rights. By
means of usucapion, the possession acquired in good faith is transformed into sovereignty.
It is often disputed that acquisitive prescription should be accepted as part of positive international law, in as
much as the institution poses a threat to territorial sovereignty and is contrary to the principle of consensualism.
The fact remains that it corresponds to certain historical realities, characterised by a progressive development of
sovereignty and culminating in an undisputed territorial possession. It has been shown to be useful particularly
for remote territorial possessions and for epochs in which the density of acts of State authority was less than is
the case today: the Arbitrator Max Huber referred to it in the Island of Palmas case (R.S.A. vol. II, p.843) and the
I.C.J. in the Right of Passage case (Rec. 1960, p.39).]
651. The Government of Botswana denies the existence of any Namibian title on the basis of
prescription and its associated principles. Indeed, as will be demonstrated, there is ipso jure
and ab initio no room for the application of the doctrine of prescription. However, it is
necessary to indicate the essential elements of prescription for the purposes of developing the
argument. They are as follows:
(i) The continuous and public exercise of State authority over the area concerned for a
sufficient period of time.