Abstract
Decolonization and its quite valid discontents lay at the center of the recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion regarding the territory and populations of the Chagos Archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean. Answering questions posed by the UN General Assembly, the concluded that because these islands were detached from Mauritius as a condition of independence, the decolonization of Mauritius had not been completed in accordance with international law. The Court further ruled unlawful the United Kingdom's continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago and called upon all UN member states to aid completion of the decolonization process. As detailed in this essay, the advisory opinion contained significant pronouncements on decolonization, on the right of all peoples to self-determination, and on the formation of customary rules respecting both.
Repository Citation
Diane Marie Amann,
Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965
, 113 Am. J. Int'l L. 784
(2019),
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/1455
Previously posted on SSRN.