Terra nullius

Terra nullius is a term that refers to a territory without a master. It is a term used in law (stemming from Roman Law) to describe a space that can be inhabited but that does not belong to a state, meaning the land is not owned by anyone. In fact, when a State or an entity describes a land as a terra nullius, the land is open to occupation and colonization. In international public law, when the definition terra nullius is given to a land, it can legally legitimize its occupation and acquisition of sovereignty by any state, under the doctrine of discovery, which the ICJ has approved as a legal method of acquisition of territory.