ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out the historical development of the principle of uti possidetis from its origins in Roman law to its transformation as a principle of international law. Its use in international law was initially related to territorial rights following war. It was only with the liberation of Latin America from Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule at the beginning of the nineteenth century that uti possidetis began to be used as a principle in the resolution of border disputes following decolonisation.
