| The common law principle of terra nullius has been applied to the relationship between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples of Australia. |
| Nor was North America terra nullius, free for the taking, as was claimed later. |
| The majority in the High Court rejected the doctrine of terra nullius, in favour of the concept of native title. |
| The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty. |
| It was never conceived as a legal doctrine that could be argued or adjudicated by any court, so it's hardly surprising that terra nullius was such an obscure concept. |
| Instead, land occupied by pastoralists and hunter-gatherers was defined as terra nullius. |
