Inherited Borders from Colonization and International Law: Navigating the Evolution of Uti Possidetis

This article aims to highlight the evolution of the principle of uti possidetis over time and its relationship to self-determination and secession. It is considered to be a general principle of international law that is closely related to the principle of the intangibility of inherited frontiers, and it is destined to address boundary struggles over independence. Uti possidetis is a principle of South American origin, but, enshrined by the Organization of African Unity (African Union) in its Constitutive Charter, consisting of a commitment by African states never to question colonial borders. The study shed the light on the application of uti possidetis beyond decolonization to newly independent states, which were created upon the collapse of some states or through the separation from existing ones, and explained the principle constituted a ground for the creation of a new norm of customary international law. However, the principle has been challenged by current justifications for secession in Africa which undermined its credibility. Finally, this article concludes that the application of the uti possidetis is not always and in all circumstances able to solve all the problems of territorial delimitation between new States.