Book Reviews : African Boundaries by Ian Brownlie, C. Hurst & Co., for the Royal Insti tute of International Affairs, 1979. £60
| Published date | 01 April 1981 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711788100700108 |
| Date | 01 April 1981 |
| Author | Malcolm Shaw |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1074
BOOK
REVIEWS
African
Boundaries
by
Ian
Brownlie,
C.
Hurst
&
Co.,
for
the
Royal
Insti-
tute
of
International
Affairs,
1979.
£60.
The
international
system
as
we
know
it
today
is
founded
to
all
intents
and
purposes
upon
the
concept
of
the
sovereign
state.
All
states
are
equal
under
the
doctrine
of
international
law
in
that
they
all
possess
the
attri-
butes
of
sovereignty,
such
attributes
including
for
example
the
right
of
territorial
jurisdiction
and
the
freedom
from
interference
in
internal
affairs
as
characteristics
of
exclusive
sovereignty
over
a
defined
area
of
land,
sea
and
air.
Thus,
the
basis
of
the
world
order
may
be
sought
in
the
relation-
ship
between
people,
governmental
entity
and
territory.
Sovereignty
and
jurisdiction
are
predicated
upon
title
to
territory,
since
it
is
this
element
that
defines
in
spatial
terms
the
aforesaid
rights.
What
then
is
title
to
territory,
and
more
importantly
how
may
it
be
demonstrated?
Title
to
territory
represents
a
collection
of
legally
relevant
facts
which
serve
under
international
law
to
regulate
the
acquisition
of
territorial
sovereignty.
Accordingly,
the
variety
of
facts
which
are
apposite
in
such
situations,
and
they
may
be
legion,
have
to
be
carefully
adduced
and
weighed,
particularly
where
assertions
are
contradicted.
It
thus
follows
that
the
relevant
facts
relating
to
territory
assume
a
crucial
significance
particularly
in
situations
of
contested
sovereignty,
although
of
course
for
international
and
internal
political
purposes
it
is
important
to
demonstrate
an
acceptable
link
between
people,
government
and
territory.
It
is
particularly
in
relation
to
boundary
disputes
that
one
finds
the
need
to
examine
closely
and
in
a
meticulous
fashion
all
the
data
that
may
have
a
bearing
on
title.
The
material
that
is
of
particular
concern
would
include
treaties,
authoritative
statements
and
administrative
action
referable
to
government,
as
well
as
the
reactions
of
other
states,
especially
those
directly
concerned
in
the
dispute.
It
is
this
kind
of
material
that
in
essence
would
determine
which
of
the
claimant
states
had
the
better
title
to
the
territory
in
question
and
could
thus
maintain
its
sove-
reignty
in
the
international
legal
forum.
Having
said
that,
it
has
to
be
admitted
that
in
specific
cases
it
is
extremely
difficulty
to
obtain
the
relevant
material.
This
relates
particularly
to
African
states
and
this
is
for
a
number
of
reasons.
Some
of
the
docu-
mentation
may
be
held
in
the
archives
of
the
former
colonial
power
and
may
for
various
reasons
be
difficult
to
obtain.
Most
of
the
African
states
are
not
well
endowed
in
terms
of
qualified
and
competent
personnel
in
the
relevant
fields
and
the
events
in
Ethiopia
since
1974
have
made
it
even
more
difficult
than
it
was
before
to
obtain
documents
of
the
Organisation
of
African
Unity
based
in
Addis
Ababa.
It
is
upon
this
background
that
one
must
welcome
with
open
aims
and
heartfelt
thanks
the
work
produced
by
Professor
Brownlie.
It
is
sub-
titled
&dquo;A
Legal
and
Diplomatic
Encyclopaedia&dquo;
and
this
provides
the
essential
intellectual
framework.
It
incorporates
a
variety
of
statements
and
documents
from
a
number
of
sources,
all
with
the
intention
of
exam-
ining
and
elucidating
the
legal
situation
with
respect
to
the
over
one
hundred
boundary
configurations
analysed.
It
represents
the
culmination
of
a
considerable
research
effort
and
the
author
has
placed
all
concerned
both
generally
with
territorial
problems
and
more
particularly
with
African
boundary
disputes
considerably
in
his
debt.
As
the
author
emphasises
the
focus
is
upon
the
current
legal
status
of
boundaries,
thus the
work
is
not
to
be
construed
as
a
general
diplomatic
history
of
Africa.
Nevertheless,
Professor
Brownlie
has
quite
wisely
adopted
a
broad
perspective
and
has
not
eschewed
all
reference
to
social,
geographic,
economic
and
other
factors.
The
documentary
work
is
preceeded
by
a
most
valuable
introductory
essay
which
seeks
concisely,
but
thoroughly,
to
examine
the
concepts
of
boundaries
and
disputes
as
well
as
analysing
the
contemporary
attitudes
to
territorial
conflicts
maintained
by
the
African
states.
In
addition,
the
author
has
put
forward
a
number
of
practical
suggestions
for
ameliorating
boundary
disputes.
One
useful
idea
is
that
of
a
multilateral
notification
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