著者

吉川 仁

出版者

関西学院大学

雑誌

法と政治 (ISSN:02880709)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.47, no.1, pp.287-320, 1996-03

---

In Mabo v. Queensland of 3 June 1992,the High Court of Australia handed down a decision of great import to the future of Aboriginal land rights in Australia. In a six to one majority, the Court held that the Meriam people of the Murray Islands retained a native title to their land which was not extinguished by the annexation of the Islands to the colony of Queensland in 1879,nor by subsequent legislation. In reaching this decision the High Court rejected the concept of terra nullius (land belonging to no one) that has been long-established and accepted in cases before the Mabo decision. It is my opinion that Mabo decision has significant relevance to the issue of the land rights of the Ainu people in Japan. So, in this article I summarize the Mabo decision and make comments concerning especially the doctrine of terra nullius, the extinguishment of native title and the need for compensation based on wrongful extinguishment of the title in the decision.