International Development Law: Resolving the Contentious Question of State Sovereignty and Right to and Ownership of Natural Resources

Abstract

This work came up against the background of the contentious question and multiplicity of claims of ownership of natural resources located within a given state territory. The paper has addressed the question whether this claim legitimately inheres in the state as a sovereign or in the native inhabitants of the land area where the mineral resources are domiciled pursuant to the international right to self-determination. It is the finding that, among other things, the right to permanent sovereignty over natural resources is a legitimate one in international law. Notwithstanding, as the paper has concluded, only the legislature and the courts in any particular domestic jurisdiction can determine with finality the specific entity, institution, or unit within a state sovereign in whom this ultimate ownership resides.