... High Court upheld that section 51(31) Australia was not a Terra Nullis when settled by the British in 1788. The Court said that native title could be possessed by people who contrived to use the land and where traditional connection with the land had been substantially maintained, but the ... Court also said that the crown grant which gave an interest in the land that was inconsistent with a native title claim, would extinguish that native title. The Court made it very clear that State and Territory Governments would be limited in the way that they might negotiate land ... tried to avoid...

• Word Count: 1458
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is intense. This approach is an example of legal activism which attempts to recognise and apply the evolving values of contemporary society. The Mabo judgement is the basis of the "native title" rights to land of indigenous Australians. The legal principle of terra nullius was overturned by the decision. This also overturned with it 200 years of political and legal history of ... , yet the High Court still based in international law and the inconsistency with it. Although the limits placed on "native title" by the 1996 Wik decision still recognises the co-existing of indigenous and non-i...

• Word Count: 1774
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate