Island of Palmas Case
| Island of Palmas | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Court | Permanent Court of Arbitration |
| Full case name | Island of Palmas (or Miangas) (United States v. The Netherlands) |
| Decided | 4 April 1928 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Max Huber, sole arbitrator |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Max Huber |
The Island of Palmas Case (Scott, Hague Court Reports 2d 83 (1932), (Perm. Ct. Arb. 1928), 2 U.N. Rep. Intl. Arb. Awards 829) was a territorial dispute over the Island of Palmas (or Miangas) between the Netherlands and the United States which was heard by the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Palmas (Indonesian: Pulau Miangas) was declared to be a part of the Netherlands East Indies and is now part of Indonesia.
The case is one of the most influential precedents dealing with island territorial conflicts.
Coordinates: 5°33′29″N 126°35′05″E / 5.55804°N 126.5847°E
Palmas (Miangas) is an island of little economic value or strategic location. It is 2.6 km in north-south length and 1.0 km in east-west width. It had a population of about 750 in 1932, when the case was decided. The island lies between Mindanao, the southernmost part of the Philippines, and the Nanusa Islands, the next-northernmost part of Indonesia.
In 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris (1898) and Palmas is located within the boundaries of that cession. In 1906, the United States discovered that the Netherlands also claimed sovereignty over the island, and the two parties agreed to submit to binding arbitration by the Permanent Court of Arbitration. On 23 January 1925, the two governments signed an agreement to that effect. Ratifications were exchanged in Washington, D.C. on 1 April 1925. The agreement was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 19 May 1925. The arbitrator in the case was Max Huber, a Swiss lawyer.
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