Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review Volume 12 Number 3 Article 1 5-1-1990 California's Offshore Islands: Is the Northern Archipelago a Subject for International Law or Political Rhetoric Jorge A. Vargas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ilr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Jorge A. Vargas, California's Offshore Islands: Is the Northern Archipelago a Subject for International Law or Political Rhetoric, 12 Loy. L.A. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 687 (1990). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ilr/vol12/iss3/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW JOURNAL VOLUME 12 1990 NUMBER 3 California's Offshore Islands: Is the "Northern Archipelago" a Subject for International Law or Political Rhetoric? JORGE A. VARGAS* I. INTRODUCTION Few topics in international law generate such intense emotion and controversy as the acquisition or loss of sovereign territory. Since the beginning of the law of nations, the acquisition or loss of sover- eignty over a given territory has tended to produce an array of ex- tremely delicate questions. These questions, both legal and extra- legal, must be dealt with in a cautious manner if they are to be kept within the bounds of legal objectivity and reason and outside passion- ate nationalism.