Einführung in das Völkerrecht 15.11.2013 Kerstin Mechlem Acquisition of Title to Territory Island of Palmas Case (simplified) The island of Palmas (Miangas) lies just south of the Philippine island of Mindanao between the Philippines and Indonesia. Spain discovered the island before 1700. Spain did not occupy the island, nor display any other acts of exercise of state authority. In 1898, Spain and the United States concluded the Treaty of Paris in which Spain ceded the Philippines, including the island of Palmas, to the United States. At that time the Philippines belonged to Spain. Indonesia was part of a Dutch colony. In 1906, the United States discovered that The Netherlands had established a presence on the island. The Netherlands brought evidence that—at least since 1700—the Dutch East India Company, acting for The Netherlands, had displayed acts of peaceful and continuous state authority over the island. Spain and the United States each claim to have sovereignty over the island. The United States claim that they have sovereignty because Spain had acquired sovereignty by way of discovery, that the island belongs to the nearby Philippines by way of contiguity, and that it has acquired sovereignty from Spain by way of cession under the Treaty of Paris. The Netherlands claim sovereignty over the island based on their effective, peaceful and continued display of authority since at least 1700. The United States and the Netherlands decide to submit the case to arbitration. You are the arbitrator. How would you decide? .