uti possidetis

American  

[yoo-tahy pos-i-dee-tis] / ˈju taɪ ˌpɒs ɪˈdi tɪs /

noun

International Law.

1. the principle that vests in either of the belligerents at the end of a war all territory actually occupied and controlled by them.

---

uti possidetis British  

/ ˈjuːtaɪ ˌpɒsɪˈdiːtɪs /

noun

1. international law the rule that territory and other property remains in the hands of the belligerent state actually in possession at the end of a war unless otherwise provided for by treaty

---

Etymology

Origin of uti possidetis

From Latin utī possidētis literally, “as you possess, as you hold”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

uti possidetis

If one measures it by an uti possidetis, it is surely advantageous; and I see no reason for being at all confident that another campaign would have put us in a better situation to negotiate.

From Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of George the Third From the Original Family Documents, Volume 1 by Buckingham and Chandos, Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, Duke of

In his address on the opening of the legislature he dwelt on Wellington's reverses in the peninsula, and offered peace to Great Britain on the old terms of "uti possidetis" in Spain.

From The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Vol. III. (of IV.) by Sloane, William Milligan

Then if this reasoning be true, why stipulate for the uti possidetis?

From Jefferson and His Colleagues; a chronicle of the Virginia dynasty by Johnson, Allen

On this a sort of convention took place between him and the managers of the Irish business, in which the six resolutions were to be considered as an uti possidetis, and to be held sacred.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 06 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund

The doctrine of uti possidetis may yet play an important part.

From The American Indian as Participant in the Civil War by Abel, Annie Heloise