in Australia, the legal idea that when the first Europeans arrived in Australia the land was owned by no one and therefore they were free to live there. This idea is not now part of Australian law.
Synonyms and related words
Foreign legal terms
ab initio
actus reus
a fortiori
terra nullius
noun uncountable legal
US /ˌterə ˈnʌliəs/
DEFINITIONS1
1
in Australia, the legal idea that when the first Europeans arrived in Australia the land was owned by no one and therefore they were free to live there. This idea is not now part of Australian law.