The subject of the study is the legal institution of state sovereignty, specifically the historical evolution of territorial state sovereignty (dominium), and its limits. Particular attention is paid to situations where the territorial sovereignty claims of two or more states are in conflict. It may be a case of transboundary air pollution, or of unequitable use of shared natural resources, such as a river flowing through the territory of several states. In situations such as these, two general legal principles, both of Roman origin, are usually invoked: qui iure suo utitur neminem laedit (by the acting state) and sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas (by the injured state). While the former is considered to establish a right of absolute territorial sovereignty, the latter expresses the, equally absolute, right of territorial integrity. Viewed in this way, however, they appear to be mutually exclusive.

Using an evolutionary legal method, the development of these two legal principles – qui iure and sic utere – is studied, starting from their origin in Roman law, and onwards, until the end of the long 19th century. A historical study of this kind is, however, not merely of historical interest. It aims to identify the driving forces, and the systematic conditions, that still characterise public international law today and which, to a certain extent, also influence its continued development. Ultimately, the aim is to identify the meaning and the scope of the rights and obligations, that have been linked to the concept of territorial state sovereignty in different eras, based on their interpretation by scholars of public international law. How has the legal doctrine, throughout history, interpreted the concept of territorial state sovereignty? What rights have been attributed to states – and what obligations?