Mabo & Ors v The State of Queensland

The parties to this matter were Eddie Mabo and James Rice, who brought the action on behalf of themselves and other members of their families, as plaintiffs, against the State of Queensland as the first defendant and the Commonwealth of Australia as the second defendant. The case was heard in the High Court of Australia. The proceedings involved an intervention by the Attorney-General of the Northern Territory of Australia.

The central legal issues before the High Court concerned the existence and nature of traditional Indigenous land rights in Australia, specifically whether such rights could exist independently of statutory recognition. The court was required to consider the implications of the Crown's acquisition of sovereignty over Australia and its impact on pre-existing Indigenous interests in land.

The High Court, in its reasoning, grappled with the common law doctrine of terra nullius and its historical application to the colonisation of Australia. The court examined the concept of native title and its potential to coexist with Crown sovereignty. The justices considered whether the common law of Australia should recognise traditional rights and interests in land held by Indigenous peoples, even where those rights were not created or defined by statute. The court also addressed the question of whether the Crown's acquisition of sovereignty extinguished all pre-existing Indigenous rights to land.