Terrains of legality and sovereignty: Adjudicating the ownership of Western Sahara's phosphate in South Africa

This article considers the case of the NM Cherry Blossom, a bulk carrier that docked in South Africa loaded with phosphate cargo from Western Sahara. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic argued that the phosphate cargo was pillaged from the non-self-governing territory, and a South African court set out to determine ownership. This article analyses South Africa's recognition of the Sahrawi state's sovereignty as it pertains to determining the ownership of the phosphate in question. This recognition subsequently creates legal and political possibilities based on sovereignty that is not mediated through or reliant upon the United Nations. I argue that we must attend to jurisdictional histories and contexts in order to consider the scope of new political possibilities for decolonisation struggles.