"Terra nullius" is a Latin term meaning "land belonging to no one." It was historically used in international law to justify the claim of unoccupied or uninhabited land by colonial powers. This concept allowed countries to assert sovereignty over territories that were not formally governed or recognized by other states. In the context of Australia, "terra nullius" was applied by British colonizers in the 18th century, disregarding the presence and rights of Indigenous peoples. This legal doctrine was eventually challenged and overturned in the 1992 Mabo case, which recognized the land rights of Indigenous Australians and rejected the notion that the land was empty prior to colonization.