In defence of Front Polisario: The ECJ as a global jus cogens maker

The decision in Front Polisario needs to be contextualized in the long and complex dispute on the self-determination of the population of Western Sahara, a large territory in the Maghreb region, between Morocco and Mauritania, included ever since 1963 in the list of the non-self-governing territories, under Article 73 of the United Nations (UN) Charter. A former Spanish colony,Western Sahara, was occupied by Morocco in 1976, after the unilateral disengagement by Spain and a brief armed confrontation with Mauritania. From then on, it has been de facto administered by Morocco, except for a small fraction under the control of the movement of national liberation, Front Polisario.