Winner Takes it all or How Did Arena of International Law Fail to Decolonize the World in Versailles?

Abstract

Abstract: We are living in a time when there is no shortage of excuses to encroach on foreign terri-tories. This article deals specifically with the political and legal justifications for encroach-ments on other peoples' territories during the Peace of Versailles and the later created Man-date system. It systematically shows how the socio-political changes at the end of the 19th century and the development of international law led to the maturation of the idea of sov-ereignty and how it affected the empires of the Great Powers. It then shows in detail how the liberal mindset in international law is used to justify new colonial achievements and the expansion of empires even after the end of the First World War. Keywords: Mandate system, colonialism, level of civilisation, decolonization, mandate for Togoland, A. V. Dicey