Yarmirr v Northern Territory

In this case, the plaintiff is a coalition of Aboriginal people from the area surrounding Croker Island in the Northern Territory. The plaintiff claimed that they had some exclusive traditional rights over the sea and the sea bed within a determined area.

The question asked to the court was whether or not the common law applies to territorial sea beyond law water mark and if it recognizes the native title in territorial sea beyond low water mark. The first instance court considered that the members of the Croker Island have a non-exclusive right to have free access to the sea and sea bed of the claimed area to travel, to fish, hunt and gather, to visit and protect places which are of cultural and spiritual importance for them and to safeguard their cultural and spiritual knowledge.

The decision of the first court was appealed in front of the High Court by both the plaintiff and the Commonwealth of Australia. The High Court dismissed the appeal of the plaintiff and restricted the traditional right over the water to the internal waters of the Northern Territory, including the inter-tidal zone of the mainland and the island within the claimed area.