Also known as: Trust Territories · UN Trust Territory · trusteeship territory
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A territory administered by the United Nations or a member state under the international trusteeship system to promote the political, economic, educational, and social advancement of its inhabitants. All such territories have since become independent nations or joined another nation.
Tobias Thomas offers a land deed bearing the seal of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in a contract dispute. The opposing party objects for lack of authentication. The court admits the deed without further proof because the seal qualifies under the self-authentication rule for such territories.
Tori Taylor researches title to property once located in a former trust territory now part of an independent nation. She confirms that the territory's prior status under United Nations administration ended when it achieved independence. The change affects which nation's laws govern the chain of title.
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All territories once subject to the United Nations trusteeship system have become independent nations or joined another nation.
The rule treats seals from the Trust Territory as self-authenticating because the territory was an entity under United States administration during the trusteeship period.
A trust territory was placed under the United Nations trusteeship system for advancement of its inhabitants while a non-self-governing territory is simply governed by another country without that specific international framework.