Korea's claim of ownership and possession over Dokdo is based on original title and the continuous exercise of sovereignty from earlier Korean kingdoms up until and through the modern period. Japan argues that Dokdo was terra nullius, belonging to no country, when it incorporated Dokdo into Japan in 1905 as part of Shimane Prefecture. A critical piece of evidence contradicting this Japanese argument is Imperial Ordinance enacted on 27 October 1900 by the Empire of Korea, which purports to indicate that the Empire of Korea understood that Dokdo was an inherent part of Korea. This paper is an attempt to highlight this imperial ordinance in the context of Korea's claim of sovereignty and argues for its relevance and veracity using principles of evidence taken from US law. As a piece of evidence, the Empire of Korea's Imperial Ordinance No. 41 of 27 October 1900 supports two major contentions of the Korean government in its sovereignty claim to Dokdo in contradiction to Japan's assertions of sovereignty. First, it serves to prove Korea's position that pursuant to international law, Korea had sovereignty over Dokdo at the turn of the 20th century and second, it undermines the Japanese claim that Dokdo belonged to no state in 1905 given Korea's ownership, which would invalidate the terra nullius rationale of Japan's annexation of Dokdo. Assuming Korea's position on the content of Imperial Ordinance No. 41 to be true, it is quite evident that it would be deemed to be relevant in demonstrating Korea's case for sovereignty over Dokdo. Nevertheless, an objection would certainly be raised by Japan as to the relevance of the imperial ordinance given the different designation of Dokdo (Seokdo) in the document. In such an instance, the question of relevance comes down to the reason and experience of the judge along with the supporting evidence that has been given.

中文翻译：

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证明韩国对独岛拥有主权的要求：1900年10月27日第41号《帝国条例》的证据意义

韩国对独岛拥有所有权和占有权的主张是基于原始头衔以及从较早的朝鲜王国一直持续到现代的主权。日本辩称独岛是土地无效者，不属于任何国家，于1905年将独岛并入日本作为岛根县的一部分。与日本的论点相矛盾的一个关键证据是大韩帝国于1900年10月27日颁布的《帝国法令》，旨在表明大韩帝国了解独岛是大韩民国的固有组成部分。本文试图在韩国主张主权的背景下强调这一帝国法令，并使用从美国法律中获取的证据原则来论证其相关性和真实性。作为证据，大韩帝国1900年10月27日第41号帝国法令支持了韩国政府对独岛的主权主张中的两个主要论点，这与日本的主权主张相矛盾。首先，它可以证明韩国无主地独岛的日本吞并的理由。假设韩国在《帝国法令》第41号的内容上的立场是正确的，那么很明显，在证明韩国对独岛拥有主权的情况下，韩国将被认为是有意义的。然而，鉴于文件中独岛（Seokdo）的名称不同，日本肯定会对帝国法令的相关性提出异议。在这种情况下，相关性问题归结为法官的理由和经验以及已经提供的支持证据。