Uti possidetis juris
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Uti possidetis juris is a principle of international law that proposes that the territory of a newly independent state should pass intact to the new government when the imperial power withdraws. In other words, boundaries should be stable.
On the one hand, respecting the lines on the map drawn by the colonial administrators helps to prevent conflicts among newly independent emerging nations.
On the other, those lines are often somewhat arbitrary and can make little geographic or demographic sense. They can conflict with the idea of popular sovereignty. They can also disrespect historical claims, because imperialists may have had reasons to ignore them.
