What is a State?

Characteristics:

• The traditional elements of statehood were codified in the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States:

“The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a ) a permanent population; b ) a defined territory; c ) [effective control by] government; and d) capacity to enter into relations with the

other states.”– From:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/intam03.asp. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

• Of these, the first three are generally accepted, the last not usually seen as necessary.

– Akehurst, p. 75

• We will focus on a – c.

a) A Permanent Population:

• There is no minimum population required for statehood.

• However, there is a requirement that at least some people live full time in a state.

• Vatican City has a population of 836

(July 2012 est.) It is the world’s least populous state.

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vt.html. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

• More people can live in McMurdo

Station, the largest community in Antarctica, than live in Vatican City. This small town is capable of supporting up to 1,258 residents.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMurdo_Station#cite_note-0. Retrieved October 15, 2012.

McMurdo Station

• The number of people living on the continent and nearby islands varies from about 1,000 in winter to about 5,000 in the summer.

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica#Population

• Antarctica has people living in it, but no permanent population – scientists work there for a while and then go back home. It has more people living in it than some states, but does not meet the permanent population requirement.

• Vatican City has a [tiny] permanent population. It does meet the requirement.

» Akehurst, p. 76

B) A Defined Territory:

• There must be a relatively defined piece of territory–We must be able to say, basically, where

the state is and what its boundaries are. – Just because there are disputes about

some of the boundaries, however, does not mean a state does not exist.

• For example, a dispute between Syria and Turkey over Hatay, does not mean that one (or both) of these states does not meet this requirement.

c ) Effective Control by Government

• It is not enough for a state to claim sovereignty over a particular territory, it must actually control most of it.

• Thus the “State of Palestine” declared in 1988 was not generally recognized as a state because all of the territory it claimed was actually controlled by Israel.

– Akehurst, p. 77

• Once an entity is generally recognized as a state, it is generally harder to lose that status in international law than it is to attain that status to begin with. – The government of Lebanon has not had

control over all of its territory since the 1970’s, yet it is still considered a state.

– Somalia is another example of a state which is broadly recognized in law, but which no longer really meets the government control criterion.

• Question: – The TRNC has a population, a

government, and a defined territory. • Is it a state? • If not, why not?

What about the following entities? Do you know which ones are states?

• Greenland• Abkhazia• North Korea• Taiwan• Nauru

Secession and territorial integrity

• These two principles may often be in conflict.

Nauru from the air:

Courtesy: U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program.

How about the Principality of Sealand? Is it a State?

a Sealand Passport

Sealand from the air:

Recognition

• Recognition of states:– Recognition by a government that

another entity fulfills all of the requirements for statehood.

• Recognition of governments:– Recognition that a government has

control of a territory.– Akehurst, p. 82

• Recognition of states more important.

• Some countries no longer recognize governments.

• Recognition of a state means willingness to deal with it as a member of the international community.– Akehurst p. 83

2 traditional views of the legal effects of recognition:

• 1 - recognition has a “constitutive” effect – the state is created through recognition.

• 2 – recognition has no effect – a state becomes a state when it fulfills all of the criteria we have discussed earlier.

– Akehurst, pp. 83-85

• Generally, there is an obligation on behalf of states to treat other entities as states if they have the characteristics of states.

• Akehurst, p. 85

• Reasons for non-recognition:– Lack of one or more of the attributes of

a state,– State created through a violation of

international law, such as Article 2(4) of the UN Charter (prohibiting use of force.)

– Akehurst, p. 84-85

•  The UN security council has adopted resolutions requiring that no country recognize the TRNC on this basis.

– Akehurst, p. 85