State-like entities

State-like entities have a certain amount of international legal personality. They are endowed with an appropriate amount of rights and responsibilities and thereby become subjects international law. Such entities have territory, sovereignty, have their own citizenship, legislative assembly, government, and international treaties.

Among them were the so-called. "free cities", West Berlin. This category of entities includes the Vatican, the Order of Malta and Holy Mount Athos. Since these entities most resemble mini-states and have almost all the characteristics of a state, they are called “state-like formations.”

The legal capacity of free cities was determined by relevant international treaties. Thus, according to the provisions of the Vienna Treaty of 1815, Krakow (1815 - 1846) was declared a free city. According to the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919, Danzig (Gdansk) (1920 - 1939) enjoyed the status of a “free state”, and in accordance with the peace treaty with Italy of 1947, the creation of the Free Territory of Trieste was envisaged, which, however, was never created.

West Berlin (1971–1990) enjoyed a special status granted by the 1971 Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin. In accordance with this agreement, the western sectors of Berlin were united into a special political education with its authorities (Senate, prosecutor's office, court, etc.), to which some powers were transferred, for example, the publication of regulations. A number of powers were exercised by the allied authorities of the victorious powers. The interests of the population of West Berlin in international relations represented and defended by German consular officials.

Vatican- a city state located within the capital of Italy - Rome. This is where the head's residence is located. catholic church- The Pope. The legal status of the Vatican is determined by the Lateran Agreements, signed between the Italian state and the Holy See on February 11, 1929, which are basically still in force today. In accordance with this document, the Vatican uses certain sovereign rights: has its own territory, legislation, citizenship, etc. The Vatican actively participates in international relations, establishes permanent missions in other states (the Vatican also has a representative office in Russia), headed by papal nuncios (ambassadors), participates in international organizations, conferences, signs international treaties, etc.

Order of Malta is a religious formation with its administrative center in Rome. The Order of Malta actively participates in international relations, concludes treaties, exchanges representations with states, and has observer missions to the UN, UNESCO and a number of other international organizations.

Holy Mount Athos (Athos) is an independent monastic state located on a peninsula in Eastern Greece, in the Chalkidiki region. It is owned by a special Orthodox monastic association. Management is carried out jointly by representatives of each of the 20 monasteries. The governing body of Athos is the Holy Kinot, which includes representatives of all 20 monasteries of Athos. And the highest church power on Athos belongs not to the Patriarch of Athens, but to the Patriarch of Constantinople, as in the Byzantine era. Entry into the territory of a state-like entity is prohibited for women and even for female pets. To visit Holy Mount Athos, pilgrims must obtain a special permit - “diamonitirion”. IN last years The European Council has repeatedly demanded that the Greek government open access to Mount Athos to everyone, including women. Orthodox Church strongly opposes this in order to preserve the traditional monastic way of life.

State-like entities are special political-religious or political-territorial units that, on the basis of an international act or international recognition, have a relatively independent international legal status.

These primarily include the so-called “free cities” and free territories.

In principle, free cities were created as one of the ways to freeze territorial claims and mitigate tensions arising in interstate relations over the ownership of any territory. A free city is created on the basis of an international treaty or a decision of an international organization and represents a kind of state with limited legal capacity. It has its own constitution or act of a similar nature, the highest government bodies, citizenship. Its armed forces are purely defensive in nature or are more of a border guard and law enforcement force. The creators of a free city usually provide ways to monitor compliance with its status, for example, appointing their representatives or a representative for this purpose. In the international arena, free cities are represented either by interested states or by an international organization.

The status of the Free City of Danzig, which existed between the two world wars, was guaranteed by the League of Nations, and in foreign relations the interests of the city were represented by Poland. The Free Territory of Trieste, created by the 1947 peace treaty with Italy and divided between Italy and Yugoslavia by the 1954 agreement, was protected by the UN Security Council.

West Berlin had a unique international legal status in accordance with the Quadripartite Agreement of the USSR, Great Britain, the USA and France of September 3, 1971. These states retained the special rights and responsibilities they assumed after the surrender of Nazi Germany in relation to West Berlin, which maintained official relations with the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. The German government represented the interests of West Berlin in international organizations and at conferences, and provided consular services to its permanent residents. The USSR established a consulate general in West Berlin. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, the rights and responsibilities of the four powers over West Berlin ceased as it became part of the unified Federal Republic of Germany.

Currently, state-like entities with a special international legal status are the Vatican (Holy See) as the official center of the Roman Catholic Church and the Order of Malta as an official religious formation with internationally recognized charitable functions. Their administrative residences are in Rome.

Externally, the Vatican (Holy See) has almost all the attributes of a state - a small territory, authorities and administration. However, we can only speak conditionally about the population of the Vatican: these are the corresponding officials involved in the affairs of the Catholic Church. However, the Vatican is not a state; rather, it can be considered as the administrative center of the Catholic Church. The peculiarity of its status lies, among other things, in the fact that it has diplomatic relations with a number of states that officially recognize it as a subject of international law.

The Order of Malta was recognized as a sovereign entity in 1889. The seat of the order is Rome. Its official purpose is charity. It has diplomatic relations with many states. The order has neither its own territory nor population. Its sovereignty and international legal personality are a legal fiction.

State-like entities have a certain amount of international legal personality. They are endowed with an appropriate scope of rights and obligations and thereby become subjects of international law. Such entities have territory, sovereignty, have their own citizenship, legislative assembly, government, and international treaties.

These, in particular, were the free cities, and currently the Vatican.

Free cities. A free city is a city-state that has internal self-government and some international legal personality. One of the first such cities was Veliky Novgorod. The free cities also included the Hanseatic cities (the Hanseatic League included Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock, Danzig, Riga, Dorpat, Revel, Amsterdam, Koenigsberg, Kiel, Stralsund and others - a total of 50 cities). In the 19th and 20th centuries. the status of free cities was determined by international legal acts or resolutions of the League of Nations and the UN General Assembly and other organizations. For example, the status of Krakow was established in Art. 4 of the Russian-Austrian Treaty, in Art. 2 of the Russian-Prussian Treaty, in the additional Austro-Russian-Prussian Treaty of May 3, 1815; in Art. 6-10 of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna of June 9, 1815; in the Constitution of the Free City of 1815/1833. Subsequently, by the treaty of November 6, 1846, concluded by Austria, Prussia and Russia, the status of Krakow was changed, and it became part of Austria.

The status of the Free City of Danzig (currently Gdansk) was determined in Art. 100-108 of the Versailles Peace Treaty of June 28, 1919, in the Polish-Danzig Convention of November 9, 1920 and in a number of other agreements (for example, in the agreement of October 24, 1921 and in the decisions of the High Commissioner of the League of Nations, subsequently recognized Polish government).

The status of Trieste was provided for in section. III part 2 of the Peace Treaty with Italy of 1947 and in appendices VI-X to it. In October 1954, Italy, Great Britain, the United States and Yugoslavia initialed the text of the Memorandum of Understanding, on the basis of which Italy received possession of zone A (Trieste and the surrounding area), with the exception of a small part of the territory assigned to zone B, which remained in Yugoslavia.

The status of Jerusalem was determined by General Assembly resolution No. 181/11 of November 23, 1947 (this resolution did not enter into force)2.

The scope of the international legal personality of free cities was determined by international agreements and constitutions of such cities. The latter were not states or trust territories, but occupied a kind of intermediate position. Free cities did not have complete self-government. At the same time, they were subject only to international law. Special citizenship was created for residents of free cities. Many cities had the right to conclude international treaties and join intergovernmental organizations. The guarantors of the status of free cities were either a group of states or international organizations (League of Nations, UN, etc.). An integral feature of a free city is its demilitarization and neutralization.

West Berlin had a special international legal status. After the end of World War II, as a result of the split of Germany, two sovereign states were formed: federal Republic Germany and the German Democratic Republic, as well as the special political-territorial unit of West Berlin. The government of the USSR, in agreement with the government of the GDR, in 1958 proposed to give West Berlin, located on the territory of the GDR, the status of a demilitarized free city capable of carrying out international functions under guarantees from four powers: Great Britain, the USSR, the USA and France

The international legal status of West Berlin was determined by the Quadripartite Agreement signed by the governments of Great Britain, the USSR, the USA and France on September 3, 1971. In accordance with this document, West Berlin had a unique international legal status. The state-political structure of West Berlin was determined by the Constitution, which came into force on October 1, 1950. International legal personality West Berlin was of a limited nature. The city had its own diplomatic and consular corps, accredited to the relevant authorities of the governments of the USA, Great Britain and France. The USSR, with the consent of the governments of these countries, established the Consulate General. West Berlin had the right to participate in international negotiations, enter into agreements regarding communications, the telegraph, regulate the travel of permanent residents to various areas of the GDR, etc. The Federal Republic of Germany represented the western sectors of Berlin in international organizations and conferences. The special status of West Berlin was revoked in 1990. In accordance with the Treaty on the Final Settlement regarding Germany of September 12, 1990, a united Germany includes the territories of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany and all of Berlin. Vatican. In 1929, on the basis of the Lateran Treaty, signed by the papal representative Gaspari and the head of the Italian government, Mussolini, the “state” of Vatican City was artificially created (the treaty was revised in 1984). The creation of the Vatican was dictated by the desire Italian fascism in its internal and foreign policy enlist the active support of the Catholic Church. The preamble of the Lateran Treaty defines the international legal status of the state of “Vatican City” as follows: in order to ensure absolute and clear independence of the Holy See, guaranteeing indisputable sovereignty in the international arena, the need to create the “state” of Vatican City was identified, recognizing its full ownership in relation to the Holy See , exclusive and absolute power and sovereign jurisdiction. the main objective The Vatican - to create conditions for independent rule for the head of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Vatican is an independent international personality. It maintains external relations with many states and establishes its permanent missions (embassies) in these states, headed by papal nuncios or internuncios (Article 14 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961). Vatican delegations participate in the work international organizations and conferences. It is a member of a number of intergovernmental organizations (IAEA, ITU, UPU, etc.), and has permanent observers at the UN, FAO, UNESCO and other organizations. According to the Basic Law (Constitution) of the Vatican, the right to represent the state belongs to the head of the Catholic Church - the pope. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish agreements concluded by the pope as the head of the church on church affairs (concordats) from secular agreements that he concludes on behalf of the Vatican State.

The Vatican (Holy See) is a state-like entity.

The Vatican State is a special entity created in accordance with the Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Holy See of February 11, 1929 and endowed with certain features of statehood, which means a purely formal expression of the autonomy and independence of the Vatican in world affairs.

It is now generally accepted that the Holy See is a subject of international law. It received such recognition from the international community due to its international authority as an independent leadership center of the Catholic Church, uniting all Catholics of the world and actively participating in world politics.

It is with the Vatican (Holy See), and not with the Vatican City State, that 165 countries of the world maintain diplomatic and official relations, including Russian Federation(since 1990) and almost all CIS countries. The Vatican participates in many bilateral and multilateral international agreements. Has official observer status at the UN, UNESCO, FAO, and is a member of the OSCE. The Vatican concludes special international treaties - concordats, which regulate the relationship of the Catholic Church with government authorities, has ambassadors in many countries called nuncios.

In the international legal literature one can find the statement that the Sovereign Military Order of St. has a certain international legal personality. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta (Order of Malta).

After the loss of territorial sovereignty and statehood on the island of Malta in 1798, the Order, reorganized with the support of Russia, settled in Italy in 1844, where its rights as a sovereign entity and international legal personality were confirmed. Currently, the Order maintains official and diplomatic relations with 81 states, including Russia, is represented as an observer at the UN, and also has official representatives at UNESCO, FAO, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Council of Europe.

The headquarters of the Order in Rome enjoys immunity, and the head of the Order, the Grand Master, has the immunities and privileges inherent in the head of state.

However, the Order of Malta is, in essence, an international non-governmental organization engaged in charitable activities. The preservation of the term “sovereign” in the name of the Order is a historical anachronism, since only the state has the property of sovereignty. Rather, this term in the name of the Order of Malta, from the point of view of modern international legal science, means “independent” rather than “sovereign”.

Therefore, the Order of Malta is not considered a subject of international law, despite such attributes of statehood as maintaining diplomatic relations and possessing immunities and privileges.

The history of international relations also knows other state-like entities that had internal self-government and some rights in the field of international relations.

Most often, such formations are temporary in nature and arise as a consequence of the unsettled territorial claims of various countries against each other.

This is the category that historically belonged to Free City of Krakow(1815-1846), Free State Danzig (now Gdansk)(1920-1939), and in the post-war period Free Territory of Trieste(1947-1954) and, to a certain extent, West Berlin, which enjoyed a special status established in 1971 by a quadripartite agreement between the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France. A regime close to the status of a “free city” existed in Tangier ( 1923-1940 and 1945-1956), in Saare(1919-1935 and 1945-1955), and was also provided on the basis UN General Assembly resolution of November 26, 1947 for Jerusalem.

What is common to political-territorial entities of this kind is that in almost all cases they were created on the basis of international agreements.

Such agreements provided for an independent constitutional structure, a system of government bodies, the right to issue regulations, and have limited armed forces.

The international regime established in relation to the “free cities” and similar political-territorial entities, in most cases, provided for their demilitarization and neutralization. The guarantors of compliance with their international regime were either international organizations (League of Nations, UN) or individual interested countries.

In essence, these entities were “special international territories”, which later became part of the respective states. Since treaties and other acts did not provide for the endowment of these entities with international legal personality, they were represented in the international arena by certain states.

A state-like formation is a rather complex and exceptional phenomenon of an international legal nature, still poorly studied by the domestic science of international law. The educational literature contains very little information about this unique phenomenon, and specialized literature only touches on certain aspects of individual state-like entities. There are no separate monographic or dissertation works devoted to the concept, international legal personality and other issues of the status of state-like entities in Russia.

International relations may involve special political-territorial entities (sometimes called state-like entities), which have internal self-government and, to varying degrees, international legal personality.

Most often, such formations are temporary in nature and arise as a consequence of the unsettled territorial claims of various countries against each other.

What is common to political-territorial entities of this kind is that in almost all cases they were created on the basis of international agreements, usually peace treaties. Such agreements endowed them with a certain international legal personality, provided for an independent constitutional structure, a system of government bodies, the right to issue regulations, and have limited armed forces.

These, in particular, are the free cities and the Vatican.

A free city is a city-state that has internal self-government and some international legal personality. One of the first such cities was Veliky Novgorod. The free cities also included the Hanseatic cities (the Hanseatic League included Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock, Danzig, Riga, Dorpat, Revel, Amsterdam, Koenigsberg, Kiel, Stralsund, etc. - 50 cities in total).

In the 19th and 20th centuries. the status of free cities was determined by international legal acts or resolutions of the League of Nations and the UN General Assembly and other organizations. For example, the status of Krakow was established in Art. 4 of the Russian-Austrian Treaty, in Art. 2 Russian-Prussian treaty, in the additional Austro-Russian-Prussian treaty of May 3, 1815; in Art. 6-10 of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna of June 9, 1815; in the Constitution of the Free City of 1815/1833. Subsequently, by the treaty of November 6, 1846, concluded by Austria, Prussia and Russia, the status of Krakow was changed and it became part of Austria.

The status of the Free City of Danzig (currently Gdansk) was determined in Art. 100-108 of the Versailles Peace Treaty of June 28, 1919, in the Polish-Danzig Convention of November 9, 1920 and in a number of other agreements (for example, in the agreement of October 24, 1921 and in the decisions of the High Commissioner of the League of Nations, subsequently recognized Polish government).

The scope of the international legal personality of free cities was determined by international agreements and constitutions of such cities. The latter were not states or trust territories, but occupied a kind of intermediate position. Free cities did not have complete self-government. At the same time, they were subject only to international law. Special citizenship was created for residents of free cities. Many cities had the right to conclude international treaties and join intergovernmental organizations. The guarantors of the status of free cities were either a group of states or international organizations (League of Nations, UN, etc.). An integral feature of a free city is its demilitarization and neutralization.

West Berlin had a special international legal status. After the end of the Second World War, as a result of the split of Germany, two sovereign states were formed: the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, as well as a special political-territorial unit - West Berlin.

The government of the USSR, in agreement with the government of the GDR, in 1958 proposed to give West Berlin, located on the territory of the GDR, the status of a demilitarized free city, capable of carrying out international functions under guarantees from four powers: Great Britain, the USSR, the USA and France.

The international legal status of West Berlin was determined by the Quadripartite Agreement signed by the governments of Great Britain, the USSR, the USA and France on September 3, 1971. In accordance with this document, West Berlin had a unique international legal status. The state-political structure of West Berlin was determined by the Constitution, which came into force on October 1, 1950. The international legal personality of West Berlin was limited. The city had its own diplomatic and consular corps, accredited to the relevant authorities of the governments of the USA, Great Britain and France. The USSR, with the consent of the governments of these countries, established the Consulate General. West Berlin had the right to participate in international negotiations, enter into agreements regarding communications, telegraph, regulate the travel of permanent residents to various areas of the GDR, etc. Germany represented the western sectors of Berlin in international organizations and conferences.

The special status of West Berlin was revoked in 1990. In accordance with the Treaty on the Final Settlement regarding Germany of September 12, 1990, a united Germany includes the territories of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany and all of Berlin.

Vatican. In 1929, on the basis of the Lateran Treaty, signed by the papal representative Gaspari and the head of the Italian government, Mussolini, the “state” of Vatican City was artificially created (the treaty was revised in 1984). The creation of the Vatican was dictated by the desire of Italian fascism in its domestic and foreign policy to enlist the active support of the Catholic Church. The preamble of the Lateran Treaty defines the international legal status of the state of “Vatican City” as follows: in order to ensure absolute and clear independence of the Holy See, guaranteeing indisputable sovereignty in the international arena, the need to create the “state” of Vatican City was identified, recognizing its full ownership in relation to the Holy See , exclusive and absolute power and sovereign jurisdiction.

The main goal of the Vatican is to create conditions for independent rule for the head of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Vatican is an independent international personality. It maintains external relations with many states and establishes its permanent missions (embassies) in these states, headed by papal nuncios or internuncios (Article 14 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961). Vatican delegations participate in the work of international organizations and conferences. It is a member of a number of intergovernmental organizations (IAEA, ITU, UPU, etc.), and has permanent observers at the UN, JSC, UNESCO and other organizations.

At the same time, the Vatican is not a state in the social sense as a mechanism for managing a certain society, generated by it and representing it. Rather, it can be considered as the administrative center of the Catholic Church.

According to the Basic Law (Constitution) of the Vatican, the right to represent the state belongs to the head of the Catholic Church - the pope. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish agreements concluded by the pope as the head of the church on church affairs (concordats) from secular agreements that he concludes on behalf of the Vatican State.