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. Educational literature contains very little information about this unique phenomenon, and specialized literature only touches on certain aspects of individual state-like entities. Separate monographic or dissertation works devoted to the concept, international legal personality and other issues of the status of state-like entities in Russia do not.

Special political-territorial formations (sometimes they are called state-like) can participate in international relations, which have internal self-government and, to various extents, international legal personality.

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

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

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

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

In the XIX and XX 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, June 9, 1815; in the Free City Constitution of 1815/1833. Subsequently, by an agreement 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 (now Gdansk) was defined 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 volume of international legal personality of free cities was determined international agreements and the constitutions of such cities. The latter were not states or trust territories, but occupied, as it were, an intermediate position. Free cities did not have full self-government. However, they were subject only to international law. For residents of free cities, a special citizenship was created. 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 (the League of Nations, the 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 the guarantee 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 entered into force on October 1, 1950. The international legal personality of West Berlin was of a limited nature. The city had its own diplomatic and consular corps, accredited to the respective authorities of the US, British and French governments. 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, to conclude agreements concerning communications, the telegraph, to regulate the travel of permanent residents to various regions of the GDR, and so on. Germany represented the western sectors of Berlin in international organizations and conferences.

The special status of West Berlin was canceled in 1990. In accordance with the Treaty on the final settlement with respect to Germany of September 12, 1990, the united Germany includes the territories of the GDR, the FRG 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 the Vatican was artificially created (the treaty was revised in 1984). The creation of the Vatican was dictated by the desire of Italian fascism in its internal and foreign policy get active support catholic church. The preamble to the Lateran Treaty defines the international legal status of the state "Vatican City" as follows: in order to ensure the absolute and explicit independence of the Holy See, which guarantees indisputable sovereignty in the international arena, the need to create a "state" of the Vatican was revealed, 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 government for the head of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Vatican is an independent international personality. He maintains external relations with many states, establishes his permanent missions (embassies) in these states, headed by papal nuncios or internuncios (Article 14 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961). Delegations from the Vatican take part in the work international organizations and conferences. It is a member of a number of intergovernmental organizations (IAEA, ITU, UPU, etc.), 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 seen 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 between the agreements concluded by the pope as the head of the church on church affairs (concordats), from the secular agreements that he concludes on behalf of the state of the Vatican.

State-like entities have territory, sovereignty, have their own citizenship, legislative assembly, government, international treaties. These, in particular, are free cities, the Vatican and the Order of Malta.

free city is called a city-state with internal self-government and some international legal personality. One of the first such cities was Veliky Novgorod. 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.

The scope of 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, as it were, an intermediate position. Free cities did not have full self-government. However, they were subject only to international law. For residents of free cities, a special citizenship was created. Many cities had the right to conclude international treaties and join international organizations. The guarantors of the status of free cities were either a group of states or international organizations.

This category historically included the Free City of Krakow (1815-1846), the Free State of Danzig (now Gdansk) (1920-1939), and in the post-war period the Free Territory of Trieste (1947-1954) and, to a certain extent, West Berlin, which enjoyed a special status established in 1971 by the Quadripartite Agreement of the USSR, USA, Great Britain, France.

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 the Vatican was artificially created. The preamble to the Lateran Treaty defines the international legal status of the state "Vatican City" as follows: in order to ensure the absolute and explicit independence of the Holy See, which guarantees indisputable sovereignty in the international arena, the need to create a "state" of the Vatican was revealed, 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 government 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, establishes its permanent representations (embassies) in these states, headed by papal nuncios or internuncios. Delegations of the Vatican participate in the work of international organizations and conferences. It is a member of a number of intergovernmental organizations, has permanent observers at the UN 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 between the agreements concluded by the pope as the head of the Catholic Church on church affairs (concordats), from the secular agreements that he concludes on behalf of the state of the Vatican.

Order of Malta. Official name- Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and 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 from 1834, where the rights of sovereign formation and international legal personality were confirmed to it. Currently, the Order maintains official and diplomatic relations with 81 states, including Russia, is represented by an observer in the UN, and also has its official representatives at UNESCO, the ICRC 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.

6. Recognition of states: concept, grounds, forms and types.

International legal recognition- this is an act of the state, which states the emergence of a new subject of international law and with which this subject considers it appropriate to establish diplomatic and other relations based on international law.

Recognition usually takes the form of a state or group of states addressing the government of the emerging state and declaring the extent and nature of its relationship with the newly emerged state. Such a statement, as a rule, is accompanied by an expression of a desire to establish diplomatic relations with the recognized state and to exchange representations.

Recognition does not create a new subject of international law. It can be complete, final and official. This type of recognition is called de jure recognition. Inconclusive recognition is called de facto.

De facto (actual) recognition takes place in cases where the recognizing state does not have confidence in the strength of the recognized subject of international law, and also when it (the subject) considers itself a temporary entity. This type of recognition can be implemented, for example, through the participation of recognized entities in international conferences, multilateral treaties, international organizations. De facto recognition, as a rule, does not entail the establishment of diplomatic relations. Trade, financial and other relations are established between states, but there is no exchange of diplomatic missions.

De jure (official) recognition is expressed in official acts, such as resolutions of intergovernmental organizations, final documents of international conferences, government statements, etc. This type of recognition is realized, as a rule, through the establishment of diplomatic relations, the conclusion of agreements on political, economic, cultural and other issues.

Ad-hock recognition is temporary or one-time recognition, recognition for a given occasion, a given purpose.

The grounds for the formation of a new state, which will subsequently be recognized, may be as follows: a) a social revolution that led to the replacement of one social order others; b) the formation of states in the course of the national liberation struggle, when the peoples of the former colonial and dependent countries created independent states; c) the merger of two or more states or the separation of one state into two or more.

The recognition of a new State shall not affect the rights acquired by it prior to its recognition by virtue of the laws in force. In other words, the legal consequence of international recognition is the recognition of legal force behind the laws and regulations of the recognized state.

Recognition comes from an authority competent under public law to declare recognition of the state concerned.

Types of recognition: recognition of governments, recognition as a belligerent and rebellion.

Recognition is usually addressed to the newly emerged state. But recognition can also be granted to the government of a state when it comes to power in an unconstitutional way - as a result of civil war, coup, etc. There are no established criteria for recognizing such governments. It is usually assumed that the recognition of the government is justified if it effectively exercises power on the territory of the state, controls the situation in the country, pursues a policy of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, respects the rights of foreigners, expresses readiness for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, if any takes place inside country, and declares its readiness to comply with international obligations.

Recognition as a belligerent and rebellion is, as it were, a preliminary recognition aimed at establishing contacts with a recognized subject. This recognition assumes that the recognizing state proceeds from the existence of a state of war and considers it necessary to observe the rules of neutrality in relation to the belligerents.

7. Succession of states: concept, sources and types.

International succession there is a transfer of rights and obligations from one subject of international law to another as a result of the emergence or cessation of the existence of a state or a change in its territory.

The question of succession arises in the following cases: a) in case of territorial changes - the disintegration of the state into two or more states; the merger of states or the entry of the territory of one state into another; b) when social revolutions; c) in determining the provisions of the mother countries and the formation of new independent states.

The successor State inherits essentially all the international rights and obligations of its predecessors. Of course, third states also inherit these rights and obligations.

Currently, the main issues of State succession are settled in two universal treaties: the Vienna Convention on the Succession of States in respect of Treaties of 1978 and the Vienna Convention on the Succession of States in respect of State Property, state archives and government debts in 1983

Issues of succession of other subjects of international law are not regulated in detail. They are permitted on the basis of special agreements.

Types of succession:

Succession of states in relation to international treaties;

Succession in relation to state property;

Succession to State Archives;

Succession in respect of public debts.

Succession of States in relation to international treaties. According to Art. 17 of the 1978 Convention, a newly independent State may, by notification of succession, establish its status as a party to any multilateral treaty which, at the time of the succession of States, was in force in respect of the territory that was the object of the succession of States. This requirement shall not apply if it is clear from the treaty or otherwise established that the application of that treaty to a newly independent state would be inconsistent with the object and purpose of that treaty or would fundamentally change the terms of its operation. If the participation in a multilateral treaty of any other state requires the consent of all its participants, then the newly independent state can establish its status as a party to this treaty only with such consent.

By making a notification of succession, the newly independent State may - if permitted by the treaty - express its consent to be bound by only part of the treaty or choose between its various provisions.

Notice of succession to a multilateral treaty shall be made in writing.

A bilateral treaty that is the subject of a succession of states is considered to be in force between a newly independent state and another participating state when: (a) they have expressly agreed to do so, or (b) by virtue of their conduct, they must be deemed to have so agreed.

Succession to state property. The transfer of state property of the predecessor state entails the termination of the rights of this state and the emergence of the rights of the successor state to state property, which passes to the successor state. The date of transfer of state property of the predecessor state is the moment of succession of the state. As a rule, the transfer of state property occurs without compensation.

According to Art. 14 of the 1983 Vienna Convention, in the event of the transfer of a part of the territory of a state to another state, the transfer of state property from the predecessor state to the successor state is governed by an agreement between them. In the absence of such an agreement, the transfer of part of the territory of a State can be resolved in two ways: a) the immovable State property of the predecessor State located in the territory that is the object of the succession of States passes to the successor State; b) movable state property of the predecessor state connected with the activities of the predecessor state in relation to the territory that is the object of succession passes to the successor state.

When two or more states unite and thereby form one successor state, the state property of the predecessor states passes to the successor state.

If the state is divided and ceases to exist and parts of the territory of the predecessor state form two or more successor states, the immovable state property of the predecessor state shall pass to the successor state in whose territory it is located. If the immovable property of the predecessor state is located outside its territory, then it passes to the successor states in fair shares. The movable State property of the predecessor State connected with the activities of the predecessor State in respect of the territories that are the object of the succession of States shall pass to the respective successor State. Other movable property shall pass to the successor states in fair shares.

Succession to State Archives. According to Art. 20 of the 1983 Vienna Convention, "Public archives of the predecessor State" is a collection of documents of any age and kind, produced or acquired by the predecessor State in the course of its activities, which at the time of the succession of the state belonged to the predecessor State in accordance with its internal law and were kept by it directly or under his control as archives for various purposes.

The date of transition of the state archives of the predecessor state is the moment of succession of states. The transfer of state archives takes place without compensation.

The predecessor state is under an obligation to take all measures to prevent damage to or destruction of state archives.

When the successor state is a newly independent state, the archives belonging to the territory that is the object of the succession of states shall pass to the new independent state.

If two or more states merge and form one successor state, the state archives of the predecessor states shall pass to the successor state.

In the event of a division of a State into two or more successor States, and unless the respective successor States agree otherwise, part of the State archives located on the territory of that successor State shall pass to that successor State.

Succession in respect of public debts. Public debt means any financial liability predecessor state in relation to another state, international organization or any other subject of international law, which has arisen in accordance with international law. The date of transition of debts is the moment of succession of states.

When part of the territory of a state is transferred by that state to another state, the transfer of the public debt of the predecessor state to the successor state is governed by an agreement between them. In the absence of such an agreement, the public debt of the predecessor State passes to the successor State in an equitable share, taking into account, in particular, the property, rights and interests that pass to the successor State in connection with this public debt.

If the successor state is a newly independent state, no national debt of the predecessor state shall pass to the new independent state, unless an agreement between them provides otherwise.

When two or more states merge and thereby form one successor state, the public debt of the predecessor states passes to the successor state.

If, on the other hand, a State is divided and ceases to exist, and parts of the territory of the predecessor State form two or more successor States, and unless the successor States otherwise agree, the public debt of the predecessor State shall pass to the successor States in equitable shares, taking into account, in particular, , property, rights and interests that pass to the successor state in connection with the surrendered public debt.

The state becomes the subject of the MT from the moment of its inception (ipso facto - by virtue of the fact of its existence).

Features of the state as a subject of MP:

1) sovereignty, there are no absolutely sovereign states;

2) immunity - withdrawal from jurisdiction, extends to the state, its bodies, state property, officials abroad. The state itself decides the issue of the scope of immunity, may refuse in whole or in some part.

Concepts:

Absolute immunity - extends to all actions of the state;

Relative immunity - only for those actions that the state carries out as a sovereign, as a bearer of power. When the state acts as a private person, then immunity does not apply (USA, South Africa, Singapore, UK). There are a number of international treaties adhering to this concept: the European Convention on State Immunity, the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Concerning the Immunity of Merchant Ships.

Types of immunities:

a) Judicial immunity - the lack of jurisdiction of one state to another without its consent; prohibition of application of measures to secure a claim, prohibition of enforcement judgment;

b) Immunity of state property - inviolability of property, prohibition of seizure, arrest, foreclosure;

c) Fiscal (tax) - the activities of the state abroad are not subject to taxes, fees, except for those that represent a fee for any service.

3) population - all persons who live in the territory and the state and are subject to its jurisdiction.

4) territory - in the MP is considered as part of the geographical space, the significance of the state territory: the material basis for the existence of the population; scope of state law. The state territory includes land, subsoil, water space ( inland waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea), airspace over land and water. The limits are delineated by state borders. There are state territories with international regimes, for example Svalbard - the territory of Norway.

5) the presence of a system of bodies responsible for the international relations of the state (foreign relations bodies).

Bodies of external relations:

a) domestic:

Provided by the constitution of the state: head of state, parliament, government;

States not provided for by the constitution: department of foreign affairs, other bodies (for example, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations), bodies created to fulfill certain international obligations - for example, the NCB of Interpol;

b) foreign:

Permanent: diplomatic missions, consular offices, trade and other special missions (for example, tourist ones), missions to international organizations (permanent missions or observer missions);

Temporary: special missions, delegations to conferences, meetings.

A special question of the MP is whether the members of federal states are subjects of the MP? in particular, are they subjects of the Russian Federation?

An analysis of Russian legislation (Federal Law “On International Treaties of the Russian Federation”, “On the Coordination of International and Foreign Economic Relations of the Subjects of the Russian Federation”) allows us to draw a number of conclusions:

Subjects of the Russian Federation may conclude international agreements, but these agreements are not international treaties; and these agreements may not be entered into without the permission of the Federation.

The federation agrees an international treaty with a subject of the Russian Federation if the treaty affects the territory of the subject, but the subject does not have the right of veto.

Subjects may be members of international organizations, but only those that allow membership of non-sovereign entities.

Thus, the subjects of the Russian Federation are not subjects of the MP.

35. State-like formations are subjects of international law.

State-like formations- derived subjects of international law. This term is a generalized concept, since it applies not only to cities, but also to certain areas. G.p.o. are created on the basis of an international treaty or a decision of an international organization and represent a kind of state with limited legal capacity. They have their own constitution or act of a similar nature, supreme government bodies, citizenship. G.p.o. is, as a rule, demilitarized and neutralized. There are political-territorial (Danzig, Gdansk, West Berlin) and religious-territorial state-like formations (Vatican, Order of Malta). Currently, there are only religious-territorial state-like entities. Such entities have territory, sovereignty; have their own citizenship, legislative assembly, government, international treaties. Most often, such formations are temporary in nature and arise as a result of the unsettled territorial claims of various countries to each other.

The common thing for political-territorial formations of this kind is that in almost all cases they were created on the basis of international agreements, as a rule, 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 normative acts, and have limited armed forces 1 .

Ö These are free cities in the past (Venice, Novgorod, Hamburg, etc.) or in modern times (Danzig).

Ö West Berlin had a special status after the Second World War (before German reunification in 1990).

Ö State-like subjects of international law include Vatican. This is the administrative center of the Catholic Church, headed by the Pope, "state-city" within the Italian capital - Rome. The Vatican has diplomatic relations with many states in various parts world (including with Russia), permanent observers to the UN and some other international organizations, takes part in international conferences of states. Legal status The Vatican is defined by special agreements with Italy in 1984.

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

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

Free cities. A free city is a state-city that has internal self-government and some international legal personality. One of the first such cities was Veliky Novgorod. The Hanseatic cities were also among the free cities (the Hanseatic League included Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Rostock, Danzig, Riga, Derpt, Revel, Amsterdam, Koenigsberg, Kiel, Stralsund and others - a total of 50 cities). In the XIX and XX 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, 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, June 9, 1815; in the Free City Constitution of 1815/1833. Subsequently, by an agreement 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 (now Gdansk) was defined 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 sect. III part 2 of the Peace Treaty with Italy in 1947 and in annexes VI-X to it. In October 1954, Italy, Great Britain, the USA and Yugoslavia initialed the text of the Memorandum of Understanding, on the basis of which Italy received the possession of zone A (Trieste with its environs), 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 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, as it were, an intermediate position. Free cities did not have full self-government. However, they were subject only to international law. For residents of free cities, a special citizenship was created. 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 (the League of Nations, the 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: the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, as well as a 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 exercising international functions under a guarantee 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 entered into force on October 1, 1950. The international legal personality of West Berlin was of a limited nature. The city had its own diplomatic and consular corps, accredited to the respective authorities of the US, British and French governments. 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, conclude agreements on communications, telegraph, regulate the travel of permanent residents to various areas of the GDR, etc. The FRG represented the western sectors of Berlin in international organizations and conferences. The special status of West Berlin was canceled in 1990. In accordance with the Treaty on the final settlement with respect to Germany of September 12, 1990, the united Germany includes the territories of the GDR, the FRG 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 the Vatican 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 to the Lateran Treaty defines the international legal status of the state "Vatican City" as follows: in order to ensure the absolute and explicit independence of the Holy See, which guarantees indisputable sovereignty in the international arena, the need to create a "state" of the Vatican was revealed, 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 government for the head of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Vatican is an independent international personality. He maintains external relations with many states, establishes his permanent missions (embassies) in these states, headed by papal nuncios or internuncios (Article 14 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961). Delegations of the Vatican participate in the work of international organizations and conferences. It is a member of a number of intergovernmental organizations (IAEA, ITU, UPU, etc.), 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 between the agreements concluded by the pope as the head of the church on church affairs (concordats), from the secular agreements that he concludes on behalf of the state of the Vatican.

State-like formations

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

Among them were the so-called. Free Cities, West Berlin. This category of entities includes the Vatican, the Order of Malta and Mount Athos. Since these formations are most like mini-states and have almost all the features of a state, they are called "state-like formations".

The legal capacity of free cities was determined by the relevant international treaties. Thus, according to the provisions of the Vienna Treaty of 1815, Krakow was declared a free city (1815-1846). 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 provided, which, however, was never created.

West Berlin (1971-1990) had a special status granted by the quadripartite agreement on West Berlin in 1971. In accordance with this agreement, the western sectors of Berlin were united into a special political entity with their own authorities (the Senate, the prosecutor's office, the court, etc.), to which some of the powers were transferred, for example, the issuance 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 were represented and defended by consular officials of the FRG.

Vatican- a city-state located within the capital of Italy - Rome. Here is the residence of the head of the 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 enjoys certain sovereign rights: it has its own territory, legislation, citizenship, etc. The Vatican actively participates in international relations, establishes permanent missions in other states (there is also a representative office of the Vatican in Russia), headed by papal nuncios (ambassadors), participates in international organizations, in conferences, signs international treaties, etc.

Order of Malta is a religious formation with an administrative center in Rome. The Order of Malta actively participates in international relations, concludes agreements, exchanges representations with states, has observer missions in 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 in the possession of 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 authority on Athos does not belong to the Athenian patriarch, 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. Pilgrims to visit the Holy Mount Athos need to obtain a special permit - "diamonitirion". IN last years The European Council has repeatedly demanded that the Greek government open access to Athos to everyone, including women. Orthodox Church strongly opposes this in order to preserve the traditional monastic way of life.