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 thereby 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". AT last years The European Council has repeatedly demanded that the Greek government open access to Athos to everyone, including women. The Orthodox Church strongly opposes this in order to preserve the traditional monastic way of life.

(quasi-states) are derivative subjects of international law, since, like international organizations, they are created by primary subjects - sovereign states.
By creating, states endow them with an appropriate amount of rights and obligations. This is the fundamental difference between quasi-states and the main subjects of international law. For the rest, state-like education possesses all the features inherent in a sovereign state: its own territory, state sovereignty, the highest bodies of state power, the presence of its own citizenship, as well as the ability to act as a full participant in international legal relations.
State-like formations are, as a rule, neutralized and demilitarized.
The theory of international law distinguishes the following types state-like entities:
1) political-territorial (Danzig - 1919, West Berlin - 1971).
2) religious-territorial (Vatican - 1929, Order of Malta - 1889). Currently, the subject of international law is only one religious-territorial state-like entity - the Vatican.
The Order of Malta was recognized as a sovereign military entity in 1889. Its seat is Rome (Italy). The main purpose of the Order is charity. At present, the Order has established diplomatic relations with sovereign states (104), signifying its international recognition. In addition, the Order has observer status at the UN, its own currency and citizenship. However, this is not enough. The Order has neither its territory nor its own population. From which it follows that he is not a subject of international law, and his sovereignty and ability to participate in international relations can be called a legal fiction.
The Vatican, unlike the Order of Malta, has almost all the features of a state: its own territory, population, supreme authorities and administration. The peculiarity of its status lies in the fact that the purpose of its existence is to represent the interests of the Catholic Church in the international arena, and almost the entire population is subjects of the Holy See.
The international legal personality of the Vatican was officially confirmed by the Lateran Treaty of 1929. However, long before its conclusion, the institution of the papacy received international recognition. Currently, the Holy See has established diplomatic relations with 178 sovereign states and other subjects of international law - European Union and the Order of Malta. It should be noted that the entire volume of international legal personality granted to the Vatican is exercised by the Holy See: it participates in international organizations, concludes international treaties, and establishes diplomatic relations. The Vatican itself is only the territory of the Holy See.

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 an act of a similar nature, the highest state bodies, citizenship. 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 organs government controlled, the right to issue regulations, to have a limited armed forces. These are free cities in the past (Venice, Novgorod, Hamburg, etc.) or in modern times (Danzig). West Berlin had a special status after the Second World War (before the unification of Germany in 1990).

The Order of Malta was recognized as a sovereign entity in 1889. Seat of the Order - Rome. Its official purpose is charity. It has diplomatic relations with many states. The order does not have its own territory or population. Its sovereignty and international legal personality are a legal fiction.

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. The legal status of the Vatican is determined by special agreements with Italy in 1984.

21. the issue of compliance with, application and interpretation of international treaties. invalidity of international treaties. Suspension and termination of contracts.

Each valid contract is binding on the participants. The participants must fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed under the treaty and cannot invoke the provisions of their internal law as an excuse for not fulfilling the treaty (Article 27 of the 1969 Vienna Convention

Section 2 of this part of the Convention, dealing with the application of treaties, contains Art. 28-30. The first of these establishes that treaties do not have retroactive effect, unless otherwise clear from the treaty or otherwise established. According to Art. 29, a treaty is binding on each State Party in respect of its entire territory, unless otherwise clear from the treaty or otherwise provided. Article 30 deals with the application of successive treaties relating to the same subject.

In addition, the general rule is that contracts do not have retroactive, i.e. do not apply to events that took place before the entry into force of the treaty . In addition, unless otherwise follows from the contract, it applies to all territory contracting states.

interpretation aims at clarifying the meaning of the text of the treaty, while application involves establishing the consequences for the parties, and sometimes for third states. Interpretation itself can be defined as a legal procedure that, in connection with the application of a contract to a real case, is aimed at clarifying the intentions of the parties when concluding a contract by examining the text of the contract and other relevant materials. The interpretation of an international treaty must be carried out in accordance with the basic principles of international law. It must not lead to results contrary to these principles, nor violate the sovereignty of states and their fundamental rights. The next principle is conscientious interpretation, that is, honesty, lack of desire to deceive the counterparty, the desire to establish the true meaning of the international treaty enshrined in its text.

The main object of interpretation, which is decisive, is the text of the treaty, which includes all parts of the treaty, including the preamble and, where appropriate, annexes, as well as any agreement relating to the treaty that was reached between all the parties in connection with the conclusion of the treaty, and any document drawn up by one or more of the parties in connection with the conclusion of a contract and accepted by the other parties as a document relating to the contract.

International interpretation is the interpretation of a treaty by international bodies provided for by states in the international treaty itself or authorized by them subsequently, when a dispute over interpretation has arisen, to resolve this dispute. Such bodies may be specially created commissions or an international court (arbitration). In the first case, one speaks of international administrative interpretation, in the second, of international judicial interpretation.

informal interpretation. This is the interpretation given by lawyers, legal historians, journalists, public organizations and political figures. This also includes the doctrinal interpretation given in scientific works on international law.

An authentic interpretation of an international treaty can be embodied in various forms: a special treaty or an additional protocol, an exchange of notes, etc.

An international treaty is declared null and void if:

1) it was concluded with a clear violation of internal constitutional norms regarding the competence and procedure for concluding an agreement (Article 46 of the Vienna Convention);

2) consent to an obligation under the contract was given by mistake, if the error concerns a fact or situation that existed at the conclusion of the contract and constituted an essential basis for consent to be bound by the contract (Article 48 of the Vienna Convention);

3) the state concluded the contract under the influence of fraudulent actions of another state participating in the negotiations (Article 49 of the Vienna Convention);

4) the consent of the state to be bound by the treaty was expressed as a result of direct or indirect bribery of its representative by another state participating in the negotiations (Article 50 of the Vienna Convention);

5) the representative of the state agreed to the terms of the contract under duress or threats directed against him (Article 51 of the Vienna Convention);

6) the conclusion of the treaty was the result of the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the UN Charter (Article 52 of the Vienna Convention);

7) the contract at the time of conclusion is contrary to the basic principles of international law (Article 53 of the Vienna Convention).

Distinguish types of invalidity international treaty:

1) relative - the signs are: violation of internal constitutional norms, mistake, deceit, bribery of a representative of the state;

2) absolute - the signs include: coercion of the state or its representative; the contradiction of the treaty to the basic principles or peremptory norm of general international law (jus cogens).

The termination of international treaties is the loss of its legal force. Termination of the contract is possible in the following cases:

1. When executing international treaties.

2. Upon expiration of the contract.

3. With the mutual consent of the parties.

4. When a new peremptory norm of general international law emerges.

5. Denunciation of a treaty means the lawful refusal of the state from the treaty on the terms stipulated by the agreement of the parties in the treaty itself, is carried out supreme body state authorities, with the notification of the counterparty.

6. Recognition of the treaty as invalid due to coercion of the state to sign it, deceit, error, contradiction of the treaty with the norm of jus cogeiu.

7. Termination of the existence of the state or change of its status.

9. Cancellation - recognition of the contract as invalid unilaterally. The legal grounds are: a significant violation by the counterparty of obligations under the contract, invalidity of the contract, termination of the existence of the counterparty, etc.

10. Occurrence of a resolutive condition; the contract may provide for a condition upon the occurrence of which the contract is terminated.

11. Suspension of the contract - termination of its action for a certain (indefinite) time. This is a temporary break in the operation of the contract under the influence of various circumstances. Suspension of the treaty has the following consequences (unless the parties agree otherwise):

releases participants from the obligation to comply with it during the period of suspension;

does not affect other stipulated by the contract legal relations between participants

7 question main sources of international law

Sources of international law are the forms of existence of international legal norms. Under the source of international law is understood the form of expression and consolidation of the norms of international law. A document containing a rule of law. Types of sources of international law: 1) basic: international treaties; international (international legal) customs; 2) derivatives: acts of international conferences and meetings, resolutions international organizations.(Resolutions of the UN General Assembly).

An international treaty is an agreement between states or other subjects of international law, concluded in writing, containing the mutual rights and obligations of the parties, regardless of whether they are contained in one or more documents, and also regardless of its specific name.

International custom - these are the rules of conduct as a result of repeated repetition for a long time, acquired the tacit recognition of the subjects of international law.

The acts of international conferences include an agreement as a result of the activities of a conference created specifically for the development of an international agreement of states, which was ratified and put into effect.

8. international treaty as a source of international law

The state-like formations include the Vatican (Holy See).

The State of the Vatican is a special entity created in accordance with the Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Holy See of February 11, 1929 and endowed with some 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. Such recognition from international community he received as a result of his international prestige as an independent leading center of the Catholic Church, uniting all the Catholics of the world and actively participating in world politics.

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

In the international legal literature, one can come across the assertion that the Sovereign Military Order of St. 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 from 1844, where its rights of sovereign formation and international legal personality were confirmed. 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, 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, by its very nature, 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” than “sovereign”.

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

Story international relations knows other state-like formations 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 result of the unsettled territorial claims of various countries to each other.

This category has historically been 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, the 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 of UNGA resolution of November 26, 1947 for Jerusalem.

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.

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

The international regime established for "free cities" and similar political-territorial entities, in most cases provided for their demilitarization and neutralization. Either international organizations (League of Nations, UN) or individual interested countries became guarantors of compliance with their international regime.

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

International legal personality of other participants in international relations (TNCs, INGOs, individuals, humanity), including state-like entities

Legal personality of state-like entities

In international law, in accordance with interstate treaties in the past and at present, a special international legal status is granted to some political-territorial (state-like) entities. In accordance with such international treaties, these entities are endowed with certain rights and obligations and thus become subjects of international legal regulation. Their international legal personality is determined by the fact that they are capable of exercising established legal rights and obligations independently, independently of states and other subjects of international legal communication. The relevant international legal capacity is determined by the provisions of the said treaties and, in some cases, customary law. These include:

• 1) free cities. In the past, they had a special international legal status. Thus, according to the Vienna Treaty of 1815, Krakow was proclaimed a "free, independent and completely neutralized" city (it existed until 1846). The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 established a special international legal status for the "free state" of Danzig (1920–1939). The 1947 peace treaty with Italy provided for the formation of the "Free Territory of Trieste" (practically it was not formed; parts of it became part of Italy and Yugoslavia);
• 2) West Berlin - also had a special international legal status. The main international legal act that regulated its international legal status was the quadripartite agreement between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France dated 03.09.197 i. According to the agreement, the western sectors of the city were united into a special political entity with their own authorities (the Senate, the prosecutor's office, etc.), to which part of the state powers were transferred. A number of powers were exercised by the allied authorities of the victorious powers. The interests of the city's population in international relations were represented and defended by consular officials of the FRG. The status of West Berlin ended in 1990;
• 3) Vatican - the residence of the head of the Catholic Church (the Pope) in a special area of ​​​​Rome, sometimes called the city-state. Its legal status is determined by the 1984 agreement between Italy and the "Holy See". The Vatican maintains external relations with many states, in particular with Catholic countries; he establishes his permanent representations in them, headed by papal nuncios or legates. The Vatican is involved in many international conferences and is a party to many international agreements. In addition, it is a member of a number of universal international organizations (UPU, IAEA, ITU, etc.), has permanent observers at the UN, ILO, UNESCO and some other organizations.

The problem of the international legal personality of an individual

For a long time, domestic science denied the quality of international legal personality to individuals. The situation changed during the period of "perestroika" in the USSR, when many scientists began to call for a revision of this point of view. The fact is that states, as the main subjects of international law, are increasingly creating norms aimed not only at regulating their mutual relations, but also norms addressed to other persons and entities by coordinating their wills. These norms can be addressed by INGOs, individual international bodies (commissions, committees, judicial and arbitration bodies), employees of IMGOs, i.e. individuals and entities that do not themselves have the ability to create norms of international law.

Although most of the norms aimed at influencing the legal status of the individual are directly addressed to states and oblige them to provide individuals with a certain set of rights and freedoms, in some cases related to the activities of international human rights bodies, international legal norms determine the rights and obligations of the individual directly.

Of course, the situation is more complicated with the international legal personality of individuals in relation to international documents in the field of human rights in cases where the individual cannot directly speak before international bodies.

Of course, most often the norms of international law aimed at regulating the behavior of individuals or legal entities- subjects of domestic law, act in relation to them not directly, but indirectly by the norms of national law. However, in a number of cases, rights and obligations under international law are directly vested in persons and entities that do not have the ability to create norms of international law.

In fact, the circle of persons and entities that are the subject of international law depends on what definition of the subject of international law is given. If the subjects of international law are defined as "formations independent of each other, not subordinate in the field of international relations to any political power having the legal capacity to independently exercise the rights and obligations established by international law", then individuals and legal entities, as well as INGOs, do not have the quality of international legal personality. If, however, all persons and entities are considered as subjects of international law - bearers of rights and obligations directly in force of international law, it will be necessary to recognize individuals as subjects of international law, including employees of the MMPO, a certain circle of legal entities, INGOs, and various international bodies.

Most likely, in international law we should talk about two categories of subjects. The first group includes those who have rights and obligations directly arising from the norms of international law, and are themselves directly involved in the creation of these norms, in ensuring their observance. First of all, these are states, as well as peoples and nations exercising their right to self-determination, MMPO. The second category includes individuals, INGOs, a number of international economic associations (IChO), international bodies (commissions, committees, judicial and arbitration bodies). They, having a certain rather limited range of rights and obligations under international law, do not themselves directly participate in the process of creating the norms of international law.

• International law: textbook / ed. G. I. Tunkina. M., 1982. S. 82.