Declarative theory of statehood

Declarative theory of statehood

The declarative theory of statehood defines a state as a person of international law that meets certain structural criteria.

A document that is often quoted on the matter to is the Montevideo Convention (1933), Article 1 of which states:

:"The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states."

Article 3 of the Convention declares that statehood is independent of recognition by other states. In contrast, recognition is considered a requirement for statehood by the constitutive theory of statehood.

A similar opinion about "the conditions on which an entity constitutes a state" is expressed by the European Economic Community "Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee". The Committee found that a state was defined by having a territory, a population, and a political authority. The committee also found that the existence and disappearance of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory.

ee also

*Sovereignty
*Diplomatic recognition
*List of unrecognized countries
*Constitutive theory of statehood

External links

* [http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/3/1/178 Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee] at the "European Journal of International Law"
* [http://www.burneylawfirm.com/international_law_primer.htm A Brief Primer on International Law] With cases and commentary. Nathaniel Burney, 2007.
* [http://www.un.org. Official United Nations website]
* [http://www.un.org/law. Official UN website on International Law]
* [http://www.icj-cij.org/. Official website of the International Court of Justice]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Constitutive theory of statehood — The constitutive theory of statehood defines a state as a person of international law if, and only if, it is recognized as sovereign by other states. It is the opposing point of view to the declarative theory of statehood, which defines statehood …   Wikipedia

  • List of sovereign states — List of nations and List of countries redirect here. For other country lists, see Lists of countries and territories. For other national lists, see Lists of nations. For non sovereign dependencies, see Dependent territory. This is a list of… …   Wikipedia

  • Montevideo Convention — The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States was a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, during the Seventh International Conference of American States. The Convention codified the declarative theory of… …   Wikipedia

  • Užupis — is a district of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, partially located in the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its name means on the other side of a river ; that river is the Vilnia River which gave Vilnius its name. The region has been… …   Wikipedia

  • Micronation — This article is about entities that are not officially recognized by world governments or major international organisations. For information on countries that are generally recognized but geographically small, see microstate. The Principality of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of European countries — This is a list of countries in Europe with their English and domestic language long and short names and associated capital cities.The divisions between Asia and Europe occur at the Ural Mountains, Ural River and Caspian Sea in the east, the… …   Wikipedia

  • Diplomatic recognition — in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also an unrecognised state).… …   Wikipedia

  • Recognition of states approach — A recognition of states approach, also known as the Estrada doctrine, is a development on the earlier recognition of governments approach whereby a government would recognize another governments. This caused political problems following an… …   Wikipedia

  • List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe — The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty sovereign states are listed with territory in Europe and/or membership in international European… …   Wikipedia

  • Irish Declaration of Independence — The Declaration of Independence (Irish: Forógra na Saoirse, French: Déclaration d Indépendance) was a document adopted by Dáil Éireann, the revolutionary parliament of the Irish Republic, at its first meeting in the Mansion House, Dublin, on 21… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”