Text 1. Subjects of international law

Traditionally, states were the main subject of international law. Increasingly, individuals and non-state international organizations have also become subject to international regulation.

The law of nations is a part of the law of the United States unless there is some statute or treaty to the contrary. International law is a part of the law of the United States only for the application of its principles on questions of international rights and duties. It does not restrict the United States or any other nation from making laws governing its own territory. A State of the United States is not a "state" under international law, since the Constitution does not vest it with a capacity to conduct foreign relations.

International law imposes upon the nations certain duties with respect to individuals. It is a violation of international law to treat an alien in a manner which does not satisfy the international standard of justice. However in the absence of a specific agreement an individual cannot bring the compliant. Only the state of which he is a national can complain of such a violation before an international tribunal. The state of nationality usually is not obligated to exercise this right and can decide whether to enforce it.

International organizations play increasingly important role in the relationships between nations. An international organization is one that created by international agreement or which has membership consisting primary of nations. To vitalize the status of international organization of which United States is a member and facilitate their activities Congress has enacted the International Organization Immunities Act, which among other provisions defines the capacity of such organizations.

The United Nations, the most influential among international organizations, was created on June 26, 1945. The declared purposes of United Nations are to maintain peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems, and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of the nations and attaining their common ends. The Charter of the United Nations has been adhered to by virtually all states. Even the few remaining non-member states have acquiesced in the principles it established. The International Court of Justice is established by the UN Charter as its principal judicial organ.

TEXT 2. THE HOLY SEE

"When I request an audience from the Vatican, I do not go to see the King of Vatican City, but the head of the Catholic Church." This statement by Dag Hammarskjold, Secretary-General of the United Nations between 1953 and 1961, describes the paradox of the relationship among the Holy See, the Vatican, and the Catholic Church. The Roman Pontiff, supreme head of the Catholic Church, has occupied a position of high political authority since the Middle Ages and, through the vicissitudes leading to the end of the "universal" rule of the Holy Roman Empire and the gradual formation of a community of sovereign entities, has acquired a status equal to that of a head of state.

Part of the confusion stems from the fact that the Pontiff has, for most of the existence of the Holy See, ruled the Papal States [5] situated in central Italy. Only for a certain period after 1808, and then again between 1870 and 1929, did the Pontiff have no jurisdiction over any territory at all. Following the signature of the Lateran Treaty [6], the Pontiff now rules the Vatican City. But these changes in territorial control have not affected in any sense the international personality of the Holy See. After the conquest of the Papal States by Napoleon in 1808, a concordat - a real international agreement between sovereign subjects - was signed by Napoleon and the Pope, ensuring the exercise of the activities of the Pontiff "in the same forms of his predecessors," as well as the right to receive and appoint ambassadors. Even after the conquest of Rome by the Italian state in 1870, the Holy See continued to maintain its activities and relations with other subjects of international law as if nothing had changed.

The Holy See is currently party to various conventions, including the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field of 1864, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989, and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Holy See is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization, a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and has the status of the only "Non-member State Permanent Observer to the United Nations." These facts show that, regardless of the doctrinal differences and theories, the Holy See - though not a state under the definition of the Montevideo Convention - is considered, in essence, an equal to states - par inter pares [7].

The Holy See is the government of the Church and, de facto [8], also of the minuscule city of the Vatican; there is no reason to create complex theories on the relationship among these three bodies. The Vatican City lacks independence and is an entity governed by the Holy See: it is therefore not a subject of international law. It is true that, on some occasions, the Holy See prefers to deal with certain matters of its own through the Vatican state. But if one is to go beyond mere appearances, it is evident that the real subject on the international plane is the Holy See, which effectively controls the Vatican City (a mere territorial administration) and the Catholic Church (the world-wide network of persons and institutions). An example clarifies this apparent confusion. In 1993, the Holy See and Israel signed a treaty which, in addition to mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations, relates to the regime of the Catholic Church on Israeli territory. Article 1.2 of the treaty states "[t]he Holy See... affirms the Catholic Church's commitment to uphold the human right to freedom of religion and conscience, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other international instruments to which it [the Holy See] is a party." Thus, the parties agreed that the Holy See was the subject of international law capable of assuming binding obligations on behalf of the Catholic Church.

The Holy See, in sum, is a subject of international law equal to states, even if it does not possess the traditional elements of statehood. It is the same subject as the Holy See before 1808, the same subject as that which existed between the fall of Napoleon and 1870, and the same subject as that which existed between 1870 and 1929. Changes in territory and population have not affected its nature as a sovereign subject. Currently, the expression "Holy See" is used to define the government of the Vatican. Should the Holy See once again lose its territorial basis, however, it would still remain a subject of international law in its own right.