how do you consider vatican city.docx

7/28/2019 How do you consider Vatican City.docx

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How do you consider Vatican City's membership status in the UN?

In 1944, the Roman Catholic Church made tentative inquiries regarding the eligibility of theVatican City to become a member state of the United Nations. Although the United Nations

does not provide the international community with a definition of the term state, it does haverequisite conditions for admission as a member. An applicant to the United Nations must: (1) bea State; (2) be peace-loving; (3) accept the obligations of the United Nations Charter; (4) beable to carry out these obligations; and (5) be willing to do so. Although the historical record isscant, there is some indication that member states viewed the Vatican City as being ineligiblefor United Nations membership Article 24 of the Lateran Agreement binds the Holy See and the

Vatican City to neutrality, and this policy of neutrality is regarded as incompatible withmembership. In fact, the Vatican City has never made a formal membership application.

The Roman Catholic Church first officially participated at the United Nations when the VaticanCity was invited to United Nations conferences through its membership in the Universal PostalUnion and the International Telecommunication Union.18 In 1957, through an exchange of

letters, the Holy See and the Secretary--General of the United Nations agreed to refer to thePapal delegation at the United Nations as the Holy See. Finally, on March 21, 1964, Pope Paul

VI established the first Holy See permanent observer mission at the United Nations. As aresult, the Holy See is regarded as a non--member state permanent observer.20 Switzerlandis the only other entity that currently maintains non--member state permanent observer status.

The status of a permanent observer places restrictions upon an entitys role at the UnitedNations, and these limitations generally vary according to the type of permanent observerstatus.21 There are no provisions in either the United Nations Charter or the Rules of Procedureof the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that specifically refer to the participation ofnon--United Nations members in ECOSOC meetings. However, non-member state observershave been invited to participate in meetings discussing matters of concern to those states.22

Since the Holy See is a permanent observer, it cannot cast a vote in the General Assembly ofthe United Nations. But permanent observers have sometimes participated, on an ad hoc basis,in General Assembly discussions and decisions.23 The Holy See has participated in the General

Assembly on several occasions. Pope Paul VI addressed that body on October 4, 1965,24 andPope John Paul II did so on October 2, 1979. In 1978, the Permanent Observer for the Holy Seeaddressed the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament.

The Holy See has also participated actively in several United Nations conferences. Its positionas a non-member state permanent observer has provided it with many advantages. Rulesregarding access to and procedure for United Nations conferences are most often determinedby the specific United Nations agency charged with organizing the meeting;25 the organizingbody can thus determine whether it will permit a permanent observer to attend. Moreover,

access to conferences convened by the General Assembly or ECOSOC is also established by theparameters set out by these United Nations agencies. Because the current United Nations trendis to provide widespread access to international conferences, participation in these meetingshas been liberally granted.26 Recent General Assembly resolutions convening world conferenceshave invited all States to participate. States invited to participate in a conference in thismanner are able to participate in full, with full voting rights, unlike the restricted manner inwhich other types of permanent observers participate.27 Because the United Nations treats the


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Holy See as a state, the Roman Catholic Church is able to participate fully and to vote in mostconferences.

In granting the Holy See a non-member state permanent observer position, the Secretary-General of the United Nations was required to consult established criteria for a non--memberstate observer delegation. These criteria were whether the state had membership in at least

one specialized agency of the United Nations and whether the state was generally recognizedby members of the United Nations.28 At the time the Holy See was admitted as a non--memberstate permanent observer, it maintained delegates at specialized agencies such as theInternational Atomic Energy Agency and the Council for Cultural Co-operation of the Council ofEurope.29 However, if general recognition is defined to mean recognition by a majority ofUnited Nations members, the Holy See may have been incorrectly allowed to obtain non--member state permanent observer status. As of January 1, 1985, the Holy See maintaineddiplomatic relations with only fifty-three countries.30 Therefore, it is unlikely that the Holy Seemaintained relations with a majority of the existing 112 member states of the United Nations atthe time its mission was established.

Conclusion

Because it is uncertain whether the Holy See or the Vatican City can be regarded as a stateunder international law, the status of the Holy See as a non-member state permanent observerin the United Nations is questionable. Moreover, there are doubts about whether, in 1964, theHoly See met the established criteria for attaining this position. If the United Nations treats theHoly See as a state with permanent observer privileges because of the Roman Catholic Churchsreligious authority, the United Nations is creating a precedent for similar claims by otherreligions. To ensure that the United Nations does not promote one particular religious view,religious entities such as the Roman Catholic Church should not be permitted to participate inthat body as non-member states.

What are the legal ramification in the international law of the status?

The international legal status of the Holy See has been subject to scrutiny ever since it lostcontrol over a specific territory3' After the annexation of the Papal States by Italy in 1870, thePope continued to conclude agreements with some nations and to accredit and receiveenvoys.32 In 1929, with the creation of the Vatican City, the Holy See once again becameassociated with the government of a territory. But this territory can be regarded as an artificialconstruct that provided the Holy See with some claim to territorial integrity. While mostinternational legal scholars would grant that the Holy See may possess a degree ofinternational personality,33 there is considerable debate as to whether such personalityamounts to statehood.

Even without an exhaustive review of international legal definitions of statehood, there areindications that the Holy See does not meet these criteria. According to the MontevideoConvention on the Rights and Duties of States: The state as a person of international lawshould 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.34 These four factual


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criteria for determining statehood are founded upon principles that have been accepted by ahost of international law scholars and are consistent with the foreign laws of some nations.35The Holy See does not satisfy this definition. Almost by definition, it does not possess a definedterritory Because the Holy See is the supreme organ of government for Catholics worldwide, itcannot be said to have a permanent population. Finally, the Holy See is itself the governmentof both the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican City It cannot therefore be regarded as anentity that possesses a government. The only characteristic of a modern state that isattributable to the Holy See is its capacity to enter into relations with other states. The Holy Seeis party to international treaties and it, rather than the Vatican City, receives foreign envoys.36

It is equally uncertain whether the Vatican City satisfies the modern definition of a nation.Although it has a permanent population, a defined territory, and a government, the VaticanCitys capacity to enter into relations with other states is difficult to assess. The Vatican City hasno foreign service of its own and no foreign ministry distinct from that of the Holy See. 37Article3 of the Constituent Laws of the Vatican City reserves to the Sovereign Pontiff, by means ofthe State Secretariat, . . . the right of representation of the Vatican State, with foreign powers,for the conclusion of treaties and for diplomatic relations.38A state wishing to enter into officialrelations only with the Vatican City would have to deal first with the Holy See. 39 There alsoappears to be no diplomatic mission accredited to the Pope solely in his capacity as a temporalsovereign of the Vatican City40Yet, at the same time, the Vatican City is a party to someinternational and bilateral agreements.

How would other states deal with the status of Vatican City and its ramification?

The Holy See has been recognised, both in state practise and in the writing of modern legal

scholars, as a subject ofpublic international law, with rights and duties analogous to those

ofStates. Although the Holy See, as distinct from the Vatican City State, does not fulfil the long-established criteria in international law ofstatehoodhaving a permanent population, a defined

territory, a stable government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states[11]its

possession of full legal personality in international law is shown by the fact that it maintains

diplomatic relations with 179[12] states, that it is a member-state[citation needed] in various

intergovernmental international organizations, and that it is: "respected by the international

community of sovereign States and treated as a subject of international law having the capacity

to engage in diplomatic relations and to enter into binding agreements with one, several, or

many states under international law that are largely geared to establish and preserving peace in

the world."[13]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_international_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See#cite_note-DipRel-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See#cite_note-13http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See#cite_note-DipRel-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_See#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_international_law


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How do you consider Palestine's membership status in the UN?

A year after failing to win United Nations recognition as an independent state, the Palestinian

Authority achieved what is perhaps a largely symbolic though notable status change by way of

the U.N. General Assembly in New York.The body decided that their "non-member observer

entity" status should instead be "non-member observer state," similar to the Vatican, giving

Palestinians a certain implicit degree of statehood recognition. The new recognition the

Palestinians obtained is a formal upgrade from observer entity that would implicitly

recognize Palestinian statehood. It places the Palestinians in the same category as the Vatican.

Switzerland was also a non-member observer state for more than 50 years until 2002.
http://www.cfr.org/palestinian-authority/palestinian-statehood-un/p25954http://www.cfr.org/palestinian-authority/palestinian-statehood-un/p25954

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