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79-707: A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO , CSTO or the SCO ). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war . Different countries interpret their neutrality differently: some, such as Costa Rica have demilitarized , while Switzerland holds to "armed neutrality", to deter aggression with

158-512: A mutual defense pact (under TIAR and NATO respectively). For many states, such as Ireland, neutrality does not mean the absence of any foreign interventionism. Peacekeeping missions for the United Nations are seen as intertwined with it. The Swiss electorate rejected a 1994 proposal to join UN peacekeeping operations. Despite this, 23 Swiss observers and police have been deployed around

237-464: A belligerent's warship was actually present or nearby. The Russian navy dispatched three squadrons to the Mediterranean , Atlantic , and North Sea to enforce this decree. Denmark-Norway and Sweden , which also ruled Finland , accepting Russia's proposals for an alliance of neutrals, adopted the same policy towards shipping, and the three countries signed bilateral agreements and then

316-466: A different meaning with the development of the principle of self-determination and the prohibition against the threat or use of force as jus cogens norms of modern international law . The United Nations Charter , the Draft Declaration on Rights and Duties of States , and the charters of regional international organizations express the view that all states are juridically equal and enjoy

395-478: A fellow member that is the victim of armed aggression. It accords "an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in [other member states'] power" but would "not prejudice the specific character of the security and defense policy of certain Member States" (neutral policies), allowing members to respond with non-military aid. Ireland's constitution prohibits participating in such a common defence. With

474-556: A legal basis in domestic law for the purposes of the Convention". On 9 October 2014, the US's Federal Court stated that "the TRNC purportedly operates as a democratic republic with a president, prime minister, legislature and judiciary". On 2 September 2015, ECtHR decided that "...the court system set up in the "TRNC" was to be considered to have been "established by law" with reference to

553-491: A more powerful neighbour; Belarus, in its relationship with Russia, has been proposed as a contemporary example of a semi-sovereign state. In a somewhat different sense, the term semi-sovereign was famously applied to West Germany by political scientist Peter Katzenstein in his 1987 book Policy and Politics in West Germany: The Growth of a Semi-sovereign State, due to having a political system in which

632-410: A new entity, but other states do not. Hersch Lauterpacht, one of the theory's main proponents, suggested that a state must grant recognition as a possible solution. However, a state may use any criteria when judging if they should give recognition and they have no obligation to use such criteria. Many states may only recognise another state if it is to their advantage. In 1912, L. F. L. Oppenheim said

711-422: A permanent population, defined territory, a government not under another, and the capacity to interact with other sovereign states . In actual practice, recognition or non-recognition by other states plays an important role in determining the status of a country. Unrecognized states often have difficulty engaging in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states. Since the end of the 19th century, almost

790-489: A sizeable military, while barring itself from foreign deployment. Not all neutral countries avoid any foreign deployment or alliances, as Austria and Ireland have active UN peacekeeping forces and a political alliance within the European Union . Sweden 's traditional policy was not to participate in military alliances, with the intention of staying neutral in the case of war . Immediately before World War II ,

869-416: A state to recognise other states. Recognition is often withheld when a new state is seen as illegitimate or has come about in breach of international law. Almost universal non-recognition by the international community of Rhodesia and Northern Cyprus are good examples of this, the former only having been recognized by South Africa, and the latter only recognized by Turkey. In the case of Rhodesia, recognition

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948-443: A state was defined by having a territory, a population, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states. The Montevideo Convention criteria do not automatically create a state because additional requirements must be met. While they play an important role, they do not determine the status of a country in all cases, such as Kosovo , Rhodesia , and Somaliland . In practice international relations take into account

1027-638: A tripartite convention forming the League in August 1780. The intention was to band their ships together in convoys and declare their cargoes not to be contraband although such a declaration would not be accepted by the British. Spain , at war with Britain, pledged to respect the League's neutrality, while Britain demurred. The Netherlands planned to join the League in January 1781, but Britain found out before

1106-402: Is already in port, in which case it must have a 24-hour head start. A prize ship captured by a belligerent in the territorial waters of a neutral power must be surrendered by the belligerent to the neutral, which must intern its crew. Neutrality has been recognised in different ways, and sometimes involves a formal guarantor. For example, Switzerland and Belgium's neutrality was recognized by

1185-471: Is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. Some argue that the criteria are mainly political, not legal. L.C. Green cited the recognition of the unborn Polish and Czechoslovak states in World War I and explained that "since recognition of statehood is a matter of discretion, it is open to any existing State to accept as a state any entity it wishes, regardless of

1264-458: Is commonly considered to be such a state. Outlining the concept of a de facto state for EurasiaNet in early 2024, Laurence Broers wrote: De facto states can be understood as a product of the very system that excludes the possibility of their existence: the post-Second World War and post-colonial system of sovereign and equal states covering every centimeter of the globe. The hegemony of this system, at least until recent years,

1343-475: Is contested or where it is not exercised over their whole area. Currently, the international community includes more than 200 sovereign states, most of which are represented in the United Nations . These states exist in a system of international relations, where each state takes into account the policies of other states by making its own calculations. From this point of view, States are integrated into

1422-506: Is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is an indisputable fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning, which was universally agreed upon." In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia , "sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all". Sovereignty has taken on

1501-470: Is most commonly conceptualised as something categorical, which is either present or absent, and the coherence of any intermediate position in that binary has been questioned, especially in the context of international law. In spite of this, some authors admit the concept of a semi-sovereign state , a state which is officially acknowledged as sovereign but whose theoretical sovereignty is significantly impaired in practice, such as by being de facto subjected to

1580-433: Is recognised as sovereign by at least one other state. This theory of recognition was developed in the 19th century. Under it, a state was sovereign if another sovereign state recognised it as such. Because of this, new states could not immediately become part of the international community or be bound by international law, and recognised nations did not have to respect international law in their dealings with them. In 1815, at

1659-467: Is the concept of nation-state sovereignty based on territoriality and the absence of a role for external agents in domestic structures. It is an international system of states, multinational corporations , and organizations that began with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused. Up until the 19th century, the radicalised concept of a "standard of civilization"

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1738-607: Is what created the possibility of a de facto state as an anomaly existing outside of it - or in Alexander Iskandaryan 's memorable phrase, as "temporary technical errors within the system of international law." The Soviet and Yugoslav collapses resulted in the emergence of numerous such entities, several of which, including Abkhazia, Transdniester, South Ossetia and the NKR , survived in the margins of international relations for decades despite non-recognition. Sovereignty

1817-568: The Congress of Vienna , the Final Act recognised only 39 sovereign states in the European diplomatic system, and as a result, it was firmly established that in the future new states would have to be recognised by other states, and that meant in practice recognition by one or more of the great powers . One of the major criticisms of this law is the confusion caused when some states recognise

1896-532: The Donegal Corridor , making it possible for British planes to attack German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic. On the other hand, both Axis and Allied pilots who crash landed in Ireland were interned. Sweden and Switzerland, surrounded by possessions and allies of Nazi Germany similarly made concessions to Nazi requests as well as to Allied requests. Sweden was also involved in intelligence operations with

1975-670: The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) , etc.). Most sovereign states are both de jure and de facto (i.e., they exist both according to law and in practice). However, states which are only de jure are sometimes recognised as being the legitimate government of a territory over which they have no actual control. For example, during

2054-749: The Nordic countries stated their neutrality, but Sweden changed its position to that of non-belligerent at the start of the Winter War . Sweden would uphold its policy of neutrality until the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . During the Cold War , former Yugoslavia claimed military and ideological neutrality from both the Western and Eastern Bloc , becoming a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement . There have been considerable changes to

2133-629: The Second World War , governments-in-exile of several states continued to enjoy diplomatic relations with the Allies , notwithstanding that their countries were under occupation by Axis powers . Other entities may have de facto control over a territory but lack international recognition; these may be considered by the international community to be only de facto states. They are considered de jure states only according to their own law and by states that recognise them. For example, Somaliland

2212-441: The declarative theory of statehood defines a state as a person in international law if it meets the following criteria: 1) a defined territory; 2) a permanent population; 3) a government and 4) a capacity to enter into relations with other states. According to declarative theory, an entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states, as long as the sovereignty was not gained by military force. The declarative model

2291-581: The "constitutional and legal basis" on which it operated, and it has not accepted the allegation that the "TRNC" courts as a whole lacked independence and/or impartiality". On 3 February 2017, The United Kingdom's High Court stated "There was no duty in the United Kingdom law upon the Government to refrain from recognizing Northern Cyprus. The United Nations itself works with Northern Cyprus law enforcement agencies and facilitates co-operation between

2370-685: The Allies, including listening stations in Sweden and espionage in Germany. Spain offered to join the war on the side of Nazi Germany in 1940, allowed Axis ships and submarines to use its ports, imported war materials for Germany, and sent a Spanish volunteer combat division to aid the Nazi war effort. Portugal officially stayed neutral, but actively supported both the Allies by providing overseas naval bases, and Germany by selling tungsten . The United States

2449-525: The Axis and Allied powers alike, while still keeping to the rules of the Law of Neutrality . The Holy See has been criticized—but largely exonerated later—for its silence on moral issues of the war. Some countries may occasionally claim to be "neutral" but not comply with the internationally agreed upon definition of neutrality as listed above. Sovereign state A sovereign state is usually required to have

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2528-610: The European states closest to the war, only Andorra , Ireland , Portugal , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland (with Liechtenstein ), and Vatican City (the Holy See ) remained neutral to the end. Their fulfillment to the letter of the rules of neutrality has been questioned: Ireland supplied important secret information to the Allies ; for instance, the date of D-Day was decided on the basis of incoming Atlantic weather information , some of it supplied by Ireland but kept from Germany. Ireland also secretly allowed Allied aircraft to use

2607-743: The League; in 1782 the Ottoman Empire joined; and in 1783 the Two Sicilies . As the Royal Navy outnumbered all their fleets combined, the alliance as a military measure was what Catherine later called it, an "armed nullity ". Diplomatically, however, it carried greater weight; France and the United States were quick to proclaim their adherence to the new principle of free neutral commerce. Britain, which did not, still had no wish to antagonise Russia and avoided interfering with

2686-545: The Soviet Union) but in other cases it is an active policy of the country concerned to respond to a geopolitical situation ( Ireland in the Second World War ). For the country concerned, the policy is usually codified beyond the treaty itself. Austria and Japan codify their neutrality in their constitutions, but they do so with different levels of detail. Some details of neutrality are left to be interpreted by

2765-662: The Swedes each have a long history of neutrality: they have not been in a state of war internationally since 1815 and 1814, respectively. Switzerland continues to pursue, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. According to Edwin Reischauer , "To be neutral you must be ready to be highly militarized, like Switzerland or Sweden." Sweden ended its policy of neutrality when it joined NATO in 2024. In contrast, some neutral states may heavily reduce their military and use it for

2844-633: The US pretense of neutrality. Sweden also made concessions to the German Reich during the war to maintain its neutrality, the biggest concession was to let the 163rd German Infantry Division to be transferred from Norway to Finland by Swedish trains, to aid the Finns in the Continuation War . The decision caused a political " Midsummer Crisis " of 1941, about Sweden's neutrality . Equally, Vatican City made various diplomatic concessions to

2923-651: The allies' shipping. While both sides of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War tacitly understood it as an attempt to keep the Netherlands out of the League, Britain did not officially regard the alliance as hostile. Throughout the war, most of the naval stores of the Royal Navy continued to come from the Baltic Sea . The League ceased to have any practical function after the Treaty of Paris (1783) ended

3002-517: The attribute of every nation". Absolute sovereign immunity is no longer as widely accepted as it has been in the past, and some countries, including the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa, have introduced restrictive immunity by statute, which explicitly limits jurisdictional immunity to public acts, but not private or commercial ones, though there is no precise definition by which public acts can easily be distinguished from private ones. State recognition signifies

3081-683: The benefit to a belligerent of entering the country by force not worth the cost. This may include: The term derives from the historic maritime neutrality of the First League of Armed Neutrality of the Nordic countries and Russia under the leadership of Catherine the Great , which was invented in the late 18th century but has since been used only to refer to countries' neutralities. Sweden and Switzerland are independently of each other famed for their armed neutralities, which they maintained throughout both World War I and World War II . The Swiss and

3160-551: The community that has the intention to inhabit the territory permanently and is capable to support the superstructure of the State, though there is no requirement of a minimum population. The government must be capable of exercising effective control over a territory and population (the requirement known in legal theory as "effective control test") and guarantee the protection of basic human rights by legal methods and policies. The "capacity to enter into relations with other states" reflects

3239-476: The concept of " government-in-exile " is predicated upon that distinction. States are non-physical juridical entities, not organisations of any kind. However, ordinarily, only the government of a state can obligate or bind the state, for example by treaty. Generally speaking, states are durable entities, though they can become extinguished, either through voluntary means or outside forces, such as military conquest. Violent state abolition has virtually ceased since

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3318-453: The decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be either expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations. There are debates over whether states can exist as a fact independent of recognition or whether recognition is one of the facts necessary to bring states into being. No definition

3397-404: The effect of recognition and non-recognition. It is the act of recognition that affirms whether a country meets the requirements for statehood and is now subject to international law in the same way that other sovereign states are. State practice relating to the recognition of states typically falls somewhere between the declaratory and constitutive approaches. International law does not require

3476-553: The end of World War II. Because states are non-physical juridical entities, it has been argued that their extinction cannot be due to physical force alone. Instead, the physical actions of the military must be associated with the correct social or judiciary actions for a state to be abolished. The ontological status of the state has been a subject of debate, especially, whether or not the state, being an object that no one can see, taste, touch, or otherwise detect, actually exists. It has been argued that one potential reason as to why

3555-618: The entire globe has been divided into sections (countries) with more or less defined borders assigned to different states. Previously, quite large plots of land were either unclaimed or deserted, or inhabited by nomadic peoples that were not organized into states. However, even in modern states, there are large remote areas, such as the Amazon's tropical forests , that are either uninhabited or inhabited exclusively or mainly by indigenous people (and some of them are still not in constant contact). Additionally, there are states where de facto control

3634-665: The entity's degree of independence. Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention declares that political statehood is independent of recognition by other states, and the state is not prohibited from defending itself. 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 , which found that

3713-447: The existence of states has been controversial is because states do not have a place in the traditional Platonist duality of the concrete and the abstract. Characteristically, concrete objects are those that have a position in time and space, which states do not have (though their territories have a spatial position, states are distinct from their territories), and abstract objects have a position in neither time nor space, which does not fit

3792-438: The existence of territory or of an established government." International lawyer Hersch Lauterpacht states that recognition is not merely a formality but an active interpretation in support of any facts. Once made however it cannot be arbitrarily revoked on account of another state's own discretion or internal politics. The constitutive theory of statehood defines a state as a person of international law if, and only if, it

3871-412: The express purpose of home defense and the maintenance of their neutrality, while other neutral states may abandon military power altogether (examples of states doing this include Liechtenstein ). However, the lack of a military does not always result in neutrality: Countries such as Costa Rica and Iceland replaced their standing army with a military guarantee from a stronger power or participation in

3950-515: The extent to which they are, or should be, neutral is debated. For example, Ireland, which sought guarantees for its neutrality in EU treaties, argues that its neutrality does not mean that Ireland should avoid engagement in international affairs such as peacekeeping operations. Since the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty , EU members are bound by TEU, Article 42.7 , which obliges states to assist

4029-479: The first League with her declaration of Russian armed neutrality on 11 March [ O.S. 28 February] 1780, during the War of American Independence . She endorsed the right of neutral countries to trade by sea with nationals of belligerent countries without hindrance, except in weapons and military supplies. Russia would not recognize blockades of whole coasts but only of individual ports and only if

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4108-464: The following, regarding constitutive theory: International Law does not say that a State is not in existence as long as it is not recognised, but it takes no notice of it before its recognition. Through recognition only and exclusively a State becomes an International Person and a subject of International Law. Recognition or non-recognition by other states can override declarative theory criteria in cases such as Kosovo and Somaliland . By contrast,

4187-506: The frames of a certain territory, that is its supremacy in the domestic policy and independence in the foreign one. Named after the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the Westphalian System of state sovereignty, according to Bryan Turner, "made a more or less clear separation between religion and state, and recognized the right of princes "to confessionalize" the state, that is, to determine the religious affiliation of their kingdoms on

4266-488: The government while others are explicitly stated; for example, Austria may not host any foreign bases, and Japan cannot participate in foreign wars. Yet Sweden, lacking formal codification, was more flexible during the Second World War in allowing troops to pass through its territory. Armed neutrality is the posture of a state or group of states that has no alliance with either side of a war but asserts that it will defend itself against resulting incursions from any party, making

4345-419: The increase in the number of states can partly be credited to a more peaceful world, greater free trade and international economic integration, democratisation, and the presence of international organisations that co-ordinate economic and political policies. First League of Armed Neutrality The First League of Armed Neutrality was an alliance of European naval powers between 1780 and 1783 which

4424-487: The international system has surged. Some research suggests that the existence of international and regional organisations, the greater availability of economic aid, and greater acceptance of the norm of self-determination have increased the desire of political units to secede and can be credited for the increase in the number of states in the international system. Harvard economist Alberto Alesina and Tufts economist Enrico Spolaore argue in their book, Size of Nations, that

4503-478: The international system of special internal and external security and legitimization of the dilemma. Recently, the concept of the international community has been formed to refer to a group of States that have established rules, procedures and institutions for the implementation of relations. Thus, the foundation for international law , diplomacy between officially recognized sovereign states, their organizations and formal regimes has been laid. Westphalian sovereignty

4582-495: The interpretation of neutral conduct over the past centuries. Belligerents may not invade neutral territory, and a neutral power's resisting any such attempt does not compromise its neutrality. A neutral power must intern belligerent troops who reach its territory, but not escaped prisoners of war . Belligerent armies may not recruit neutral citizens, but they may go abroad to enlist. Belligerent armies' personnel and materiel may not be transported across neutral territory, but

4661-566: The jurisprudence has developed along the lines of affording immunity from prosecution to foreign states in domestic courts. In The Schooner Exchange v. M'Faddon , Chief Justice John Marshall of the United States Supreme Court wrote that the "perfect equality and absolute independence of sovereigns" has created a class of cases where "every sovereign is understood to waive the exercise of a part of that complete exclusive territorial jurisdiction, which has been stated to be

4740-518: The launch of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defense at the end of 2017, the EU's activity on military matters has increased. The policy was designed to be inclusive and allows states to opt in or out of specific forms of military cooperation. That has allowed most of the neutral states to participate, but opinions still vary. Some members of the Irish Parliament considered Ireland's joining PESCO as an abandonment of neutrality. It

4819-421: The ontological state of the state is. Realists believe that the world is one of only states and interstate relations and the identity of the state is defined before any international relations with other states. On the other hand, pluralists believe that the state is not the only actor in international relations and interactions between states and the state is competing against many other actors. Another theory of

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4898-464: The ontology of the state is that the state is a spiritual, or "mystical entity" with its own being, distinct from the members of the state. The German Idealist philosopher Georg Hegel (1770–1831) was perhaps the greatest proponent of this theory. The Hegelian definition of the state is "the Divine Idea as it exists on Earth". Since the end of World War II, the number of sovereign states in

4977-469: The pragmatic principle of cuius regio eius religio [ whose realm, his religion ]." Before 1900, sovereign states enjoyed absolute immunity from the judicial process, derived from the concepts of sovereignty and the Westphalian equality of states . First articulated by Jean Bodin , the powers of the state are considered to be suprema potestas within territorial boundaries. Based on this,

5056-489: The recognition of a country is a political issue. On 2 July 2013, The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that "notwithstanding the lack of international recognition of the regime in the northern area, a de facto recognition of its acts may be rendered necessary for practical purposes. Thus the adoption by the authorities of the "TRNC" of civil, administrative or criminal law measures, and their application or enforcement within that territory, may be regarded as having

5135-402: The role of documents in understanding all of social reality. Quasi-abstract objects, such as states, can be brought into being through document acts, and can also be used to manipulate them, such as by binding them by treaty or surrendering them as the result of a war. Scholars in international relations can be broken up into two different practices, realists and pluralists, of what they believe

5214-430: The same rights and duties based upon the mere fact of their existence as persons under international law. The right of nations to determine their own political status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. In political science, sovereignty is usually defined as the most essential attribute of the state in the form of its complete self-sufficiency in

5293-469: The signatories of the Congress of Vienna , Austria has its neutrality guaranteed by its four former occupying powers, and Finland by the Soviet Union during the Cold War . The form of recognition varies, often by bilateral treaty (Finland), multilateral treaty (Austria) or a UN declaration (Turkmenistan). These treaties can in some ways be forced on a country (Austria's neutrality was insisted upon by

5372-514: The sovereignty of the state was subject to limitations both internal (West Germany's federal system and the role of civil society) and external (membership in the European Community and reliance on its alliance with the United States and NATO for its national security). Although the terms "state" and "government" are often used interchangeably, international law distinguishes between a non-physical state and its government; and in fact,

5451-407: The supposed characteristics of states either, since states do have a temporal position (they can be created at certain times and then become extinct at a future time). Therefore, it has been argued that states belong to a third category, the quasi-abstract, that has recently begun to garner philosophical attention, especially in the area of Documentality , an ontological theory that seeks to understand

5530-572: The treaty could be signed and declared war after it had captured a ship bearing the American diplomat Henry Laurens on his way to Amsterdam to negotiate a loan for the Continental Congress . The Netherlands could not thus join a league of neutrals. The league members remained otherwise out of the war but threatened joint retaliation for every ship of theirs searched by a belligerent. In 1781, Prussia , Austria and Portugal joined

5609-710: The two parts of the island". and revealed that the co-operation between the United Kingdom police and law agencies in Northern Cyprus is legal. Turkish Cypriots gained "observer status" in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) , and their representatives are elected in the Assembly of Northern Cyprus. As a country, Northern Cyprus became an observer member in various international organizations (the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),

5688-440: The world in UN projects. The legitimacy of whether some states are as neutral as they claim has been questioned in some circles, although this depends largely on a state's interpretation of its form of neutrality. There are three members of the European Union that still describe themselves as a neutral country in some form: Austria , Ireland , and Malta . With the development of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy ,

5767-410: The wounded may be. A neutral power may supply communication facilities to belligerents, but not war materiel, although it need not prevent export of such materiel. Belligerent naval vessels may use neutral ports for a maximum of 24 hours, though neutrals may impose different restrictions. Exceptions are to make repairs—only the minimum necessary to put back to sea—or if an opposing belligerent's vessel

5846-441: Was expressed in the 1933 Montevideo Convention . A "territory" in the international law context consists of land territory, internal waters, territorial sea, and air space above the territory. There is no requirement on strictly delimited borders or minimum size of the land, but artificial installations and uninhabitable territories cannot be considered as territories sufficient for statehood. The term "permanent population" defines

5925-680: Was initially neutral and bound by the Neutrality Acts of 1936 not to sell war materials to belligerents. Once war broke out, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt persuaded Congress to replace the act with the Cash and carry program that allowed the US to provide military aid to the allies, despite opposition from non-interventionist members. The "Cash and carry" program was replaced in March 1941 by Lend-Lease , effectively ending

6004-706: Was intended to protect neutral shipping against the British Royal Navy 's wartime policy of unlimited search of neutral shipping for French contraband during the American Revolutionary War and Anglo-French War . According to one estimate, 1 in 5 merchant vessels were searched by the Royal Navy under this policy. By September 1778, at least 59 ships had been taken prize – 8 Danish (and Norwegian), 16 Swedish and 35 Dutch, as well as others from Prussia. Protests were enormous by every side involved. Empress Catherine II of Russia began

6083-622: Was passed with the government arguing that its opt-in nature allowed Ireland to "join elements of PESCO that were beneficial such as counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and peacekeeping... what we are not going to be doing is buying aircraft carriers and fighter jets". Malta, as of December 2017, is the only neutral state not to participate in PESCO. The Maltese government argued that it was going to wait and see how PESCO develops to see whether it would compromise Maltese neutrality. Many countries made neutrality declarations during World War II . However, of

6162-403: Was routinely deployed to determine that certain people in the world were "uncivilized", and lacking organised societies. That position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their "sovereignty" was either completely lacking or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of the "civilized" people". Lassa Oppenheim said, "There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which

6241-517: Was widely withheld when the white minority seized power and attempted to form a state along the lines of Apartheid South Africa , a move that the United Nations Security Council described as the creation of an "illegal racist minority régime". In the case of Northern Cyprus, recognition was withheld from a state created in Northern Cyprus. International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence, and

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