Opponents of the Sovereignty of States

Abstract

The State as a legal phenomenon is the principal subject of the science of public (constitutional) law. At the same time, it is considered as the basic point of departure for the science of international law. Both sciences analyse the essence of that phenomenon, they define it, and they contain a number of doctrines which are concerned with the problem of the State. The science of international law generally accepts the concepts elaborated by the science of constitutional law, but insists upon the independence of the political body called the State. This body politic should consist of a territory, of a population permanently settled in that territory, and of a government being the supreme power over that territory and its inhabitants, and independent of any external authority. Such is the concept of the State under international law as accepted by the dominant theory today.