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Concept of State and Its Elements

The document discusses the key elements of a state according to the 1933 Montevideo Convention. The four essential elements of a state are: 1) a permanent population, 2) a defined territory, 3) a government, and 4) sovereignty. A state must have all four elements to be considered a fully independent member of the international community. The document then provides further details on each element, such as how a state's population can be of any size, how a territory must be under the sole control of the state, how a government must have distinct legislative, executive, and judicial functions, and how sovereignty refers to supreme authority without external interference.

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112 views

Concept of State and Its Elements

The document discusses the key elements of a state according to the 1933 Montevideo Convention. The four essential elements of a state are: 1) a permanent population, 2) a defined territory, 3) a government, and 4) sovereignty. A state must have all four elements to be considered a fully independent member of the international community. The document then provides further details on each element, such as how a state's population can be of any size, how a territory must be under the sole control of the state, how a government must have distinct legislative, executive, and judicial functions, and how sovereignty refers to supreme authority without external interference.

Uploaded by

AnjanaNair
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Concept of State and essential

elements of state
INTRODUCTION

• State as a term is not defined in international law


• Dictionary :- Nation or territory which is considered
as an organized political community under one
government.
• A state is the primary legal subject in International
Law. A state, by evidencing a separate legal and
corporate personality, fulfills the basic requirement for
the entrance into the community of nations.
ARTICLE 1 OF MONTEVIDEO CONVENTION ON RIGHTS AND
DUTIES OF STATES OF 1933

POPPULATION TERRITORY
FOUR
ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS OF
STATE

GOVERNMENT SOVEREIGNITY
POPULATION
State is human
Citizens of State
institution hence
enjoy rights and
Population is first
freedoms but also
element
have duties

No population = No Citizens of another


state state = ALIENS

Ancient Greek No definite limit for


writers – Small size of population
population

Reasonable limit.
Aristotle
Plato
Rousseau
Ideal size determination
Territory Production of Needs of
of the goods and defense
State supplies

Standard of
Available
living
Resources
expected
TERRITORY
Opening article of the Indian • administrative division
Constitution • under the jurisdiction
• of a sovereign state

People need it to organize socially and


Definite and well marked
politically

Not just land, rivers, lakes, canals inland Exercises sovereignty over all parts
seas, territorial waters, maritime belts, Ships- floating part
hills mountains and airspace Airplanes- flying part
Whole territory- under the All persons, organizations,
sovereignty or supreme power of the associations, institutions and places
State located within its territory – under
jurisdiction of state

Only one state can exist on the same territory


Exceptions -Great Britain and France over the
New Hebrides Islands and few more

Mostly larger states are at benefit


All states equal in status and rights because better resources and also
even if they have unequal population smaller states fall prey to bigger
& territory states.
GOVERNMENT
• Definite territory and population not Government is the organization or
enough. machinery or agency of the State which
• Be politically organized makes, implements, enforces and
• needs to possess a government adjudicates the laws of the state.

• three organs of the government: Can be of any form :- form—Monarchy or


Legislature, Executive and Judiciary Aristocracy or Dictatorship or Democracy.
• Each carries out its assigned functions Parliamentary or Presidential or both
SOVEREIGNTY
means supreme power or authority • sovereignty is assigned to the person, body, or
institution
• that has the ultimate authority over other people
• to establish a law or change an existing law

Sovereignty is a character that distinguishes Denotes the supreme power or the final
state from all other associations authority from which there is no appeal
Sovereignty has two dimensions:
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
1. supreme power of the state, which 1. ability of the state to act
affects all individuals and associations
independently and autonomously in
within the territory under its control
the face of external forces

2. internal sovereignty involves the


2. external sovereignty involves the
relationship between the state and
state and other states
its citizens

3. involves the rights and freedoms 3. rights and freedoms of a state to


of subjects govern its own territory without
interruption from other states.
Indian States

1. An institution can have population, territory and government but not


sovereignty.
2. States of the Indian Union have their populations, territories and governments.
3. These are also loosely called states. Yet these are not really states. These are
integral parts of the Indian State. Sovereignty belongs to India.
4. Sikkim was a state before it joined India in 1975. Now it is one of the 28 states
of India.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Kantorowicz, Hermann. “The Concept of the State.” Economica, no. 35, 1932,


pp. 1–21. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2548973. Accessed 12 Jul. 2022.
2. Storey, David. “States, Territory and Sovereignty.” Geography, vol. 102, no. 3,
2017, pp. 116–21. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546743
1. https://gh.copernicus.org/articles/68/65/2013/gh-68-65-2013.pdf

2. https://www.grin.com/document/535087

3. https://www.preservearticles.com/political-science/what-are-the-important-elements-of-the-state/12783
4. https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-difference-between-internal-and-external-sovereignty-in-sociology/#
Internal%20Sovereignty%20in%20Sociology

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