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List of special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement |
A number of geographical political entities have a special position recognized by international treaty or agreement (Andorra, Åland in Finland, Monaco, Svalbard in Norway, Kosovo in Serbia, the Vatican City state, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau in the People's Republic of China) and many other territories and states.
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Andorra could until 1993 be considered de facto to have been under dual French and Spanish rule due to the lack of clear division of powers while it was ruled by a Spanish bishop and the French president, according to a treaty1. In 1278, the conflict between the French Count and the Catalan bishop was resolved by the signing of a pareage (pariatges)2, which provided that Andorra's sovereignty be shared between the Count of Foix and the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell (Catalonia, Spain). The pareage, a feudal institution recognizing the principle of equality of rights shared by two rulers, gave the small state its territory and political form. Today Andorra is a co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, Spain as co-princes, in a diarchy or duumvirate.
The Treaty of Kiel3 in 1814 terminated the Danish-Norwegian union. Norway came under the rule of the King of Sweden, but the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland remained as possessions of Denmark.
Until the 1911 constitution, the princes of Monaco were absolute rulers. In July 1918, a treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco7. The treaty, part of the Treaty of Versailles8, established that Monegasque international policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests. France has in many ways still control over the state. The executive branch consists of a Minister of State (the head of government), who presides over a four-member Council of Government (the Cabinet). The minister of state is a French citizen appointed by the prince from among candidates proposed by the French government.9 In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco clarified that if there are no heirs to carry on the dynasty, the principality will remain an independent nation rather than revert to France10. Monaco's military defence, however, is still the responsibility of France.
The Vatican City state came into existence by virtue of the Lateran Treaty in 192914, which spoke of it as a new creation (Preamble and Article III), and not as a vestige of the much larger Papal States (756 to 1870) that had previously encompassed central Italy. Of which, most were absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, and the city of Rome with a small area close to it, ten years later in 1870. The state has no firm population as its citizens are only granted citizenship for the duration of service in the state. Those without dual citizenship will then get Italian citizenship.15
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