Participation of the Roman see and the Vatican City State in international treaties: practice issues

Abstract

There remains a doctrinal debate about the current position of the Papacy in international law. The key issue on which scholars have not reached consensus is whether the names 'the Roman See' ('the Apostolic See', 'the Holy See') and 'the Vatican City State' ('the Vatican City') denote two distinct subjects of international law under the ruling of Supreme Pontiff, or whether they are synonymous with the same separate political entity (or denote the relationship of part and whole with respect to such the entity). As the practice of the participation of the Roman See and the Vatican City in bilateral and multilateral international treaties demonstrates, each of these entities is recognised as a separate party to the agreement, it concludes. The Apostolic See and Vatican City are separate units with international obligations and responsibilities. Both entities may sometimes be parties to the same trilateral and multilateral agreements. Since Vatican City does not have a foreign policy department for 'organisational economy reasons', in most cases, international treaties are signed 'in its name and on its behalf' by representatives of the Secretariat of State of the Roman See. Thus, the 'dualistic' concept of the international legal personality of the Apostolic See and the Vatican City State most accurately defines the state of affairs in inter-State practice.

References

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