State is the principal subject of international law.

CREATION OF THE STATE

“As we all learned that an entity acquiring the essential elements of people, territory, government,
sovereignty, is regarded in law as having achieved the status of a state and may be treated as an
international person.”

Generally accepted methods of Acquisition of status of State:

 Revolution
o US was created as a result of the revolution against British rule of the 14 original
colonies that first formed a confederation in 1781 and then a federation in 1789.
 Unification
o The state of Italy grew out of the unification of the independent city states of Sardinia,
Florence, Naples, Rome and others in 1870 under the so-called “principle of
nationalities”
 Secession
o Bangladesh became a separate state when it seceded from Pakistan in 1971.
 Assertion of Independence
o The Philippines became a state by assertion of its independence following the formal
withdrawal therefrom of American sovereignty in 1946.
 Agreement
o Kingdom of Netherlands was created by the Congress of Vienna of 1815, and Poland,
more recently, was revived as a separate state by agreement of the victorious powers
after World War II.
 Attainment of civilization
o Japan became an international person by attainment of civilization.

PRINCIPLE OF STATE CONTINUITY

“Once its identity as an international person has been fixed and its position in the international
community established, the state continues to be the same corporate person whatever changes may
take place in its international operation and government.” – Fenwick

 Reduction of its population (eg. Earthquake) will not cause the extinction of the state as long as
a substantial number of the people survive.
 Neither will loss of part of its territory provided that the remainder is still sizable.
 Continuity of state life is not impaired by changes in the form of government
 Limitation of sovereignty only reduces it to the status of s dependent state but does not entirely
deprive it of international personality.
EXTINCTION OF STATE

A state is not immortal for the fact that it is possible for it to be extinguished or die in a legal sense.

For example, the population may be completely wiped out by an epidemic or a thermonuclear explosion
or it may emigrate en masse.

The state may merge with another state or its territory may be dismembered or annexed by others

In the case of an independent state that becomes dependent, there is to the extent that it is deprived of
freedom to direct its external affairs a partial loss of its international personality.

In every one of theses instances, there is a radical impairment or actual loss of one or more of the
essential elements of the state that will result in its extinction.

SUCCESSION OF STATES

State succession takes place when one state assumes the rights and some of the obligations of another
because of certain changes in the condition of the latter. Such succession may be UNIVERSAL or
PARTIAL.

UNIVERSAL SUCCESSION – when a state is annexed to another state or is totally dismembered or merges
with another state to form a new state. The international personality of the former state is completely
absorbed by the successor.

PARTIAL SUCCESSION – a portion of the territory of a state secedes or is ceded to another or when an
independent state becomes a protectorate or a suzerainty or when a dependent state acquires full
sovereignty.

As to the STATE PROPERTY, subject to agreement between predecessor and successor states, title
passes as follows:

a. Where part of the territory of a state becomes territory of another state, property of the
predecessor state located in that territory passes to the successor state;
b. Where a state is absorbed by another state, property of the absorbed state, wherever located,
passes to the absorbing state;
c. Where part of a state becomes a separate state, property of the predecessor state located in
the territory of the new state passes to the new state.

With respect to PUBLIC DEBTS, subject again to agreement between the states concerned, responsibility
for the public debt of the predecessor and rights and obligations under its contracts, remain with the
predecessor state, EXCEPT as follows:

a. Where part of the territory of a state becomes territory of another state, local public debt, and
the rights and obligations of the predecessor under contracts relating to that territory, are
transferred to the successor state;
 b. Where a state is absorbed by another state, the public debt, and rights and obligations under
contracts of the absorbed state, past to the absorbing state;
c. Where part of a state becomes a separate state, local public debt, and rights and obligations of
the predecessor state under contracts relating to the territory of the new state, pass to the new
state.

With respect to the TREATIES , the Vienna Convention is followed:

a. When part of the territory of a state becomes territory of another state, the international
agreements of the predecessor state cease to have effect in respect of the territory and the
international agreements of the successor state come into force there. This reflects the “moving
treaty rule” or “moving boundaries rule”. If X has a treaty with Y, and part of Y is transferred to
Z. X may seek relief from treaty obligation under “rebus sic stantibus”
b. When state is absorbed by another state, the international agreements of the absorbed state
are terminated and the international agreements of the absorbing state become applicable to
the territory of the absorbed state. Third states may appeal to rebus sic stantibus.
c. When a part of a state becomes a new state, the new state does not succeed to the
international agreements to which the predecessor state was party, unless, expressly or by
implication, it accepts such agreements and the other party or parties thereto agree or
acquiesce. This applies the “clean slate theory”
d. Pre-existing boundary and other territorial agreements continue to be binding notwithstanding.
This is the uti possidetis rule.