Changes affecting States as International Persons. national Person, nor affect the personal identity of the States concerned. Thus, for instance, France retained her personal identity from the time the Law of Nations came into existence until the present day, although she acquired and lost parts of her territory, changed her dynasty, was a kingdom, a republic, an empire, again a kingdom, again a republic, again an empire, and is now, finally as it seems, a republic. All her international rights and duties as an International Person remained the very same throughout the centuries in spite of these important changes in her condition and appearance. Even such loss of territory as contains the reduction of a Great Power to a small Power, or such increase of territory and strength as turns a small State into a Great Power, does not affect a State as an International Person. Thus, although through the events of the years 1859-1861 Sardinia acquired the whole territory of the Italian Peninsula and turned into the Great Power of Italy, she remained one and the same International Person. $78. Changes which affect States as International Persons are of different character. (1) As in a Real Union the member-States of the union, although fully independent, make one International Person,1 two States which hitherto were separate International Persons are affected in that character by entering into a Real Union. For through that change they appear henceforth together as one and the same International Person. And should this union be dissolved, the member-States are again affected, for they now become again separate International Persons. 1 See below, § 87, where the character of the Real Union is fully discussed. pp. (2) Other changes affecting States as International Persons are such changes as involve a partial loss of independence on the part of the States concerned. Many restrictions may be imposed upon States without interfering with their independence proper,1 but certain restrip involve inevitably a partial loss of independe$ 47- Thus if a hitherto independent State comes ufff, II., the suzerainty of another State and becomes thereby a half-Sovereign State, its character as an International Person is affected. The same is valid with regard to a hitherto independent State which comes under the protectorate of another State. Again, if several hitherto independent States enter into a Federal State, they transfer a part of their sovereignty to the Federal State and become thereby part-Sovereign States. On the other hand, if a vassal State or a State under protectorate is freed from the suzerainty or protectorate, it is thereby affected as an International Person, because it turns now into a full Sovereign State. And the same is valid with regard to a member-State of a Federal State which leaves the union and gains the condition of a full Sovereign State. (3) States which become permanently neutralised are thereby also affected in their character as International Persons, although their independence remains untouched. But permanent neutralisation alters the condition of a State so much that it thereby becomes an International Person of a particular kind. of Inter §79. A State ceases to be an International Person Extinction when it ceases to exist. Theoretically such extinction national of International Persons is possible through emigration Persons. 1 1 See below, §§ 126-127, where the different kinds of these restrictions are discussed. tion of States are: annexation after was into several ngd parts which er State, a State mes a mere part o Principalities of or the perishing of the whole population of a State, or through a permanent anarchy within a State. But it is evident that such cases will hardly ever occur in fact. Practical cases of ex Merger of one State into and conquest in war, breaking up States, and breaking up of a f are annexed by surrounding S By voluntarily merging into loses all its independence and of another. In this way t Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen merged in 1850 into Prussia. And the same is the case if a State is annexed by another after conquest in war. In this way the Orange Free State and the South African Republic were absorbed by Great Britain in 1901. An example of the breaking up of a State into different States is the division of the Swiss canton of Basle into Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land in 1833. And an example of the breaking up of a State into parts which are annexed by surrounding States, is the absorption of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia in 1795. PERSONS SUCCESSION OF INTERNATIONAL PERSONS Grotius, II. c. 9 and Phillimore, I. § 13. fufendorf, VIII. 6. 12-Hall, $$ 27-29lleck, I. pp. (89-93-Taylor, $$ 164-1683-Wharton, I.5-Wheaton, §§ 28-32Bluntschli, §§ 47-50-artmann, § 12-Heffter, § 25-Holtzendorff in Holtzendorff, II. pp. 3-47-Liszt, § 23-Ullmann, § 23-Bonfils, Nos. 216-233-Despar et, Nos. 89-102-Pradier-Fodéré, I. Nos. 156-163-Nys, I. >-401-Rivier, I. § 3, pp. 69-75 and p. 438Calvo, I. $$ 99-: re, I. Nos. 349-366-Martens, I. § 67— es annexions sur les dettes de l'état 1895)-Huber, "Die Staatensuccession " Appleton, "Des démembré ou annexe (1898)-Richards in "The Law Magazine and Review," XXVIII. (1903) pp. 129-141. Doctrine sion of § 80. Although there is no unanimity among the Common writers on International Law with regard to the so- regarding called succession of International Persons, nevertheless Succesthe following common doctrine can be stated to exist. InterA succession of International Persons occurs when Persons. one or more International Persons take the place of another International Person, in consequence of certain changes in the latter's condition. And Universal succession takes place when one International Person is absorbed by another, either through subjugation or through voluntary merger. universal succession further takes place when a State breaks up into parts which either become separate International Persons of their own or are annexed by surrounding International Persons. Partial succession takes place, first, when a part of the territory of an International Person breaks off in a revolt and by winning its independence becomes itself an International Person; secondly, when one International Person acquires a part of the territory of another through cession; thirdly, when a hitherto full Sovereign State loses part of its independence national How far Succession actually takes place. through entering into a Federal State, or coming under suzerainty or under a protectorate, or when a hitherto not-full Sovereign State becomes full Sovereign; fourthly, when an International Person becomes a member of a Real Union or vice versa. Nobody ever maintained that on the successor devolve all the rights and duties of his predecessor. But after stating that a succession takes place, the respective writers try to educe the consequences and to make out what rights and duties do, and what do not, devolve. Several writers,1 however, contest the common doctrine and maintain that a succession of International Persons never takes place. Their argument is that the rights and duties of an International Person disappear with the extinguishing Person or become modified according to the modifications an International Person undergoes through losing part of its sovereignty. § 81. If the real facts of life are taken into consideration, the common doctrine cannot be upheld. To say that succession takes place in such and such cases and to make out afterwards what rights and duties devolve, shows a wrong method of dealing with the problem. It is certain that no general succession takes place according to the Law of Nations. With the extinguishing International Person extinguish its rights and duties as a person. But it is equally wrong to maintain that no succession whatever occurs. For nobody doubts that certain rights and duties actually and really devolve upon an International Person from its predecessor. And since this devolution takes place through the very fact of one International 1 See Gareis, pp. 66-70, who discusses the matter with great clearness, and Liszt, § 23. |