THE HOLY SEE – A STATE?
In international law, statehood traditionally rests on four criteria: a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.7 The UN Charter, while requiring statehood for membership, does not define a “state.” Despite its designation as Non-member “State” Permanent Observer, “the Holy See is not a state.”8 It is a religious entity without defined temporal territory. Diplomatically, however, many countries treat the Holy See as a state because of the influence of the pope, as leader of Catholics worldwide. Unlike the Holy See, Vatican City claims statehood.
