About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

37 Colum. J. Transnat'l L. 403 (1998-1999)
Defining Statehood: The Montevideo Convention and its Discontents

handle is hein.journals/cjtl37 and id is 411 raw text is: Defining Statehood: The Montevideo Convention and its Discontents THOMAS D. GRANT* Though in recent decades a proliferation of non- state actors has changed the landscape of the international community, the state itself remains a critical component of international law and international relations. One might assume from this that writers and practitioners have a clear definition of 'state.' That, however, is not the case. Though states hold key positions in international organizations, in treaty-making, and in the shaping and controlling of economic space, and, moreover, are the subject of great volumes of academic and policy-making discourse, attempts to set out a formal definition of 'state' have eitherfailed to gain wide acceptance or unsatisfactorily described the concept. The most widely accepted source as to a definition of statehood is the Montevideo Convention of 1933. In this article, the Author begins by examining the Convention in view of its antecedents, concluding that it reflected then-prevailing views of statehood. Alternative views existed, however, regarding territorial control and 'sovereignty.' In tension with the four criteria enunciated by the Montevideo Convention, these views hinted at deficiencies in the Convention as an instrument to 'codify' the concept of the state. The article goes on to examine how views about statehood have waxed and waned, and turns to scrutinize the Montevideo Convention in light of evolving theories. The Convention in certain dimensions is now probably over- inclusive, in others, under-inclusive. The article details these. Proposing that special conditions in the 1930s made states amenable to a codification exercise such as the Montevideo Convention, the Author suggests that * Ph.D. candidate, Cambridge University, Faculty of Law. AB, Harvard (1991); JD, Yale (1994). Member, bars of Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, DC. The writer thanks the US/UK Fulbright Commission and Cambridge Overseas Trust for supporting his study at Cambridge. This article profited from suggestions on an earlier draft by Professor James R. Crawford, the Author's Ph.D. supervisor.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most