PROBLEM PODMIOTOWOŚCI EUROPEJSKICH „MINIPAŃSTW” W ŚWIETLE PRAWA MIĘDZYNARODOWEGO

Abstract

This article is an attempt at defining the current legal status of Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino, and Monaco especially in the view of the changes that occurred in the 1990s. A separate chapter has been devoted to each of these states and a short description of the states’ history and economy has been appended, including an analysis of the current status in the international law of each state. The Author begins by analysing the various terms used in the literature to denote these states, such as dwarf state, ministate, microstate, miniature state, or a city-state', in addition, some criteria for the application of these terms are discussed, e.g. the size of the population or territory. The Author further dwells upon the status of these states under the international law: their capacity to be parties to a treaty, their right to send and receive diplomatic representatives, their capacity to make claims under the international law and to be a party in a legal case as sovereign territorial organisations. Finally, the Author discusses the membership of these countries in international organisations and their relations with the European Union and European Communities.