Review of Doctrinal Views on the International Legal Personality of the Holy See in the 19th and the early 20th Centuries

INTRODUCTION. The study of the prerequisites of the current international legal position of the Holy See and the Vatican City State requires a reflection on the status of the Papacy from 1870 to 1929. During this period, the Holy See maintained its independent international position despite the annexation of the Papal States to Italy. An analysis of the doctrine of that time will make it possible to demonstrate what theoretical constructions were proposed by international lawyers to explain the unique place of the Holy See in interstate communion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study used a wide range of works by representatives of Russian, English, American, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Swiss, and Belgian doctrines of international law of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. It used general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, systematic method) and special scientific methods, including historical-legal methods and formal-legal methods.

RESEARCH RESULTS. The article analyses foreign and Russian (including the early Soviet) doctrine concerning the status of the Holy See in the period from 1870 to 1929 and assesses the conceptual divergence of scholars on this topic.

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS. Based on the analysis of doctrinal sources, it is concluded that the legal position of the Pope began to receive the attention of international jurists after 1870 when the Catholic Church area was annexed to Italy. The fall of the Papal States initiated an intense doctrinal debate as to whether the international personality of the Papacy survived the events. The overwhelming majority of jurists were convinced that the Papacy after 1870 had lost its state status, having been wholly deprived of the prerogatives of governing a certain territory and population. Some scholars, identifying international legal personality only with statehood, concluded that after 1870, the Holy See retained its international legal status de facto (as a manifestation of quasi-subjectivity). Other scholars saw in the Holy See a unique de jure legal personality. However, several scholars denied the Holy See's de facto and de jure international legal personality.

1. A History of International Law in Italy. Ed. by G. Bartolini. New York: Oxford University Press. 2020. 512 p.

2. Baikov A.L. Sovremennaya mezhdunarodnaya pravosposobnost' papstva v svyazi s ucheniem o mezhdunarodnoi pravosposobnosti voobshche. Istoriko-dogmaticheskoe issledovanie. [The Modern International Legal Capacity of the Papacy in Connection with the Doctrine of International Legal Capacity in General. Historical and Dogmatic Study]. Saint Petersburg: Tipografiya M.M. Stasyulevicha. 1904. XXXVI, 461 p. (In Russ.).

3. Baikov A.L. Mezhduvlastnye i vlastnye otnosheniya v teorii prava. Opyt teoretiko-poznavatel'nogo postroeniya. [Interpower and Power Relations in the Theory of Law. Experience of Theoretical and Cognitive Construction]. Yaroslavl: Tipografiya Gubernskogo pravleniya. 1912. VI, 413 p. (In Russ.).

4. Bluntschli J.C. Die rechtliche Unverantwortlichkeit und Verantwortlichkeit des römischen Papstes. Nördlingen: Druck und Verlag der C.H. Beck'schen Buchhandlung. 1876. 36 s. URL: https://books.google.ru/books/about/Die_rechtliche_Unverantwortlichkeit_und.html?id=ra8ThC_YEnkC&redir_esc=y (accessed date: 20.09.2024).

5. Bluntschli J.C. Das moderne Völkerrecht der civilisirten Staaten als Rechtsbuch dargestellt [Sovremennoe mezhdunarodnoe pravo tsivilizovannykh gosudarstv, izlozhennoe v vide kodeksa]. Moscow: Tipografiya Indrikha. 1877. 634 p.

6. Bompard R. Le crime de lèse-majesté. La papauté en droit international. Paris: Librairie Nouvelle de Droit et de Jurisprudence Arthur Rousseau. 1888. 230 p.

7. Despagnet F. Cours de droit international public. Complètement revue, augmentée et mise au courant par Ch. de Boeck. 4me éd. Paris: Librairie de la Société du Recueil Sirey. 1910. 1430 p.

8. Eikhel'man O. Ocherki iz lektsii po mezhdunarodnomu pravu [Essays from Lectures on International Law]. Kiev: Tipografiya I.I. Chokolova. 1900. Issue 1. 130 p. (In Russ.).

9. Fauchille P. Traité de droit international public. 8me éd. Paris, Rousseau & Co. 1922. T. 1. Partie 1. 1058 p.

10. Fiore P. International Law Codified and Its Legal Sanction. Translated from Italian. New York: Baker, Voorhis and Company. 1918. 750 p.

11. Foignet R. Manuel élémentaire de droit international public. 3me éd. Paris, Librairie Nouvelle de Droit et de Jurisprudence Arthur Rousseau. 1899. 442 p.

12. Geffcken F.H. Die völkerrechtliche Stellung des Papstes. Berlin: Verlag von Carl Habel. 1885. 62 s.

13. Gorovtsev A.M. Nekotorye osnovnye spornye voprosy ucheniya o prave v svyazi s mezhdunarodnym pravom [Some Basic Controversial Questions of Legal Doctrine in Connection with International Law]. Petrograd: Knizhnyi magazin «Pravo». 1916-1917. XXXVI, 303 p. (In Russ.).

14. Hauriou M. Principes de droit public [Osnovy publichnogo prava]. Moscow: Izdatel'stvo Kommunisticheskoi akademii. 1929. XXIV, 759 p.

15. Heffter A.W. Das europäische Völkerrecht der Gegenwart [Evropeiskoe mezhdunarodnoe pravo]. Saint Petersburg: Tipografiya V. Bezobrazova i Komp. 1880. 619 p.

16. Kazanskii P. Uchebnik mezhdunarodnogo prava publichnogo i grazhdanskogo. [Textbook of Public and Civil International Law]. 2nd ed. Odessa: Tipo-litografiya Shtaba Odesskogo Voennogo Okruga. 1904. LXIV, 534 p. (In Russ.).

17. Klüber J.L. Droit des gens moderne de l'Europe [Noveishee evropeiskoe narodnoe pravo]. T. 1. Moscow: Tipografiya Avgusta Semena. 1828. XVI, 376 p.

18. Korovin E.A. Sovremennoe mezhdunarodnoe publichnoe pravo [Contemporary Public International Law]. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel'stvo. 1926. 176 p. (In Russ.).

19. Marchese de Olivart. Il Papa, gli Stati della Chiese a l'Italia. Saggio giuridico sullo stato attuale della questione romana. Traduzione dallo spagnolo. Napoli: R. Tipografia Francesco Giannini & Figli. 1901. 320 p.

20. Mikhailov P. Novaya ideya «mezhduvlastnogo prava» [New Idea of «Interpower Law»]. – Pravo. [Law]. 1909. № 27. Clm. 1576-1583. (In Russ.).

21. Martens F. Sovremennoe mezhdunarodnoe pravo tsivilizovannykh narodov. [Contemporary International Law of Civilized Nations]. 5th ed. Saint Petersburg: Tipografiya A. Benke. 1904. Vol. I. 438 p. (In Russ.).

22. Martens F. Sovremennoe mezhdunarodnoe pravo tsivilizovannykh narodov. [Contemporary International Law of Civilized Nations]. 5th ed. Saint Petersburg: Tipografiya A. Benke. 1905. Vol. II. 626, XL p. (In Russ.).

23. Nys E. The Papacy Considered in Relation to International Law. Translated from the French. London: Henry Sweet. 1879. 65 p.

24. Oppenheim L. International law. A Treatise. Ed. by R.F. Roxburgh. 3rd ed. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1920. Vol. I. 799 p.

25. Phillimore R. Commentaries upon International Law. 3rd ed. London: Butterworths. 1882. Vol. II. 702 p.

26. Pokrovskii P.A. K voprosu o sub"ektakh mezhdunarodnogo prava [On the Question of Subjects of International Law]. – Izvestiya Ministerstva inostrannykh del [News of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. 1912. Book VI. P. 177–210. (In Russ.). 2

27. Rivier A. Principes du droit des gens. Paris: Librairie Nouvelle de Droit et de Jurisprudence Arthur Rousseau. 1896. T. 1. 566 p.

28. Smith S.B. Elements of Ecclesiastical Law. 9th ed. New York: Benziger Brothers. 1895. Vol. I. 589 p.

29. Taube M.A. Sovremennoe mezhdunarodnoe polozhenie papy v svyazi s ideei mezhdunarodnogo prava (jus inter potestates) [The Contemporary International Status of the Pope in Connection with the Idea of International Law (jus inter potestates)]. Moscow: Tovarishchestvo Tipolitografii V. Chicherin. 1910. 18 p. (In Russ.).

30. Taube M.A. Ucheniya o sub"ekte mezhdunarodnogo prava v russkoi yuridicheskoi literature. II [The teachings on the subject of international law in the Russian legal literature. II]. – Izvestiya Ministerstva inostrannykh del [News of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. 1913. Book VI. P. 74-88. (In Russ.).

31. Von Liszt F. Das Völkerrecht systematisch dargestellt [Mezhdunarodnoe pravo v sistematicheskom izlozhenii]. 4th ed. Yur'ev (Derpt): Tipografiya K. Mattisena. 1917. XVI, 404, LXIV p.).

32. Westlake J. International Law. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1910. Part 1. 371 p.

33. Wheaton's Elements of international law. Revised by C. Phillipson. London: Stevens and Sons, Limited. 1916. 901 p.

34. Wynen A. Die Rechts- und insbesondere die Vermögensfähigkeit des Apostolischen Stuhles nach internationalem Recht. Freiburg im Breslau: Herder & Co. G.m.b.H. Verlagsbuchhandlung. 1920. 119 S. URL: https://archive.org/details/Wynen (accessed date: 21.09.2024).

35. Zaharov N.A. Kurs obshhego mezhdunarodnogo prava [The course of general international law]. Petrograd: Tip. D.P. Vejsbrut. 1918. X, 464 s.