Unit II · Public International Law

Recognition of States and governments; territorial sovereignty

Study aid only. Confirm statute numbers with the current bare Act and the official OU LL.B. (3-YDC) 2024–25 syllabus PDF.

Statute sections

Act / instrument	Section	Name
Charter of the United Nations, 1945	2(4)	Prohibition of threat or use of force against territorial integrity
Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, 1933	3	Political existence of the State is independent of recognition

(1928) 2 RIAA 829 · Permanent Court of Arbitration

Territorial sovereignty requires continuous and peaceful display of State authority; discovery alone does not suffice.

ICJ Reports 2010, p. 403 · International Court of Justice

General international law does not prohibit a declaration of independence; the Court did not decide Kosovo's statehood.

[1921] 3 KB 532 · Court of Appeal (England)

The acts of a government recognised de facto by the Crown will be treated in English courts as acts of a sovereign State.