ABSTRACT
States form the principal category of international legal persons. Internal organisation and socio-political orientation do not pertain to the essence of statehood. Territory is the physical or geographical area, separated by borders from other areas, over which a State has sovereignty, i.e. the competence to exercise its exclusive authority within that territory and prohibit foreign governments from exercising their authority there. Permanent population refers to the State permanently having population, not necessarily to that population consisting of those who reside permanently within that State’s territory. A State cannot come into existence or exist for long, unless it has a government. The existence of a government implies the capacity to autonomously establish and maintain a legal order. Statehood begins with its creation and ends with its extinction. Independence of a State may be restricted, alienated or compromised unless there is a treaty prohibition against doing so.
