Catherine MAIA
In Vol. 3 No. 3, Cedric Ryngaert examines “The Legal Status of the Holy
See” in his article. Observing that the Holy See enjoys rights under
international law that few, if any, non-State actors (excluding
intergovernmental organizations) enjoy, like the participation in various
intergovernmental organizations, in a substantial number of bilateral and
multilateral treaties, the sending and receiving of diplomatic representatives,
immunity from jurisdiction, and a permanent observer status at the United
Nations, he further analyses the legal status and comes to the conclusion that
although the Holy See is, unlike the Vatican City State, not to be
characterized as a State, due to its global spiritual remit and the lacking
territorial base, it is a sui generis non-State international legal
person which borrows its personality from its ‘spiritual sovereignty’ as the
centre of the Catholic Church.