[CONSTI 1] Module 3: The Concept of State

State

• a community of people, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, independent of external control, and possessing a government to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.

People, Territory, Government, Sovereignty

What are the 4 elements of a State?

People

• a community of persons sufficient in number and capable of maintaining the continued existence of the community and held together by a common bond of law.

Territory

• extends to the Philippine archipelago and all other territories which the Philippines exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction.

Terrestrial, Fluvial, Maritime, Aerial

What are the 4 components or types of domains of a Territory?

Terrestrial

Types of Domains

• refers to the solid land mass of a state or nation, including all islands, soil, mountains, forests, agricultural lands, and mineral deposits under its sovereignty

Fluvial

Types of Domains

• relates specifically to rivers, streams, and inland freshwater bodies

Maritime

Types of Domains

• refers to the open sea, oceans, and large coastal or navigable salt waters.

Aerial

Types of Domains

• the airspace located directly above a country's land and water domains, extending upward to the edge of outer space.

Prescription, Accretion, Cession, Occupation

What are the 4 modes of acquiring territory?

Prescription

4 Modes of Acquiring Territory

• acquired through continuous and uncontested exercise of sovereignty over time.

• possession + passage of time

Accretion

4 Modes of Acquiring Territory

• territory is acquired because the territory itself naturally expanded

• caused by natural processes such as:

  • volcanic activity, sediment deposited by rivers

  • gradual formation of land along a coast

• not counted if the land increased by artificial reclamation

Cession

4 Modes of Acquiring Territory

• happens when State A transfers territory to another State, usually done through a treaty or agreement

Occupation

4 Modes of Acquiring Territory

• acquiring territory that is not already under the sovereignty of another State (terra nullius) by taking possession of it.

Archipelagic Doctrine

• It is a principle where appropriate points are set along the coast of the archipelago including the outermost islands and then connect those points with straight baselines.

• All waters within the baselines are considered internal waters of the archipelago state. It is adopted in the constitution when it says that, “the water around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.”

Baseline Laws

• statutory mechanisms for UNCLOS III States parties to delimit with precision the extent of their maritime zones and continental shelves.

• gives notice to the rest of the international community of the scope of the maritime space and submarine areas within which States parties exercise treaty-based rights, namely, the exercise of sovereignty over territorial waters (Article 2), the jurisdiction to enforce customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitation laws in the contiguous zone (Article 33), and the right to exploit the living and non-living resources in the exclusive economic zone (Article 56) and continental shelf (Article 77) (Magallona v. Ermita).

Straight Baseline Method

• imaginary straight lines are drawn enclosing the outermost points of outermost islands of the archipelago, enclosing an area the ratio of which should not be more than 9:1 (water to land); provided that the drawing of baselines shall not depart, to any appreciable extent, from the general configuration of the archipelago.

• The waters within the baselines shall be considered internal waters; while the breadth of the territorial sea shall then be measured from the baselines.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

What does UNCLOS stand for?

UNCLOS

• An international treaty that establishes the legal framework for how countries use and exercise rights over the oceans and seas.

• a “rulebook for the sea”

Territorial Sea

UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

• 12 nautical miles from the baseline

• able to exercise Sovereignty

Contiguous Zone

UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

• 24 nautical miles from the baseline

• Regulations on Customs, Fiscal, Immigration, Sanitation

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

• 200 nautical miles from the baseline

• has the right to exploit living and non-living resources

12 nautical miles

UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

• What is the distance of the Territorial Sea from the baseline?

24 nautical miles

UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

• What is the distance of the Contiguous Zone from the baseline?

200 nautical miles from the baseline

UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

• What is the distance of the Exclusive Economic Zone from the baseline?

Sovereignty

Sovereignty v. Sovereign Rights

• exercises full authority over the territorial sea

Sovereign Rights

Sovereignty v. Sovereign Rights

• PH has particular rights, especially concerning natural resources

open invitation for other states to exploit us, and weaken our country’s standpoint in maritime dispute claims

What happens if we don’t comply with UNCLOS laws?

Government

• The agency or instrumentality, through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and realized.

Government

• As an element of the State, it’s defined as “that institution or aggregate of institutions by which an independent society makes and carries out those rules of action which are necessary to enable men to live in a social state, or which are imposed upon the people forming that society by those who possess the power or authority of prescribing them.

Constituent, Ministrant

What are the 2 traditional functions of the government?

Ministrant

2 Traditional Functions of the Government

• those intended to promote the welfare, progress, and prosperity of the people, and which are merely optional for government to perform. Merely optional.

• Most important functions:

  • public works, public education, public charity, health and safety regulations, and regulations of trade and industry.