PART 2 STATE
"nation" exists at all
STATE
 Groups of people which have acquired
international recognition as an independent
country and which have a population, a common
language and a defined and distinct territory.
 State, political organization of society, or
the body politic, or, more narrowly, the
institutions of government. The state is
a form of human association
distinguished from other social groups
by its purpose, the establishment of
order and security; its methods, the laws
and their enforcement; its territory, the
area of jurisdiction or geographic
boundaries; and finally by its
sovereignty. The state consists, most
broadly, of the agreement of the
individuals on the means whereby
disputes are settled in the form of laws
MONTEVIDEO CONVENTION
 The Montevideo Convention on the
Rights and Duties of States is a treaty
signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on
December 26, 1933, during the
Seventh International Conference of
American States. The Convention
codifies the declarative theory of
statehood as accepted as part of
customary international law
NATION
 A nation is a large group of people
with strong bonds of identity - an
"imagined community," a tribe on a
grand scale. The nation may have
a claim to statehood or self-rule, but
it does not necessarily enjoy a state
of its own. National identity is
typically based on shared culture,
religion, history, language or
ethnicity, though disputes arise as to
who is truly a member of the national
community or even whether the
 Guibernau (1996, p. 47) has defined the
nation as: ‘a human group conscious of
forming a community, sharing a
common culture, attached to a clearly
demarcated territory, having a common
past and a common project for the
future and claiming the right to rule
itself’.
MULTINATIONAL STATE
 A multinational state is a sovereign
state which is viewed as comprising two
or more nations. Such a state contrasts
with a nation state where a single nation
comprises the bulk of the population.
ELEMENTS OF A STATE
A State stands identified with its four absolutely
essential elements:
1. Population:
State is a community of persons. It is a human
political institution. Without a population there
can be no State. Population can be more or less
but it has to be there. There are States with very
small populations like Switzerland, Canada and
others, and there are States like China, India and
others, with very large populations.
The people living in the State are the citizens of
the State. They enjoy rights and freedom as
citizens as well as perform several duties
towards the State. When citizens of another
State are living in the territory of the State, they
are called aliens. All the persons, citizens as well
as aliens, who are living in the territory of the
State are duty bound to obey the state laws and
policies. The State exercises supreme authority
over them through its government.
 2. Territory:
Territory is the second essential element of the
State. State is a territorial unit. Definite territory
is its essential component. A State cannot exist
in the air or at sea. It is essentially a territorial
State. The size of the territory of a State can be
big or small; nevertheless it has to be a definite,
well-marked portion of territory.
Further, it must be noted that the territory of the
state includes not only the land but also, rivers,
lakes, canals inland seas if any, a portion of
coastal sea—territorial waters or maritime belt,
continental shelf, mountains, hills and all other
land features along with the air space above the
territory.
3. Government:
Government is the organisation or machinery or
agency or magistracy of the State which makes,
implements, enforces and adjudicates the laws
of the state. Government is the third essential
element of the State. The state exercises its
sovereign power through its government.
This sometimes creates the impression that
there is no difference between the State and
Government. However it must be clearly noted
that government is just one element of the State.
It is the agent or the working agency of the State.
Sovereignty belongs to the State; the
government only uses it on behalf of the State.
Each government has three organs:
(1) Legislature—which formulates the will
of State i.e. performs law-making
functions;
(2) Executive— enforces and implements
the laws i.e. performs the law-
application functions; and
(3) Judiciary—which applies the laws to
specific cases and settles the disputes
i.e. performs adjudication functions.
4. Sovereignty:
Sovereignty is the most exclusive element of
State. State alone posses sovereignty. Without
sovereignty no state can exit. Some institutions
can have the first three elements (Population
Territory and Government) but not sovereignty.
State has the exclusive title and prerogative to
exercise supreme power over all its people and
territory. In fact, Sovereignty is the basis on
which the State regulates all aspects of the life of
the people living in its territory.
As the supreme power of the State, Sovereignty
has two dimensions:
Internal Sovereignty and External Sovereignty.
(i) Internal Sovereignty:
It means the power of the State to order and
regulate the activities of all the people, groups
and institutions which are at work within its
territory. All these institutions always act in
accordance with the laws of the State. The State
can punish them for every violation of any of its
laws.
(ii) External Sovereignty:
It means complete independence of the State
from external control. It also means the full
freedom of the State to participate in the
activities of the community of nations. Each
state has the sovereign power to formulate and
act on the basis of its independent foreign policy.
ASSOCIATED STATES
a nation with limited sovereignty, especiallya fo
rmer colony that now assumesresponsibility for
domestic affairs butcontinues to depend on the
colonial rulerfor defense and foreign policy.
PEOPLE
POPULATION SIZE
There is no definite limit for the size of
population essential for a State. However, it is
recognised that the population should be neither
too large nor very small. It has to be within a
reasonable limit. It should be determined on the
basis of the size of the territory of the State, the
available resources, the standard of living
expected and needs of defence, production of
goods and supplies.
GOVERNMENT
 The group of people with the authority
to govern a country or state; a particular
ministry in office.
 A group that exercises sovereign
authority over a nation, state, society or
other body of people. Governments are
generally responsible for making and
enforcing laws, managing currency, and
protecting the populace from external
threats, and may have other duties or
privileges. Governments also typically
set tax rates, and may regulate
investment practices as well.
DE JURE GOVERNMENT
 The term that applies to the legally
constituted government that has been
placed in power in accordance with the
laws of the land.
 De jure government is the legal,
legitimate government of a state and is
so recognized by other states.
DE FACTO GOVERNMENT
 A de facto government is in actual
possession of authority and control of
the state.
 A de facto government is one which has
seized power by force or in any other
unconstitutional method and governs in
spite of the existence of a de
jure government.
DE FACTO PROPER
 The Government that gets possession
and control of, or usurps by force or by
the voice of the majority, the rightful
legal government and maintains itself
against the will of the latter.
DE FACTO GOVERNMENT OF
PARAMOUNT FORCES
 This is established and maintained by
military forces who invade and occupy a
territory of the enemy in the course of
war, and which is denominated a
government of paramount force.
Characteristics: 1) Its existence is
maintained by active military power
within the territories and against the
rightful authority of an established and
lawful government. 2) While it exist it
must necessarily be obeyed in civil
matters by private citizens who, by acts
of obedience rendered in submission to
such force, do not become responsible,
as wrongdoers, for those acts, though
not warranted by the laws of the
rightful government
INDEPENDENT GOVERNMENT
 Established as an independent
government by the inhabitants of a
country who rise in insurrection against
the parent state
PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT
 A system of government in which the
powers of the president are
constitutionally separate from those of
the legislature.
 The executive leader, the President, is
directly voted upon by the people (Or
via a body elected specifically for the
purpose of electing the president, and
no other purpose
 In a presidential system, executive
power is constitutionally vested in a
single individual (i.e., the president)
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT
 A system of government having the real
executive power vested in a cabinet
composed of members of the
legislature who are individually and
collectively responsible to the
legislature
 Democratic form of government in
which the party (or a coalition of
parties) with the greatest
representation in the parliament
(legislature) forms the government, its
leader becoming prime minister or
chancellor.
UNITARY GOVERNMENT
 A unitary system of government, or
unitary state, is a sovereign state
governed as a single entity. The central
government is supreme, and the
administrative divisions exercise only
powers that the central government
has delegated to them.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
 A federal government is a system of
government that divides the power
between a larger central government,
and the local and regional governments
beneath it.
ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
 The term "absolute monarchy" refers to
monarchies in which the ruler has total
powers and supremacy above a
country's people that no written
legislation or law limits.
LIMITED MONARCHY
 A constitutional monarchy is a form of
government in which a monarch acts as
head of state within the parameters of
a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e.,
uncodified) or blended constitution. It
differs from absolute monarchy in that
an absolute monarch serves as the sole
source of political power in the state
and is not legally bound by any
constitution. Most constitutional
monarchies employ a parliamentary
system in which the Monarch may have
strictly Ceremonial duties or may have
Reserve Powers, depending on the
constitution. They have a directly or
indirectly elected prime minister who is
the head of government, and exercises
effective political power.
DICTATORSHIP
 form of government in which one
person or a small group possesses
absolute power without
effective constitutional limitations. The
term dictatorship comes from the Latin
title dictator, which in the Roman
Republic designated a temporary
magistrate who was granted
extraordinary powers in order to deal
with state crises.
TOLITARIANISM
 form of governmentthat theoretically
permits no individual freedom and that
seeks to subordinate all aspects of
individual life to the authority of
the state. Italian dictator Benito
Mussolinicoined the term totalitario in
the early 1920s to characterize the new
fascist state of Italy, which he further
described as “all within the state, none
outside the state, none against the
state.”
ARISTOCRACY
 government by a relatively small
privileged class or by a minority
consisting of those felt to be best
qualified to rule.
OLIGARCHY
 government by the few, especially
despotic power exercised by a small
and privileged group for corrupt or
 selfish purposes. Aristotle used the
term oligarchia to designate the rule of
the few when it was exercised not by
the best but by bad men unjustly.
DEMOCRACY
 Democracy is a form of government in
which all eligible citizens have an equal
say in the decisions that affect their
lives.
 Democracy allows people to participate
equally—either directly or through
elected representatives—in the
proposal, development, and creation of
laws. It encompasses social, economic
and cultural conditions that enable the
free and equal practice of political self-
determination.
MOBOCRACY
 Mobocracy or ochlocracy means the
rule of government by mass of people.
In this kind of government system, a
powerful mob or mass of people take
control of government.
 Mobocracy is the form of government
wherein people do not have the power
to elect their representatives since it a
populace or a mob that reserves the
right to form the government and rule
the people.
CONSTITUENT FUNCTION
 Constituent functions are those which
constitute the very bonds of society and
are compulsory in nature. Examples are
keeping of order and providing for the
protection of persons and property; the
fixing of the legal relations between
man and wife, and between parents
and child; the regulation of property
and the determination of contract
rights
MINISTRANT FUNCTION
 Ministrant functions are those that are
undertaken only by way of advancing
the general interests of society and are
merely optional. Examples are public
works, public education, public charity,
health and safety regulations and
regulations of trade and industry.
Laissez Faire Doctrine
 Laissez-faire economics is a theory that
restricts government intervention in the
economy. The economy is strongest
when all the government does is
protect individuals’ rights.
Doctrine of Parens Patriae
 A doctrine that grants the inherent
power and authority of the state to
protect persons who are legally unable
to act on their own behalf. Parens
patriae is Latin for ‘parent of his or her
country.’ In the juvenile justice legal
system, parens patriae is a doctrine that
allows the state to step in and serve as
a guardian for children, the mentally ill,
the incompetent, the elderly, or
disabled persons who are unable to
care for themselves.
SOVEREIGNTY
 in political theory, the ultimate
overseer, or authority, in the decision-
making process of the state and in the
maintenance of order.
LEGAL SOVEREIGNTY
 Legal sovereignty is that authority of
the state which has the legal power to
issue final commands. It is the authority
of the state to whose directions the law
of the State attributes final legal force.
 POLITICAL
 Political sovereign in the representative
democracies, we mean the whole mass
of the people or the electorate or the
public opinion. But at the same time, it
cannot be emphatically asserted that
political sovereignty can definitely be
identified with the whole mass of the
people, the electorate or the public
opinion. Political sovereignty is a vague
and indeterminate term.
 Political sovereignty rests in that class
of people under whose influence the
mass of the people is or the people are.
Political sovereignty rests in the
electorate, in the public opinion and in
all other influences in the state which
mould and shape the public opinion.
INTERNAL
 Internal Sovereignty means some
persons, assembly of group of persons
in every independent state have the
final legal authority to command and
enforce obedience.
 This sovereignty exercises its absolute
authority over all individuals or
associations of the individuals within
the state. Professor Harold Laski has
very aptly remarked in this connection:
“It issues orders to all men and all
associations within that area; it receives
orders from none of them. It will is
subject to no legal limitation of any
kind. What it proposes is right by mere
announcement of intention”.
EXTERNAL
 External Sovereignty, that the State is
subject to no other authority and is
independent of any compulsion on the
part of other States. Every independent
state reserves the authority to
renounce trade treaties and to enter
into military agreements. Each estate is
independent of other states.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOVEREIGNTY
PERMANENCE
 Permanence is the chief characteristics
of sovereignty. Sovereignty lasts as long
as an independent state lasts. The
death of the king, the overthrow of the
government and the addiction of power
does not lead to the destruction of
sovereignty.
 We should keep in mind the basic fact
that the king or the ruler exercises
sovereign power on behalf of the state
and, therefore, sovereignty lasts as long
as the state lasts. The death of the king
or the overthrow of the government
does not affect sovereignty. This is the
reason why people in England used to
say “The King is dead, long live the
King”.
EXCLUSIVITY
 By exclusiveness we mean that there
can be two sovereigns, in one
independent state and if the two
sovereigns exist in a state, the unity of
that state will be destroyed. There
cannot exist another sovereign slate
within the existing sovereign state.
 There can be but one supreme power in
the state. Within the state, there is no
other power that possesses equal or
superior authority to it.
COMPREHENSIVENESS
 The State is all comprehensive and the
sovereign power is universally
applicable. Every individual and every
association of individual is subject to
the sovereignty of the state. No
 association or group of individuals,
however, rich or powerful it may be,
can resist or disobey the sovereign
INALIENABILITY
authority.
 Sovereignty makes no exception and
grants no exemption to anyone. It
grants exemptions only in the case of
foreign embassies and diplomatic
representatives of foreign countries on
the reciprocal basis. This does not in
any way restrict the sovereignty of the
state in the legal sense. The state can
abolish and withdraw the diplomatic
privileges granted to foreigners.
ABSOLUTENESS
 Sovereignty is absolute and unlimited.
The sovereign is entitled to do
whatsoever he likes. Sovereignty is
subject to none.
 Sovereignty is a primary power. It does
not derive its power from anything,
There is no other body that determines
the nature and the extent of the power
IMPRESCRIPTIBILITY
as a matter of legal right.
INDIVISIBLENESS
 Sovereignty cannot be divided without
producing several wills of the people,
which is inconsistent with the notiion of
sovereignty
 Indivisibility is the life-blood of
sovereignty. Sovereignty cannot be
divided state, American statesman
Calhoun has declared, “Sovereignty is
an entire thing; to divide it is to destroy
it. It is the supreme power in a state
and we might just well divide it is to
destroy it. It is the supreme power in a
state and we might just well speak of
half square or half a triangle as half a
JURISDICTION
sovereignty”. Gettell, has also very aptly
remarked in this regard, “If sovereignty
is not absolute, no state exists. If
sovereignty is divided, more than one
state exists”.
 Inalienability is another characteristic of
sovereignty. Sovereignty is inalienable.
By inalienability we mean that the State
cannot part with its sovereignty. In
other words, we can say that the
sovereign does not remain the
sovereign or the sovereign state, if he
or the state transfers his or its
sovereignty to any other person or any
other state.
 Sovereignty is the life and soul of the
state and it cannot be alienated without
destroying the state itself. Lieber has
very aptly remarked in this connection:
“Sovereignty can no more be alienated
than a tree can alienate its right to
sprout or a man can transfer his life or
personality to another without self-
destruction”.
 By imprescriptibility, we mean that if
the sovereign does not exercise his
sovereignty for a certain period of time,
it does not lead to the destruction of
sovereignty. It lasts as long as the state
lasts.
 This implies that sovereignty can
neither be destroyed nor lost if it has
not been exercised for a long period. A
people may not have exercised
sovereignty for some time due to
control by a foreign power. But non-
exercise of sovereign power does not
put an end to sovereignty itself. It can
only shift to a new bearer.
 Jurisdiction, Authority of a court to hear
and determine cases. This authority is
 constitutionally based. Examples of
judicial jurisdiction are: appellate
jurisdiction, in which a superior court
has power to correct legal errors made
in a lower court; concurrent
jurisdiction, in which a suit might be
brought to any of two or more courts;
and federal jurisdiction. A court may
also have authority to operate within a
certain territory. Summary jurisdiction,
in which a magistrate or judge has
power to conduct proceedings resulting
in a conviction without jury trial, is
limited in the U.S. to petty offenses.
 The power and authority
constitutionally conferred upon (or
constitutionally recognized as existing
in) a court or judge to pronounce the
sentence of the law, or to award the
remedies provided by law, upon a state
of facts, proved or ad- mitted, referred
to the tribunal for decision, and
authorized by law to be the subject of
investigation or action by that tribunal,
and in favor of or against persons (or a
res) who present themselves, or who
are brought, before the court in some
manner sanctioned by law as proper
and sufficient.
Sovereignty and jurisdiction are related but
quite distinct concepts. Sovereignty refers to
the possession of ultimate legal authority within
a defined territory. Jurisdiction refers to the
authority to exercise legal power. Sovereignty is
a normative concept, a product of moral
philosophy and legal theory that is used to
make claims about how political and legal
systems ought to be organized, while
jurisdiction is an empirical concept used to
describe how such systems actually are
organized
TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION
 Territorial jurisdiction refers to
jurisdiction over cases arising in or
involving persons residing within a
defined territory. It can also be the
territory over which a government, one
of its courts, or one of its subdivisions
has jurisdiction. If a court does not have
territorial jurisdiction over the events or
persons within it, then the court will not
be able to bind the defendant to an
obligation or adjudicate any rights
involving them. Territorial jurisdiction
can be waived, even unintentionally, by
a defendant
PERSONAL JURISDICTION
 Personal jurisdiction, also known as in
personam (against the person)
jurisdiction, gives a court the authority
to make decisions binding on the
persons involved in a civil case. Every
state has personal jurisdiction over
persons within its territory. Conversely,
no state can exercise personal
jurisdiction and authority over persons
outside its territory unless the persons
have manifested some contact with the
state.
EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION
 Extraterritorial jurisdiction gives
government the authority to extend its
laws beyond its borders. Extraterritorial
jurisdiction refers to a court’s ability to
exercise power beyond its territorial
limits. It can also refer to the legal
ability of a government to exercise
authority beyond its normal
boundaries. Extraterritorial jurisdiction
can apply internationally also.
DOCTRINE OF AUTO LIMITATION
 Is the property of a state-force due to
which it has the exclusive capacity of
legal self-determination and self-
restriction.” A state then, if it chooses
to, may refrain from the exercise of
what otherwise is illimitable
competence.” The opinion was at pains
to point out though that even then,
there is at the most diminution of
jurisdictional rights, not its
disappearance.
 Under the principle of auto-limitation,
any state may by its consent, express or
implied, submit to a restriction of its
sovereign rights. There may thus be a
curtailment of what otherwise is a
plenary power
DOMINIUM
 The capacity of the State to own and
acquire property.
 It refers to lands held by the
government in a proprietary character:
can provide for the exploitation and use
of lands and other natural resources.
IMPERIUM
 Government authority possessed by the
State which is appropriately embraced
in sovereignty.
Imperium is the State’s authority to
govern as embraced in the concept of
sovereignty; includes passing laws,
governing a territory, maintaining peace
and order over it, and defending it
against foreign invasion.
BELLIGERENT OCCUPATION
 Governs the relationship between the
occupying power, on the one hand, and
the wholly or partially occupied state
and its inhabitants, including refugees
and stateless persons, on the other. It is
applicable only in international armed
conflicts.
 Belligerent state invades the territory of
another state with the intention of
holding the territory at least
temporarily. While hostilities continue,
the occupying state is prohibited by
International Law from annexing the
territory or creating another state out
of it, but the occupying state may
establish some form of military
administration over the territory and
the population. Under the Martial Law
imposed by this regime, residents are
required to obey the occupying
authorities and may be punished for
not doing so. Civilians may also be
compelled to perform a variety of
nonmilitary tasks for the occupying
authorities, such as the repair of roads
and buildings, provided such work does
not contribute directly to the enemy
war effort.
 There is no change in sovereignty.
However, political laws, except those
treason, are merely suspended;
municipal laws remain in force unless
changed by the belligerent. What may
be suspended is the exercise of the
rights of sovereignty, with the control
and government of the territory
occupied by the enemy passes
temporarily to the occupant
Principle of Jus Postliminium
 At the end of the occupation, when the
occupant is ousted from the territory,
the political laws which had been
suspended during the occupation shall
automatically become effective again.
In the same vein, political laws of the
belligerent occupant are automatically
 abrogated upon the cessation of the
occupation
Political laws of the former sovereign,
whether compatible or not with those of
the new sovereign, are automatically
abrogated, unless they are expressly re-
enacted by the affirmative act of the new
sovereign. Municipal laws remain in force.
ABROGATION
 The term abrogation refers to the
cancelling, repealing, abolishing, or
annulling of something. In short,
abrogation is the “undoing” of a thing
by authoritative action. In a legal sense,
abrogation is most often used in the
context of revoking terms of a contract,
or of repealing a law.
 Abrogation is used to annul a law, or to
cancel a contract, with just cause, and
with authority. Simply disagreeing with
a law, or changing one’s mind about a
contract, is not just cause for
abrogation. Abrogation can only be
done by the makers of the law or
contract. A law can only be repealed by
the legislative body that made it. A
contract can only be cancelled by the
parties who entered into it. A law,
ordinance, or decree can be repealed in
its entirety, or only certain portions of it
can be abolished, which is referred to as
“derogation.”
TERRITORY
 The sovereignty of a state is confined to
a defined piece of territory, which is
subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of
the state and is protected by
international law from violation by
other states. Although frontier disputes
do not detract from the sovereignty or
independence of a particular state, it is
inherent in statehood that there should
be a core territory that is subject to the
effective control of the authorities of
the state
ARTICLE I
NATIONAL TERRITORY
 Article I of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution: National Territory The
national territory comprises the
Philippine archipelago, with all the
islands and waters embraced therein,
and all other territories over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial,
fluvial and aerial domains, including its
territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil,
the insular shelves, and other
submarine areas. The waters around,
between, and connecting the islands of
the archipelago, regardless of their
breadth and dimensions, form part of
the internal waters of the Philippines.
ARCHIPELAGO
 An archipelago is a group of islands
closely scattered in a body of water.
Usually, this body of water is the ocean,
but it can also be a lake or river.
ARCHIPELAGIC WATERS
 If the country is an archipelago or has
an archipelago under it, a baseline is
drawn between the outermost points of
the islands, provided that these islands
are close to each other. All water inside
this is called Archipelagic Waters. The
state has full sovereignty over these
waters very much similar to the internal
waters and the foreign vessels are
 allowed for innocent passage through
archipelagic waters.
TERRITORIAL SEA
 In International Law the term territorial
waters refers to that part of the ocean
immediately adjacent to the shores of a
state and subject to its territorial
jurisdiction. The state possesses both
the jurisdictional right to regulate,
police, and adjudicate the territorial
waters and the proprietary right to
control and exploit natural resources in
those waters and exclude others from
them.
UNITED NATION CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF
THE SEA
 The United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes a
comprehensive legal framework to
govern all activities and uses of the
world’s seas and oceans. The
Convention defines the limits of
territorial seas of countries from which
they can explore and exploit marine
resources.
MARE NOSTRUM REGIME
 During the Roman era, the concept of
Mare Nostrum governed states’ claims
to the sea. Under the Mare Nostrum
regime, Rome extended its sovereignty
outwardly to encompass the breadth of
the Mediterranean Sea, subjecting it to
Rome’s internal laws. Norway and
England followed suit, claiming the
entire North Sea and the English
Channel, respectively, as their exclusive
territories.
MARE CLAUSUM
 Mare Clausum regime accords use and
exploitation only to states with naval
capabilities, particularly England. Selden
argued that since naval states guarded
against maritime perils such as piracy,
naval states should rightfully exercise
exclusive jurisdiction over the sea. Due
to England’s continuing naval prowess,
Mare Clausum remained in force for the
next 200 years.
MARE LIBERUM
 The sea should be open to all states for
exploration and trade, irrespective of
naval capabilities. Mare Liberum
revolved around two key principles:
first, that “the High Seas were laissez-
faire domains to be used by all nations,”
and second, that no state could claim
these as their own. Although published
earlier than Mare Clausum, Mare
Liberum did not gain traction until
much later when the rest of Europe
began to engage in trade. Due in part to
an increase in international commerce,
Mare Liberum continues to govern the
high seas.
ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE
The Archipelagic Doctrine is a specification in
the Filipino Constitution of 1973 defining the
boundaries of the country. It stated:
"The national territory comprises the
Philippine archipelago with all the islands and
waters embraced therein and all the other
territories belonging to the Philippines..."
This doctrine means, therefore, that the
country, with its thousands of islands and
many seas, should be considered as a political
unit for reasons of history, law, geography,
economics, and security. Also, when questions
involving territorial conflicts arise, the
Philippines uses this doctrine to support its
territorial claims.
STRAIGHT BASELINE METHOD
 Straight baseline method refers to
imaginary straight lines are drawn
joining 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.
Territorial sea of 12 Nautical Miles from the
Baseline
According to UNCLOS, the territorial sea can be
defined as the area which extends up to 12
nautical miles from the baseline of a country’s
coastal state. The territorial sea is under the
jurisdiction of that particular country; however,
foreign ships (both merchant and military) ships
are allowed passage through it.
This type of passage of territorial passage of
foreign ships is known as innocent passage.
However, the right to innocent passage can be
suspended if there is a threat to the security of
the coastal state.
Contiguous zone of 24 Nautical Miles from the
baseline
Contiguous zone can be defined as the belt
which extends 12 nautical miles beyond the
territorial sea limit.
A coastal state’s control on this area is limited
to prevention of actions which can infringe its
customs, fiscal, and immigration laws. It can
also act if any activity in the contiguous zone
threatens regulations in the territorial sea.
It is possible that vessels carrying noxious
dangerous substances or waste may be turned
away on public health or environmental
grounds.
Exclusive Economic zone of 200 Nautical Miles
from the Baseline
Exclusive economic zone can be defined as a
belt of water which extends up to 200 nautical
miles from the baseline of the coastal state.
Thus it includes both territorial sea and
contiguous zone.
The exclusive economic zone provides the
coastal state control over all economic
resources such as fishing, mining, oil
exploration, and marine research.
The coastal state also has jurisdiction regarding
protection and preservation of natural
resources and marine environment.
REGIME OF ISLANDS
Article121
Regime of islands
1. An island is a naturally formed area of
land, surrounded by water, which is
above water at high tide.
2. Except as provided for in paragraph 3,
the territorial sea, the contiguous zone,
the exclusive economic zone and the
continental shelf of an island are
determined in accordance with the
provisions of this Convention applicable
to other land territory.
3. Rocks which cannot sustain human
habitation or economic life of their own
shall have no exclusive economic zone
or continental shelf.