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Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. [1] [2] [3] Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. [4]In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate authority over other people and to change existing laws. [5]
Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of nation-state sovereignty based on territoriality and the absence of a role for external agents in domestic structures. It is an international system of states, multinational corporations , and organizations that began with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
The claim by one state of a waterway as internal waters has led to disputes with other states. For example, Canada claims a section of the Northwest Passage as part of its internal waters, fully under Canadian jurisdiction, [3] a claim which has been disputed by the United States and most maritime nations, which consider them to be an international strait, which means that foreign vessels have ...
Niue's status is considered to be equivalent to independence for international law purposes, and the country exercises full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs. [5] Under the terms of the free association agreement, however, New Zealand retains some responsibility for the foreign relations and defence of Niue.
Tribal sovereignty in the United States is the concept of the inherent authority of Indigenous tribes to govern themselves within the borders of the United States. The U.S. federal government recognized American Indian tribes as independent nations and came to policy agreements with them via treaties .
Other states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony where ultimate sovereignty lies in another state. [44] Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union. A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. [45] (Compare confederacies or confederations such as Switzerland.)
Internal waters are landward of the baseline. The coastal state has sovereignty over internal waters, and can enforce domestic law on vessels in internal waters, including to prohibit innocent passage. [4]: 4 Lakes, rivers and bays are considered internal waters. [5]: 51
The dominant customary international law standard of statehood is the declarative theory of statehood, which was codified by the Montevideo Convention of 1933. The Convention defines the state as a person of international law if it "possess[es] the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) a capacity to enter into relations with the ...