I think Jan has made it clear for all of us: the SMOM is recognized by
many (not all!) other subjects of international law as a subject of
international law, but is an organization or institution, not a
country or territory. Sovereign states are ipso facto all subjects of
international law, but not all subjects of international law are
necessarily states. The Holy See, for example, is not a sate, but is
a subject of international law (and doest exist as such quite
independently of the Vatican City State), and many international
organizations such as The UN or the League of Arab States are subjects
of international law and may conlude international treaties, send and
receive diplomatic representatives, etc.

The privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions are the result of
international law as embodied in the 1963 Vienna Convention, and are
NOT the result of "extraterritoriality" as is very often, but wrongly
claimed in newspaper articles. The territory occupied by a foreign
embassy, whether owned or rented by the foreign state, is territory of
the host country. If I remember correctly, the concept of
"extraterritoriality" as an explanation for the immunities and
privileges enjoyed by the premises of a foreign mission has already
been abandoned by legal scholars some twohundred years ago ... and it
still roams around!

Joachim Duester

--- In BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com, "Jan S. Krogh" <jan.krogh@t...>
wrote:

> From SMOM FAQ page:
>
> "The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem

of Rhodes

> and Malta, better known as the Sovereign Order of Malta, has a two-fold
> nature. It is one of the most ancient religious Catholic Orders,

founded in

> Jerusalem in around 1050. It celebrated the 9th centennial of its

official

> foundation in 1999. At the same time it has always been recognised by
> nations as an independent subject of international law.
> After the loss of the island of Malta, the Order settled permanently in
> Rome, Italy, in 1834. Its two headquarters, granted with
> extraterritoriality, are the Palazzo Malta in Via dei Condotti 68 -

where

> the Grand Master resides and Government Bodies meet - and the Villa

Malta on

> the Aventine. The latter hosts the Grand Priory of Rome, the Embassy

of the

> Order to the Holy See and the Embassy of the Order to the Italian

Republic."

>
> The SMOM itself does not claim to be any country. Therefor it has no

land

> territory, but the Order owns two buildings in Italy which have
> extraterritorial rights, i.e. embassy rights. If Italy decides to

change the

> status of this land, the Order has to obay Italy.
>
> Jan