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State’s territory
State’s territory is the area belonging to the people of a state. It is the territorial area that a state governs permanently and in an orderly manner. It is also the territory that a nation requires for the recognition of a state, for example when an ethnic group demands the secession of its territory from a state.
For a territorial area to be considered state territory, a population must be able to establish and maintain the state’s monopoly on the use of force within that area. Failed states form an exception, as they are unable to fulfil this fundamental function. However, in the case of these states, the existence of a state territory is nevertheless assumed for a prolonged period on the basis of the principle of continuity under international law.
The state’s territory is distinct from the sovereign territory. The sovereign territory includes, for example, the land belonging to embassies in other countries. However, these remain within the state’s territory of the other state and therefore do not constitute extraterritorial areas. Colonies also did not form part of the state’s territory, but were part of the sovereign territory of the colonial power. A colony was an area outside the state’s territory of the colonial power that was ruled by that power. However, there may also be a distinction between state’s territory and sovereign territory within a territorial area for other reasons. The Canal Zone surrounding the Panama Canal was, until 1999, a sovereign territory of the USA but part of the state’s territory of the State of Panama. Guantánamo Bay has been leased by the USA since 1898. It forms part of the territorial waters of the USA and the state’s territory of Cuba.
Borders of the state’s territory
The state’s territory comprises the land area of the state, including its associated islands, the territorial waters and the airspace above them.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, territorial waters extend from a country’s coastline up to a maximum distance of 12 nautical miles (22.22 km). If the nearest coast of another country is within 24 nautical miles (44.45 km) of the coast, the midpoint between the two coasts is generally considered the boundary between the two national territories. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has been ratified by most countries worldwide. Countries that have not ratified this convention include the USA, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Peru and Venezuela.
Airspace is the air-filled area above a country. However, there is no consensus on the altitude at which this space ends. As a rule, the Kármán line at an altitude of 100 km is regarded as the boundary. This means that aeroplanes cross a state’s territory and its sovereign territory, whereas satellites do not.
Fjords up to 3 nautical miles (11.11 km) wide are also part of a state’s territory. Sea bays are also included, provided they are no wider than 24 nautical miles (44.45 km).
Where rivers are designated as national borders, the border usually runs down the middle of the river. If the course of a river changes only slightly, the national border changes accordingly. If a border river changes significantly, other territories are usually exchanged to compensate. The same applies to lakes.
Exclaves and enclaves
A state’s territory may also include territorial areas outside the main territory. These are called exclaves if they cannot be reached via their own or international waters. Consequently, Alaska in the USA, Ceuta in Africa (a Spanish exclave on the border with Morocco) and the Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania are not exclaves, as they can be reached via international waters.
Enclaves are parts of another state or states that are surrounded by a single state. States that are enclaves include Lesotho within South Africa, San Marino within Italy and the Vatican within Italy.
