The Legal-International Subjectivity and Sovereignty of the Knights of Malta

Abstract

The Order of Malta is a religious institution of aristocratic character. With regard to religion it is subordinate to the norms of canon law and is under the jurisdiction of the Hole See. This dependence in the religious sphere does not violate its lay sovereignty. The order participates (as a subject) in the legal-international relations and is characterised by a certain difference in its subjectivity. It performs the right of legation and is able to establish treaties. Its international status may be compared to the sui generis subjectivity of the Holy See and may be treated as the primary legal-international subject of a particular kind.