| Convention on the Rights and Duties of States | |
|---|---|
 Ratifications and signatories of the treaty Parties Signatories OtherOrganization of American States members | |
| Signed | December 26, 1933 |
| Location | Montevideo,Uruguay |
| Effective | December 26, 1934 |
| Signatories | 20[1] |
| Parties | 17[1] (as of November 2021) |
| Depositary | Pan-American Union |
| Languages | English,French,Spanish andPortuguese |
| Full text | |
 Montevideo Convention atWikisource | |
TheMontevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States is a treaty signed atMontevideo,Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, during the SeventhInternational Conference of American States.[2] At the conference,United States PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt andSecretary of StateCordell Hull declared theGood Neighbor Policy, whichopposed U.S. armed intervention in the domestic affairs ofLatin America. The convention was signed by 19 states. The acceptance ofBrazil,Peru and theUnited States as signatories was subject to minor reservations.[3][1] The convention became operative on December 26, 1934. It was registered in theLeague of Nations Treaty Series on January 8, 1936.[4]
The agreement established the standard definition of asovereign state underinternational law.[5] The conference is notable inU.S. history, since one of the U.S. representatives wasSophonisba Breckinridge, the first U.S. female representative at an international conference.[6]
In most cases, the only avenue open toself-determination for colonial or national ethnic minority populations was to achieve international legal personality as anation state.[7] The majority of delegations at theInternational Conference of American States represented independent states that had emerged from former colonies. In most cases, their own existence and independence had been disputed or opposed by one or more of the European colonial empires. They agreed among themselves to criteria that made it easier for other dependent states with limited sovereignty to gain international recognition. For example, they did not include thestandard of civilization in their criteria.[8]
Article 1 sets out the criteria for a "state as a person of international law":[9]
The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.
The first sentence of Article 3 states that "the political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states." This is known as thedeclarative theory of statehood. It stands in contrast with theconstitutive theory of statehood, by which a state exists only insofar as it is recognized by other states. It should not be confused with theEstrada doctrine. "Independence" and "sovereignty" are not mentioned in article 1.[10]
An important part of the convention was a prohibition of using military force to gain sovereignty. According to Article 11 of the convention,[3]
The contracting states definitely establish the rule of their conduct the precise obligation not to recognize territorial acquisitions or advantages that have been obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure
The 17 states that have ratified this convention are limited to theAmericas.
| State[1][11] | Signed | Deposited | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil | Dec 26, 1933 | Feb 23, 1937 | Ratification |
 Chile | Dec 26, 1933 | Mar 28, 1935 | Ratification |
 Colombia | Dec 26, 1933 | Jul 22, 1936 | Ratification |
 Costa Rica[a] | Sep 28, 1937 | Accession | |
 Cuba | Dec 26, 1933 | Apr 28, 1936 | Ratification |
 Dominican Republic | Dec 26, 1933 | Dec 26, 1934 | Ratification |
 Ecuador | Dec 26, 1933 | Oct 3, 1936 | Ratification |
 El Salvador | Dec 26, 1933 | Jan 9, 1937 | Ratification |
 Guatemala | Dec 26, 1933 | Jun 12, 1935 | Ratification |
 Haiti | Dec 26, 1933 | Aug 13, 1941 | Ratification |
 Honduras | Dec 26, 1933 | Dec 1, 1937 | Ratification |
 Mexico | Dec 26, 1933 | Jan 27, 1936 | Ratification |
 Nicaragua | Dec 26, 1933 | Jan 8, 1937 | Ratification |
 Panama | Dec 26, 1933 | Nov 13, 1938 | Ratification |
 Paraguay | Dec 26, 1933 | Sep 7, 2018 | Ratification |
 United States | Dec 26, 1933 | Jul 13, 1934 | Ratification |
 Venezuela | Dec 26, 1933 | Feb 13, 1940 | Ratification |
A further three states signed the convention on 26 December 1933, but have not ratified it.[1][13]
The only state to attend the Seventh International Conference of American States, where the convention was agreed upon, which did not sign it wasBolivia.[13] Costa Rica, which did not attend the conference, later signed the convention.[12]
The Montevideo Convention codified severalexisting legal norms and principles, which apply to all subjects of international law.[14][15][better source needed]
TheBadinter Committee,[16] which consisted of arbitrators from several European countries, considered a state as having a territory, population, and organized political authority and that the existence of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory.[17]
Switzerland adheres to the same principle, stating that "neither a political unit needs to be recognized to become a state, nor does a state have the obligation to recognize another one. At the same time, neither recognition is enough to create a state, nor does its absence abolish it."[18][verify]
Actual state practices do not follow the Montevideo Convention exactly. While they play an important role, fulfilling its criteria do not automatically create a state because additional requirements must be met. The status of countries such asKosovo andSomaliland largely depends on the recognition or non-recognition by other states.[19]
Delegations from twenty states participated - from the United States and all those in Latin America except Costa Rica (provision was made for Costa Rica to later sign the conventions and treaties presented in the conference).
