The convention became operative on December 26, 1934. It was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on January 8, 1936.[4]
The conference is notable in U.S. history, since one of the U.S. representatives was Dr. Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge, the first U.S. female representative at an international conference.[5]
In most cases, the only avenue open to self-determination for colonial or national ethnic minority populations was to achieve international legal personality as a nation-state.[6] The majority of delegations at the International 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.[citation needed]
Contents of the convention
Article 1 sets out the criteria for statehood:
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 the declarative theory of statehood. It stands in contrast with the constitutive theory of statehood, by which a state exists only insofar as it is recognized by other states. It should not be confused with the Estrada doctrine. "Independence" and "sovereignty" are not mentioned in article 1.[7]
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 only state to attend the Seventh International Conference of American States, where the convention was agreed upon, which did not sign it was Bolivia.[10] Costa Rica, which did not attend the conference, later signed the convention.[9]
The Badinter Committee,[13] which consisted of arbitrators from several European countries, considered a state as having a territory, population, and organised political authority and that the existence of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory.[14]
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."[15][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 as Kosovo and Somaliland largely depends on the recognition or non-recognition by other states.[16]
^ abEncyclopedia of the Inter-American System. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1997-01-01. p. 287. ISBN9780313286001. Retrieved 2013-07-23. 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).
^The Badinter Arbitration Committee (full title), named for its chair, ruled on the question of whether the Republics of Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia, who had formally requested recognition by the members of the European Union and by the EU itself, had met conditions specified by the Council of Ministers of the European Community on December 16, 1991. "The Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee: A Second Breath for the Self-Determination of Peoples". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
