Practice question
A privately owned development zone has permanent residents, mapped boundaries and a corporate management board. Its owner signs sales contracts with foreign governments and claims that these satisfy the state-relations element. The zone remains fully subject to Philippine sovereignty, and its board has no independent public authority. Which is the best assessment?
- Ownership and foreign sales automatically establish an independent State.
- Private contracts do not establish independent interstate capacity, and the corporate board does not acquire sovereign government merely by managing the zone.
- Mapped boundaries eliminate the need for government.
- The residents’ consent alone transfers Philippine sovereignty to the company.
- Any foreign government purchasing goods necessarily recognizes the seller as a State.
Legal references
- Province of North Cotabato v. GRP Peace Panel, G.R. No. 183591 et al., October 14, 2008, main decision: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/47263
- Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States, December 26, 1933, Articles 1 and 3: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/intam03.asp
Answer this question in flashcards to review your response and continue practicing.