VATICAN CITY, STATE OF

Lo Stato della Città del Vaticano is the official name of the independent state created in 1929 by the treaty in the lateran pacts.

Geography. Vatican City is the smallest state in the world, occupying 108.7 acres, of which about one-third is covered with buildings. Trapezoidal in shape, it forms an enclave in the city of rome, on the right side of the Tiber. Imposing walls, built during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, mark its boundaries except on the east, where the limits are the open edge of St. Peter's Square

and the colonnade. Outside this area are other buildings and lands of the Holy See in or near Rome, which are part of the Republic of Italy, but whose permanent extraterritoriality, tax exemption, and freedom from expropriation are formally guaranteed. These include the basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul outside the Walls; the buildings of the Holy Office, Datary, Propaganda, Chancery, and Vicariate of Rome; the papal palace at castel gandolfo; and the transmitting center of the Vatican radio station at Santa Maria di Galeria.

Origin. The seizure of the states of the church, which for several centuries had constituted the papal temporal domain, was completed in 1870; and the territory was annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy. Even after 1870 the Holy See continued to regard itself as a separate entity in international law, and was recognized as such by numerous states with which it retained normal diplomatic relations and active and passive legations. In virtue of this status the Holy See decisively rejected the unilateral solution to the roman question proposed by the Law of guarantees. After long discussions the Holy See and Italy signed the Lateran Pacts (Feb. 11, 1929), which contained an international treaty in the accepted sense. In this treaty Italy recognized that the Holy See, the supreme directive organ of the Catholic Church, possesses sovereignty in the international field as an attribute inherent in its nature, conformed to its tradition and mission in the world. This treaty also established the bases of the new state of Vatican City, defining its limits and essential characteristics. The state was placed under the absolute sovereignty of the supreme pontiff, to the exclusion of all interference by the Italian government. The Republic of Italy reaffirmed its adherence to the Lateran Pacts in its constitution, which became effective in 1948. In 1984 a new concordat between the Italian republic and the Holy See reaffirmed the pope's sovereignty over the Vatican territories and further codified certain aspects of relations between the two states.

The Modern State. When the Lateran Treaty went into effect (June 7, 1929), Vatican City published a constitution. The juridical section, emanating from the pope, comprised the fundamental law, fonts of law, and regulations

on citizenship, residence, administration, public security, and economic, commercial, and professional controls. This complex of six laws remains the basis of the juridical and constitutional system of the Vatican State. Some later modifications occurred with the promulgation of the judicial regulation and code of civil procedure, approved by a motu proprio (May 1, 1946), and with the law on the right of authors (Jan. 12, 1960).

Vatican City is a state in the strict sense since it possesses all the necessary attributes and functions. This is widely admitted in the community of nations. It has territory, population, and sovereignty. This territory, limited as it is, suffices to guarantee the spiritual and temporal independence needed for the exercise of the Holy See's spiritual mission. Unlike other states the Holy See exercises not only sovereign rights over its entire territory but patrimonial rights as well. Vatican City has its own stamps, seal, flag, and coinage, which is interchangeable with Italian currency. Its official language is Italian, but that of the Holy See is Latin.

Citizenship and Population. Vatican citizenship is acquired by persons who reside permanently in Vatican City because of their work or dignity or because of papal authorization alone. The wife, children, parents, brothers, and sisters who are authorized to reside within the state in the home of a citizen also acquire citizenship. Curial cardinals also are citizens, even if they dwell outside Vatican City limits. Once a citizen ceases to fulfill these requirements, he loses citizenship. If he was previously an Italian citizen or a descendant of Italian citizens, he automatically becomes an Italian citizen. Those who were citizens of other countries or descendants of such citizens regain this citizenship if the laws of their respective countries permit dual citizenship; otherwise they become Italian citizens. Vatican citizenship is, therefore, one of the state's unusual features. Because of the manner in which it is gained or lost, the number of citizens tends to vary considerably, but in 2001 Vatican City had a population of just under 1,000.

Government. Sovereignty over Vatican City is exercised by the pope in his function as supreme head of the Catholic Church. The pope assumes this power at the moment of his canonical election to the Chair of St. Peter. In this exercise of power within Vatican City the pope is served by certain special organs delegated for this purpose, all of whose members are appointed and removed at will by him. The Papal Commission for Vatican City was established in 1939, composed initially of three cardinals

and a secretary and later expanded to include seven cardinals and a lay delegate. After 1968, the commission also included 21 lay advisers. To it are delegated the pope's powers for the government of the state. The commission oversees a central council as well as the directors of the museums and other Vatican services.

Justice is administered by a tribunal of the first instance and in the higher stages by a court of appeals and a court of cassation. Recourse to the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is also permitted. The lay tribunals of Vatican City do not handle matters that the Code of Canon Law reserves to ecclesiastical tribunals. Criminal matters are referred to the Italian courts.

Defense. For internal security, public order, and police work Vatican City maintains a security force under the Central Office of Security. There are also the swiss guards, whose full complement is 133 and who are under the supervision of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City. No armed forces in the usual acceptance of the term are maintained. Italian police normally patrol St. Peter's Square, which must be kept open to the public. The Holy See is bound to extradite to Italy persons charged with acts regarded as criminal in both states who take refuge in Vatican City or its extraterritorial possessions.

Communications. Vatican City maintains its own postal, telegraph, telephone, and railroad systems. There are seven radio stations broadcasting programs in over 30 languages. L'Osservatore Romano, the semi-official newspaper, is published daily, with weekly editions in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French. The Vatican Television Center was founded in 1983 to produce and distribute religious programming.

International Relations. Vatican City is an effective member of the community of nations, maintaining diplomatic relations with some 166 countries, of which 69 maintain permanent resident diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See in Rome. It has permanent observer status in the United Nations, maintains diplomatic relations with the European Union, and since 1997 has been a member of the World Trade Organization. Diplomatic relations are carried out through the secretariate of state, with the Secretary of the Section for Relations with States serving as the pope's foreign minister.

Relation to the Holy See. Vatican City and the holy see are distinct entities, both recognized internationally as such, and subjects of international law; but they are indissolubly united in the person of the pope, who is at once ruler of the state and head of the Catholic Church. Although the former is temporal in its purpose and the latter is spiritual, this intimate union prevents Vatican City's being restricted to purely political purposes. The Holy See exercises sovereignty over Vatican City, not for the advantage of the state itself, but for the higher interest of the Church. This state was created with temporal sovereignty primarily to assure independence of spiritual action to the Holy See. Vatican City is thus a means to a higher end, an instrument of another preexisting juridical subject, from which it cannot be separated. The close union with the Holy See imports to this miniscule state its great importance; it also makes it juridically and politically unique in the world.

See Also: rome; vatican.

Bibliography: Juridical. m. miele, Santa Sede e Città del Vaticano (Pisa 1933); La condizione giuridica internazionale della Santa Sede e della Città del Vaticano (Milan 1937). m. falco, The Legal Position of the Holy See before and after the Lateran Agreement, tr. a. h. campbell (London 1935). p. d'avack, Chiesa, Santa Sede e Città del Vaticano nel Jus publicum Ecclesiasticum (Florence 1936). r. raffel, Die Rechtsstellung der Vatikanstadt (Bonn 1961). i. cardinale, Le Saint-Siège et la diplomatie (Paris 1963). General. g. fallani and m. escobar, eds., Vaticano (Florence 1946). f. hayward, The Pope and Vatican City, tr. b. ward (Dublin 1950). j. neuvecelle, The Vatican: Its Organization, Customs, and Way of Life, tr. g. libaire (New York 1955). c. pallenberg, Inside the Vatican (New York 1960). r. neville, The World of the Vatican (New York 1962). g. bull, Inside the Vatican (New York 1983). t. j. reese, Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church (Cambridge, Mass. 1996).