State territory

The territory of a state is a part of the globe (including land and its bowels, water and air), which is under the sovereignty of a particular state and within which its institutions exercise state power. Territorial supremacy is part of the sovereignty of the state.

The territory of the state consists of:

• land territory (mainland, islands, enclaves);
• water area (inland waters and a territorial sea 12 miles wide).

Inland waters include:

• water ports;
• waters of bays, bays, estuaries and straits, historically belonging to a particular state;
• waters of rivers, lakes and other bodies of water, the banks of which belong to a particular state.

• the bowels of the earth, located under land, water territory, as well as the bowels of the continental shelf. The depth of the bowels is not limited and theoretically extends to the center of the Earth.
• air territory over the land and waters of the state. The altitude limit of the air territory is not established. The altitude limit of airspace under state sovereignty delimits it from outer space subordinate to the international regime.
• objects conditionally equivalent to the territory of the state (ships and aircraft, spaceships, official residences of diplomatic missions in other countries) ^[1] .

The territory of one state is separated from the territory of another state by state borders that determine the limits of the state territory and the spread of territorial supremacy.

There are special concepts of the territory, for example, the customs territory. In principle, it coincides with the territory of the state, but with some exceptions, for example, it does not include free customs zones and free warehouses in ports. Boundary procedures include:

• delimitation - the establishment of the state border line on a large-scale map;
• demarcation - the establishment of the state border line on the ground.

The territory of the state and its borders may be changed on the basis of:

• self-determination of nations ;
• plebiscite - voting of the population of the disputed territory on its nationality;
• assignments - agreements of states on territorial concessions on a compensation basis;
• territory rejection - territorial changes aimed at eliminating the possibility of unlawful actions against them.