Legal status of the Holy See of 16 July 2004. Legal status of the Holy See The legal status of the Holy See, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, both in state practice and according to the writing of modern legal scholars, is that of a full subject of public international law, with rights and duties analogous to those of States. Although the Holy See, as distinct from the Vatican City State, does not fulfill the long-established criteria in international law of statehood; i.e. having a permanent population, a defined territory, a stable government and the capacity to enter into relations with other
Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See The Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy See () is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of China accredited to the Holy See, one of its few "de jure" embassies in the world, and the only one remaining in Europe. It also has responsibility for relations with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Its counterpart in the Republic of China is the Apostolic Nunciature to China in Taipei. It is separate from the Taipei Representative Office in Italy in Rome, which functions as a "de facto" embassy