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
Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See knighthood" does not include the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which (although it is the only other order of chivalry recognised by the Holy See) it is internationally recognised as being itself sovereign. Of the papal orders, the highest and most infrequently awarded is the Supreme Order of Christ; the second order is the equally rare Order of the Golden Spur; the third is the Order of Pius IX; the fourth is the Order of Saint Gregory the Great; and the fifth is the Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr. Tracing its origins to the dissolution of the Knights