Legal status of the Holy See 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 states; its possession of
Protectorate of the Holy See Protectorate of the Holy See At the San Remo conference (19-26 April 1920), the Mandate for Palestine was allocated to Great Britain. France required the continuation of its religious protectorate in Palestine but Italy and Great Britain opposed it. France lost the religious protectorate, but, thanks to the Holy See, continued to enjoy liturgical honors in Mandatory Palestine until 1924, when the honors were abolished. The precise boundaries of all territories, including that of the British Mandate for Palestine, were left unspecified, to "be determined by the Principal Allied Powers". During that time, the British were in control of Palestine