Autonomous territory in the light of international law

The essence of autonomy involves independence perceived in relation to other entities, that occurs in domestic and international law. In the latter case, it is related to a complex state that acts either as a federal state or a diversified state. In the first and second case, it refers to an area that may be an integral part of the above-mentioned types of states, or may extend to a territory not included in the state on which it is dependent. This status may be enjoyed by colonial areas, and territorial autonomy may be a form of their decolonization. A separate category of geopolitical units accommodates territories that are also not part of a given state, but are associated with it and enjoy the status falling within the sphere of territorial autonomy. The above-mentioned categories of territorial units, with limited treaty powers, cannot therefore be considered as states in the international legal sense, but at most as creations of a quasi-state nature, because full treaty capacity, in addition to sovereignty, is the criterion of subjectivity in international law.