INDEPENDENCE

One of the essential attributes of a state under
INTERNATIONAL LAW is external sovereignty—
that is, the right to exercise freely the full range
of power a state possesses under international
law. Recognition of a state as independent nec-
essarily implies that the recognizing states have
no legal authority over the independent state.
The status of a fully independent state should be
contrasted with that of dependent or vassal
states, where a superior state has the legal
authority to impose its will over the subject, or