Characteristics of States as the Subject

In modern international community,states,like natural persons and legal persons,may conduct civil and commercial activities,and may correspondingly be the parties of international economic transactions; in other words,states can be the subjects of private international law.Nonetheless,states are but special subjects of private international law,which are quite different from natural persons and legal persons as such subjects.The specialty of states in this regard is manifested in the following aspects:(https://www.daowen.com)

In the first place,a state is a sovereign; such status implies that the categories and scope of international civil and commercial activities that a state may be involved in are quite limited.Second,once a state engages in international civil and commercial activities,it should follow the principle of equality,disregarding its status as a sovereign.That is to say,a state should on its own restrict its privileges enjoyed by a sovereign when it acts as the subject of private international law.For instance,in 2000,Israel breached its contractual obligations to deliver airborne early warning aircraft to China; consequently,it had to compensate China 350 million U.S.Dollars as damages.1 The compensation in this context,needless to say,is a typical civil liability.Third,when a state engages in international civil and commercial activities,its actions are performed in its own name and by its agencies or instrumentalities.Fourth,as the subjects of private international law,states assume liability on the basis of national treasury.A state assumes an unlimited liability in principle.2 Last but not least,states and their property enjoy immunities.The immunity is derived from the rules of public international law,and from the maxim “par in parem non habet imperium.”3 These rules of public international law are also part of private international law.