983,121,638 visitors served.

In international law, a condominium (plural either condominia, as in Latin, or condominiums) is a political territory (state or border area) in or over which two or more sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium (in the sense of sovereignty) and exercise their rights jointly, without dividing it up into 'national' zones.

Although a condominium has always been recognized as a theoretical possibility, condominiums have been rare in practice. A major problem, and the reason why so few have existed in practice, is the difficulty of ensuring co-operation between the sovereign powers; once the understanding fails, the status is likely to become untenable.

The word is recorded in English since c.1714, from Modern Latin, apparently coined in Germany c.1700 from Latin com- "together" + dominum "right of ownership" (compare domain).

Current condominia

• The main part of Lake Constance (without islands) is considered by Austria to be a condominium between Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This view is not shared by Germany and Switzerland.
• The Moselle River, is a condominium between Luxembourg and Germany, who share bridges and at least one island (near Schengen). Established by Treaty in 1816.
• Pheasant Island (also known as Conference Island, Konpantzia in Basque, Île de la Conférence in French or Isla de los Faisanes in Spanish) in the River Bidassoa between France and Spain. Established by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.
• A small area on the Arabian Peninsula jointly ruled by the Emirati member state of Ajman and Oman.

The term is sometimes even applied to a similar arrangement between members of a Monarch's countries in (personal or formal) union, as was the case for the district of Fiume (Rieka), shared between Hungary and Croatia within the Hapsburg Empire since 1868.

Co-principality

Under French law, Andorra was once considered to be a French–Spanish condominium, although it is more commonly classed as a co-principality, since it is itself a sovereign state, not a possession of one or more foreign powers, even though the quality of Head of State is shared ex officio by two foreigners.

Former Western condominia

• Cyprus was shared for over 300 years between the Byzantine emperor and the Caliph
• Countship of Friesland (West Frisia), since 1165 under Imperial administration, was from 1165 to 1493 a joint condominium of the Count of Holland and the Prince-bishop of Utrecht, then again till 25 October, 1555 under Imperial administration
• Maastricht, essentially a condominium of Belgium and the Netherlands between 1830 and the 1839 Treaty of London
• Neutral Moresnet was shared from 1816 until 1919 between The Netherlands (later Belgium) and Prussia (later Germany)
• Northern Dobruja by the Central powers (German-Austrian-Bulgarian) during World War I.http://www.danstopicals.com/bulgaria.htm
• Oregon Country was an Anglo-American condominium from 1818 until 1846
• Sakhalin Island in the Far East, off Siberia's Pacific coast. In 1855, the Russian and Japanese empires signed the Treaty of Shimoda, allowing both countries' nationals to inhabit the island: Russians in the north, and Japanese in the south, without a clear boundary inbetween. After the Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905 Japan annexed the territory south of 60 North Latitude. In 1945, according to Yalta Conference agreements, the Soviet Union took over the control of the whole island.
• Zaporozhian Sich, a brief Russo-Polish condominium established in 1667 by the Treaty of Andrusovo.

Former Colonial condominia

• Canton and Enderbury Islands were a British–American condominium from 1939 until 1979 when they became part of Kiribati
• New Hebrides formed a French–British condominium in 1906 until independence in 1980 as a republic, now called Vanuatu
• Nauru a tripartite condominium mandate territory administered by Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom from 1923 to 1942 and again in 1947 as a trust territory until independence in 1968
• Samoan Islands from 1889 to 1899 were a rare tripartite condominium under joint protectorate of Germany, Britain and the USA
• Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was a British–Egyptian condominium until 1956
• Togoland from 26 August 1914, under British and French occupation, the German protectorate (a colony since 1905) of Togoland was an Anglo-French condominium, until its partition on 27 December 1916 into French and British zones, which were transformed on 20 July 1922 into two separate League of Nations mandates: British Togoland (which joined Gold Coast, present Ghana, in 1956) and French Togoland, the present republic of Togo

Other project

• In 2001, the British government proposed sharing sovereignty of Gibraltar with Spain, but this was decisively rejected by the people of Gibraltar in a referendum in 2002.

See also

• Dependent area
• Protectorate
• Suzerainty
• Principality
• Andorra
• Åland
• Liechtenstein
• Monaco
• Free city

Sources and references

(incomplete)

• WorldStatesmen- see each present country
• Catholic encyclopaedia passim

•  • [ e] Types of country subdivision

Administrative division   Political division   Census division   Electoral division Contemporary Amt Arrondissement Bailiwick Bakhsh Baladiyah Banner Autonomous banner Barangay Bairro Barrio Bezirk / Regierungsbezirk Block Borough County borough Metropolitan borough Capital Federal capital Canton Census division Census geographic unit Census metropolitan area Census subdivision Circle Circuit City Autonomous city Independent city Co-Principality Colony Comarca Commonwealth Commune Comune Community Autonomous community Residential community Condominium Constituency County Administrative county Autonomous county Metropolitan county Council Croft Department Dependent territory Federal dependency District Autonomous district Capital district City district Federal district Metropolitan district Municipal district Division Dara Duchy Eldership Frazione Freguesia Governorate Hamlet Insular area Judeţ Local administrative unit Local government area Liwa Localit Municipality District municipality Regional municipality Regional county municipality Rural municipality Neighbourhood Oblast Okrug Ostān Parish Civil parish Periphery Prefecture Autonomous prefecture Principality Protectorate Province Autonomous province Quarter Regency Region Autonomous region Capital region Special administrative region Republic Autonomous republic Ranchera Reservation Indian reserve Shabiyah Shahr Shahrestān Shire State Subdistrict Subprefecture Suzerainty Taluka Tehsil Territory Autonomous territorial unit Capital territory Union territory National territory Town Townland Township Civil township Urban (urbanized) area Village Vingtaine Voivodeship Wilayah Ward Historical Agency Barony Burgh Cantref City-State Commote Free Imperial City Hundred Imperial Circle Imperial province March Pargana Presidency Residency Riding Rural district Sanitary district (rural urban) Urban district Viscounty Viscountcy Boldface indicates a type used by ten or more countries; loanwords in italics.

Brühl (Baden) Canton and Enderbury Islands Canton of Linth Canton of Säntis Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria

Condominium (disambiguation) Coregency County of Sargans Duchy of Livonia Enderbury Island

Espiritu Santo List of divided islands Neutral territory New Hebrides Old Swiss Confederacy

Pheasant Island Postage stamps and postal history of the New Hebrides Siege of Maastricht Treaty of Andrusovo More results