Protocol of Goetha

The Protocol of Goetha is a treaty signed by Brazilian micronationalists of the Brazilian sector that codifies the declarative theory of statehood as accepted as part of customary intermicronational law, inspired by the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States and logical continuation of the Treaty of Persenburg. As the treaty that inspired the protocol, a micronational state can be considered a person of intermicronational law if it have a defined territory, a permanent population, a established government that in turn have the capacity to enter into relations with other micronational states. According to the declarative theory - defended both by the Montevideu Convention and the Protocol of Goetha, an entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states, as long as the sovereignty was not gained by the use of force - something condemned by the signatories. For the purposes of the protocol, it was understood that Micronational States that present themselves as a Federative State are a single entity of Intermicronational Law. The signatories also understood that micronations can acquire the prerogative of International Law by claiming the status of member of a non-governmental organization with or without consultative status in the departments of the United Nations Secretariat and also declared fulfill the requirements mentioned in the protocol and to look for diplomatic relations with other projects that also fulfill them. One of the main aspects of the protocol was the general compreheension that the political existence of a Micronational State is independent of recognition by the other Micronational States and even before being recognized, the Micronational State has the right to defend its integrity and independence, promote its conservation and seek for its prosperity and organize itself as it sees fit, including in order to be able to fulfill the requirements referred in Article I. Not just that, but was also agreed that before being recognized, the Micronational State has the possibility of legislating on its interests, administering its services and determining the jurisdiction and competence of its internal administrative bodies, as well as establishing criteria for obtaining contact with other Micronational States - rights which exercise has no other limits except the exercise of the rights of other States in accordance with international law to pursue their freedom, independence and maintenance. The protocol also stated that Micronational States are all legally equal, with equal rights and obligations, and with equal capacity to exercise them individually and in front of other Micronational States. The rights of each person of intermicronational law do not depend on the power he has to ensure his exercise, but on the simple fact that his existence as a person of intermicronational law must be respected, even though a Micronational State should not be obliged to recognition, but simply to respect the perspective of existence. On recognition between micronational states, the protocol established that recognition only means that the one that recognizes accepts the personality of the other with all the rights and duties determined by intermicronational law, being also the recognition unconditional and irrevocable, although possible for a Micronational State to revoke its recognition of an illegitimate established government, but it can never revoke recognition about the existence of that Micronational State. The effects of recognition cease only if the Micronational State ceases to exist.