Since 1945 the existence of Staets has provided the basis of the legal order. However, international law provide no satisfactory definition of 'state.'Legal writers have suggested many definitions of statehood; each of them treats the elements with various degrees of importance. Franz Von Liszt and Thomas Baty emphasized that independence and supremacy over territory or sovereignty were indispensible elements of the state. Hans Kelsen attempted to define the state in terms of law and did not give much importance to territorial supremacy nor independence. Kelsen viewed the state as a legal order.Hersch Lauterpacht and Louis Cavar emphasized territory and population. Effective control was an important element and that the putative state must show adherence to minimum international legal standards. They also suggested that international legality be a prerequisite to statehood.As international law in the 1970s developed, it became more apparent that international organs is capable of some aspects of interstate relations. D.P. O'Connell emphasized United Nations practice in his definition of statehood. He included territory and population among the criteria for statehood but noted that there was no minimum requirement for either. He noted that competence to make treaties is not unique to states. In contemplating independence as a criterion, he noted that while the state is not subordinate to any other entity, it is increaasingly subordinate to international organizations. Georg Schwarzenberger noted that United Nations practice is an indication of the prevailing view as to what makes a state; he posited that the "ability to stand by itself" is a prerequisite to statehood. The commonly cited criteria is thus, Independence, Population, Territory, and Governmental Capacity (external and internal).In defining 'state', while there is an abundance of academic sources, there is an absence of legal sources, the only one, being the Montevideo Convention. It proposes four criteria for statehood. The aspiring state must possess a permanent population, occupy a defined territory, operate an effective government, and display capacity to engage in international relations. While this standard is succint and easy to employ it does not necessarily provide a satisfactory definition of statehood.#IIIAccording to James Crawford, the Convention is the best known formulation of the basic criteria for statehood. It has perhaps been even more frequently cited in recent years. This may only be a reflection, however, of the lack of a better model rather than the sufficiency of the Convention itself.The elements of effectiveness, population, and territoriality were enumerated as a basis for statehood or of sovereignty by many leading publicists of the half-century leading up to the Montevideo Convention.