The Vatican is the smallest nation-state in the world with an area of 108.7 acres. It is located in the heart of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber River. According to 2004 estimates, its population numbers some 1,000 people of various nationalities; most are the families of Vatican City employees and cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican maintains full sovereignty over its territory and population. Its citizens hold dual citizenship: that of Italy and that of the Vatican. Latin is the official state language, whereas Italian is the commonly spoken tongue. Like all nation-states, it issues stamps and mints currency; it funds refuse collection; it maintains a fire department, a police force, and a small army. The Vatican's revenue derives from public contributions and investments in real estate, bonds, and securities. Its secretary of state oversees foreign policy matters and its diplomats enjoy full immunity. As of 2000, the Holy See had established diplomatic relations with 174 countries.
The Vatican's present infrastructure dates to the 1929 Lateran Accords signed between Italy's prime minister Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) and Pope Pius XI (1857–1939) of the Vatican. The agreement put an end to the sixty-year-old dispute—known as the Roman Question—over the Italian occupation of the papal state. Since then, the Vatican has maintained its own rail and telephone systems. It publishes a daily newspaper in seven languages and broadcasts daily radio programs in thirty-five languages. It has an official website, though no television station.
The pope is a monarch elected by the College of Cardinals rather than the citizens of the state. As a monarch, the pope may issue laws and codes (Motu Proprio) without the approval of the cardinals, to whom he has delegated part of the responsibilities of government. Such was the Fundamental Law that became effective in 1929. It proclaimed the pope head of state and ascribed full powers to him: executive, legislative, and judicial.
On January 1, 2001, Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) issued a Motu Proprio on the structure of government. According to Pope John Paul II's edict, the pope may entrust legislative powers to the governor of the state (who is appointed by, and may be removed by, the pope to whom he is solely responsible). The pope may assign part or all of his executive power to an ad hoc committee of five cardinals he appoints for a five-year term; it is the committee's responsibility to oversee the Curia (the Vatican bureaucracy) and everyday activities of the state.
Judicial power is exercised by a court system modelled on the Italian four-tier system. Only the judge at the lowest level must be a citizen of Vatican City. In 1987 Pope John Paul II issued a Motu Proprio abolishing the separation between canon and civil law courts.
