Scope of Lawful Sovereignty Based on Compensating Effects of Sovereignty Right Exercise over Natural Resources

Sovereignty over natural resources as one of the fundamental principles of international public law has been repeatedly recognized in the resolutions of the General Assembly and other organs of the United Nations since the 1950s, especially in Para 1 under Article 2 of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of the Nations. The principle is mentioned precisely as "the full permanent sovereignty [of  a state] including possession, use and disposal, over all its wealth, natural resources and economic activities", and expresses the issue of the sovereignty of states over their natural resources, so that they have a direct impact on decision-making and economic measures adopted by the states and in relation to other states, to the effect that no other state has priority over the host state with regard to exercising this right. Adopting Resolution 1803 in 1962, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the permanent sovereignty of States over their natural resources to be subject only to compensation. However, as to the compensation, it adopted a moderate solution which was almost close to the views of the capital exporting states. This resolution establishes the appropriate compensation criterion as the prevailing norm of international law. Therefore, the evolution of the notion of sovereignty over natural resources and the exercise of this right by states, which was deemed illegitimate at the beginning of the twentieth century, was ultimately recognized as legitimate but subject to some restrictions.