 | Knights Hospitaller: Encyclopedia II - Knights Hospitaller - The modern Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Knights Hospitaller - The modern Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, better known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta or SMOM, is a Catholic lay order that claims to be a sovereign entity and has permanent observer status at the United Nations. SMOM is considered to be the most direct successor to the medieval Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Malta, and today operates as a largely charitable and ceremonial organization.
Knights Hospitaller - Name and motto
The full official name is Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (in English) or Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme di Rodi e di Malta (in Italian). Conventionally, they are also known as the Order of Malta. The order has a large number of local chapters around the world but there also exist a number of organizations with similar-sounding names that are unrelated, including several fraudulent orders seeking to capitalize on the name. The Order's motto is Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum (Latin for Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor).
Knights Hospitaller - International status of the Order
The exact nature of the entity is somewhat nebulous and subject to controversy: it claims to be a traditional example of a sovereign entity other than a state. Its two headquarters in Rome, namely the Palazzo Malta in Via dei Condotti 68 (where the Grand Master resides and Government Bodies meet), and the Villa Malta on the Aventine (which hosts the Grand Priory of Rome, the Embassy of the Order to Holy See and the Embassy of the Order to Italy), are granted extraterritoriality. However, unlike Vatican City, SMOM has no sovereign territory. The United Nations does not classify it as a "non-member state" but as one of the "entities and intergovernmental organizations having received a standing invitation to participate as observers." For instance, while the International Telecommunication Union has granted radio identification prefixes to such quasi-sovereign jurisdictions as the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority, SMOM has never received one. For awards purposes, amateur radio operators consider SMOM to be a separate "country," but stations transmitting from there use an entirely unofficial callsign starting with the prefix "1A0".
Although some legal scholars accept a claim to sovereign status, leading experts in international law, notably Dr. Ian Brownlie, and Dr. Helmut Steinberger, and Dr. Wilhelm Wengler, do not. Even taking into account its ambassadorial status among many nations, such a claim is rejected. Specifically Professor Dr Wilhelm Wengler, a German Professor of International law, takes up this specific point in his book "Volkerrecht", and rejects the notion that recognition of the Order by some states can make it a subject of international law. The Holy See in 1953 proclaimed "in the Lord's name" that the Order of Malta was only a "functional sovereignty" - due to the fact that it did not have all that pertained to true sovereignty, such as territory.
SMOM has formal diplomatic relations with 94 states (many of which are non-Catholic), and has official relations with another 6 countries, non-state subjects of international law like European Union and International Committee of the Red Cross, and a number of international organizations. Its international nature is useful in enabling it to pursue its humanitarian activities without being seen as an operative of any particular nation. Its claimed sovereignty is also expressed in the issuance of passports, licence plates, stamps, and coins. The latter are appreciated more for their subject matter rather than for use as postage or currency. Starting in 2005, SMOM issues stamps with the Euro as the unit of postage, while Scudo (pl. Scudi) remains the SMOM's official currency.
Knights Hospitaller - Government of the Order
The proceedings of the Order are governed by its Constitutional Charter and the Order's Code. It is divided internationally into various territorial Grand Priories, Priories, and Sub-Priories.
The supreme head of the Order is the Grand Master, who is elected for life by the Council Complete of State. Voters in the Council include the members of the Sovereign Council, other office-holders and representatives of the members of the Order. The Grand Master is aided by the Sovereign Council, which is elected by the Chapter General, the legislative body of the Order. The Chapter General meets every five years; at each meeting, all seats of the Sovereign Council are up for election. The Sovereign Council includes six members and four High Officers: the Grand Commander, the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Hospitaller and the Receiver of the Common Treasure. The Grand Commander is the chief religious officer of the Order and serves as "Interim Lieutenant" during a vacancy in the office of Grand Master. The Grand Chancellor is responsible for the administration of the Order. The Grand Hospitaller coordinates the Order's humanitarian and charitable activities. Finally, the Receiver of the Common Treasure is the Order's financial officer.
Prior to the 1990s, all officers of the Order had to be of noble birth, i.e armigerous for at least 100 years. This remains the case. However, Knights of Magistral Grace [i.e. those without noble proofs], may make the Promise of Obedience and may, at the discretion of the Grand Master and Sovereign Council, enter the novitiate to become professed Knights of Justice.
The Order's finances are audited by a Board of Auditors, which includes a President and four Councillors, all elected by the Chapter General. The Order's judicial powers are exercised by a group of Magistral Courts, whose judges are appointed by the Grand Master and Sovereign Council.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The modern Sovereign Military Order of Malta", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
