Rousseau, Charles Keywords: Independence | International law | Mots clefs: Indépendance | Droit international | ABSTRACT The purpose of Charles Rousseau’s course is to determine the characteristics of the State in the international order, that is, to identify, from the point of view of the law of nations, the essential characteristics by which a political community is or not recognized as a State. After a presentation of the concept of sovereignty and the traditional criterion of distinction between the State a…