pb notable >>9891867 Does Ghislaine Maxwell own her own country?
interdasting
SMOM
Knights of Malta
Several templates, precedents but key is diplomatic recognition and at what recognition level. Country is not always a clear term, and an entity can be a sovereign state without a country. A lot of the precendt under international law is based on royal houses. The House is recognized and the land and countries they hold varies, but makes them entitled to form a Country.
Could be royalty [House] that is with or without territory.
Could be a recognized Group, Chivalric Order generally without territory.
Could be a 'Sovereign' Territory run by an Administrative Body (Government).
Key is the Government recognition to recognize status as Country.
To get it to work Governments have to recognize the entity 'diplomatically' as sovereign 'state', like the Holy See or Knights of Malta. Generally that will make the case for diplomatic immunity and all the benefits and drawbacks of being a 'sovereign state' or further a country, e.g. passports, currency, trade agreements, flagging vessels.
Having UN recognize helps alot, and status is a foreign relations lobby effort. Even the Vatican/Holy See was not recognized by the US until Reagan? Knights of Malta are recognized as a landless sovereign state.