The essence of autonomy involves independence perceived in relation to other entities, that occurs in domestic and international law. In the latter case, it is related to a complex state that acts either as a federal state or a diversified state. In the first and second case, it refers to an area that may be an integral part of the above-mentioned types of states, or may extend to a territory not included in the state on which it is dependent. This status may be enjoyed by colonial areas, and territorial autonomy may be a form of their decolonization. A separate category of geopolitical units accommodates territories that are also not part of a given state, but are associated with it and enjoy the status falling within the sphere of territorial autonomy. The above-mentioned categories of territorial units, with limited treaty powers, cannot therefore be considered as states in the international legal sense, but at most as creations of a quasi-state nature, because full treaty capacity, in addition to sovereignty, is the criterion of subjectivity in international law.