Always does seem a little funky to me. As I keep stating, the very act of trying to engage in these legalisms is admitting their authority on the topic, just asking them not to do anything in that particular case. Either they have the authority, and you're at the mercy of a judicial system that has a decided conflict of interest, or they don't and there's no reason to engage in the legalities...
Case in point in today's comic. By seeking audience with Reginald (Reggie), Guy pretty much declared the legitimacy of his monarchy in the eyes of UWRS (and perhaps UW at large). Following this up with a protest that his government isn't very "democratic" is challenging a point already conceded. Either Reggie is a monarch and rightful government, and capable of acting as agent in any negotiations, or he's not and the UWRS has to look at establishing government before it can negotiate with any given party. Changing this "rightful government" into a democratic regime would be a point in a negotiation. But Guy doesn't seem very good at this, heh. More used to dealing with individual accounts than negotiation with an ostensible foreign power. Any prior negotiations would've probably taken the form of "Okay, we think one of the people in your territory isn't paying taxes. Here's the breakdown of how much of the taxes you'll get if you let us collect. Green light?" He's probably never had to deal with a government not amenable to his demands before, heh.