where they may continue to provide an exercise for the speculations of the jurist

[pars]

Dear all:
What is the exact meaning of the sentence in bold in the following passage? It is from Russia and Britain in Persia by Kazemzadeh, p. 342 (the second paragraph which is originally a statement by Curzon from 1899):

Britain and Russia had repeatedly stated their desire to maintain the integrity and independence of Persia, but:
"Within the limits of a nominally still existing integrity and independence so many encroachments upon both these attributes are possible, that by almost imperceptible degrees they pass into the realm of constitutional fiction, where they may continue to provide an exercise for the speculations of the jurist, long after they have been contemptuously ignored by statesmen."

Thanks very much.

 

[Tdol]

Legally, there may be grounds to talk about the integrity and independence of Persia, but politically this had become meaningless.

 

[probus]

As a footnote, this was all part of what has been called The Great Game. Britain and Russia were both attempting to dominate in Iran and indeed, the whole Middle East. Russia felt that Iran fell within its geographic sphere of influence, while Britain sought to maintain and expand the huge British Empire.