Diplomatic Immunity Legislation

Public International Law and the Regulation of Diplomatic Immunity in the Fight against Corruptionby Kenneth K Mwenda2011ISBN: 978-0-9869857-9-9Pages: 212Print version: AvailableElectronic version: Free PDF available.

In recent years there have been an increasing number of incidents involving diplomats, such as the storming of the US embassy in Tehran and taking of hostages, and the murder of a British policewoman by a member of the Lybian mission in London. Other less serious ones, like the flouting of traffic regulations and the non-prosecution of those stealing, have brought the question of immunity into the public domain. Why, it is asked, should law-abiding citizens put up with lawless behaviour from those who can retreat into the sanctuary of an embassy?

Traces the evolution of diplomatic immunity and analyzes the practice from ancient times to the present in Western and non-Western cultures. Privileges and immunities are placed in historical and cultural context, and the significance of domestic legislation and international conventions is discussed. The authors also study the influence of certain judicial decisions and their underlying rationales. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This work is a commentary on the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the universally-accepted framework for diplomacy between sovereign states. The author places each provision of the Convention in its historical context.

Draws together many of the arguments for and against a reduction in diplomatic privileges and immunities, to determine whether such privileges and immunities are a necessary evil. It focuses on the problem of abuse and gives an explanation of the rationale of diplomatic privileges and immunities.