2007-06-07 14:23:33 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Embassies & Consulates
Diplomatic Immunity is a highly technical and grossly misunderstood legal concept. It is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government representatives are not subject to the jurisdiction of local courts and other authorities for both their official and, to a large extent, their personal activities. However, even those afforded the highest level of diplomatic immunity may face reasonable constraints in emergency circumstances involving self-defense, public safety, or the prevention of serious criminal acts. Also, it is possible for a host government to request that a foreign government strip its representatives of diplomatic immunity in order that they may be arrested and charged.
See the site below for an interesting breakdown of which foreign representatives at a foreign mission are accorded which levels of legal protection within the United States:
http://www.state.gov/m/ds/immunities/c9127.htm
Also see:
http://www.calea.org/Online/newsletter/No73/what_is_diplomatic_immunity.htm
2007-06-07 16:55:11 · answer #1 · answered by Curious1usa 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments, which ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws (although they can be expelled). It was agreed as international law in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961). It essentially means that a person commit any crime on foreign soil and as long as they are a holder of a diplomatic passport, they cannot be arrested. The most that can be done is to deport the person and have them declared " persona non grata" and hope that they can be prosecuted in their own homeland.
2007-06-07 21:27:51 · answer #2 · answered by thequeenreigns 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Refers to diplomats and certain diplomatic personnel not being subject to the laws of the country they are serving in. They CAN, however, be ejected from that country in which they have committed crimes; their own country MAY prosecute them under their own laws, or may NOT.
2007-06-07 21:27:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you are a foreign diplomat, you cannot be arrested or convicted of a crime in the country where you are residing as an ambassador.
2007-06-07 21:26:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋