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The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among governments through a uniform set of practices and principles; most notably, it codifies the longstanding custom of diplomatic immunity, in which diplomatic missions are granted privileges that enable diplomats to perform their functions without fear of coercion or harassment by the host country. The Vienna Convention is a cornerstone of modern international relations and international law and is almost universally ratified and observed; it is considered one of the most successful legal instruments drafted under the United Nations.
, there are 193 state parties to the Vienna Convention, including all UN member states – with the exceptions of Palau and South Sudan – and the UN observer states of the Holy See and
Original text related to this articleDiplomatic Relations ProtocolsThe Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 50th Anniversary Website Created by the 2011 VCDR 50th Anniversary Project
on the ''Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations'' in th
* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Denza_DCL.html Lectureby Eileen Denza entitled ''Diplomatic and Consular Law – Topical Issues'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
by John Dugard entitled ''Diplomatic Protection'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations Diplomatic immunity and protection treaties Cold War treaties Treaties drafted by the International Law Commission Treaties concluded in 1961 Treaties entered into force in 1964 Treaties of the Kingdom of Afghanistan Treaties of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania Treaties of Algeria Treaties of Andorra Treaties of the People's Republic of Angola Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Australia Treaties of Austria Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of the Bahamas Treaties of Bahrain Treaties of Bangladesh Treaties of Barbados Treaties of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Belize Treaties of the Republic of Dahomey Treaties of Bhutan Treaties of Bolivia Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Botswana Treaties of the military dictatorship in Brazil Treaties of Brunei Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Treaties of Burkina Faso Treaties of Burundi Treaties of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970) Treaties of Cameroon Treaties of Canada Treaties of Cape Verde Treaties of the Central African Republic Treaties of Chad Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of Colombia Treaties of the Comoros Treaties of the Republic of the Congo Treaties of Costa Rica Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Czechoslovakia Treaties of North Korea Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971) Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Djibouti Treaties of Dominica Treaties of the Dominican Republic Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of Egypt Treaties of El Salvador Treaties of Equatorial Guinea Treaties of Eritrea Treaties of Estonia Treaties of the Derg Treaties of Fiji Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Gabon Treaties of the Gambia Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of West Germany Treaties of East Germany Treaties of Ghana Treaties of the Kingdom of Greece Treaties of Grenada Treaties of Guatemala Treaties of Guinea Treaties of Guinea-Bissau Treaties of Guyana Treaties of Haiti Treaties of the Holy See Treaties of Honduras Treaties of the Hungarian People's Republic Treaties of Iceland Treaties of India Treaties of Indonesia Treaties of Pahlavi Iran Treaties of the Iraqi Republic (1958–1968) Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Israel Treaties of Italy Treaties of Jamaica Treaties of Japan Treaties of Jordan Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Kiribati Treaties of Kuwait Treaties of Kyrgyzstan Treaties of the Kingdom of Laos Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of Lesotho Treaties of Liberia Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Liechtenstein Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of Madagascar Treaties of Malawi Treaties of Malaysia Treaties of the Maldives Treaties of Mali Treaties of Malta Treaties of the Marshall Islands Treaties of Mauritania Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Mexico Treaties of the Federated States of Micronesia Treaties of Monaco Treaties of the Mongolian People's Republic Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Morocco Treaties of the People's Republic of Mozambique Treaties of Myanmar Treaties of Namibia Treaties of Nauru Treaties of Nepal Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Nicaragua Treaties of Niger Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Norway Treaties of Oman Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of the State of Palestine Treaties of Panama Treaties of Papua New Guinea Treaties of Paraguay Treaties of Peru Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of the Estado Novo (Portugal) Treaties of Qatar Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Moldova Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of Rwanda Treaties of Samoa Treaties of San Marino Treaties of São Tomé and Príncipe Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Sierra Leone Treaties of Singapore Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of the Somali Republic Treaties of South Africa Treaties of Francoist Spain Treaties of Sri Lanka Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis Treaties of Saint Lucia Treaties of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan Treaties of Suriname Treaties of Eswatini Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Syria Treaties of Tajikistan Treaties of Thailand Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of East Timor Treaties of Togo Treaties of Tonga Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of Tuvalu Treaties of Uganda Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of the United Arab Emirates Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Tanzania Treaties of the United States Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Uzbekistan Treaties of Vanuatu Treaties of Venezuela Treaties of Vietnam Treaties of South Vietnam Treaties of the Yemen Arab Republic Treaties of South Yemen Treaties of Yugoslavia Treaties of Zambia Treaties of Zimbabwe United Nations treaties 1961 in Austria Treaties extended to Aruba Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands Treaties extended to Greenland Treaties extended to Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Treaties extended to Bermuda Treaties extended to the British Virgin Islands Treaties extended to the Cayman Islands Treaties extended to the Falkland Islands Treaties extended to Gibraltar Treaties extended to Montserrat Treaties extended to the Pitcairn Islands Treaties extended to Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Treaties extended to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Treaties extended to the Turks and Caicos Islands Treaties extended to British Hong Kong Treaties extended to Portuguese Macau Treaties extended to West Berlin
History
Throughout the history ofsovereign states
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined terri ...
, diplomats have enjoyed a special status. Their function to negotiate agreements between states demands certain special privileges. An envoy from another nation is traditionally treated as a guest, their communications with their home nation treated as confidential, and their freedom from coercion and subjugation by the host nation treated as essential.
The first attempt to codify diplomatic immunity into diplomatic law occurred with the Congress of Vienna in 1815. This was followed much later by the Convention regarding Diplomatic Officers (Havana, 1928).
The present treaty on the treatment of diplomats was the outcome of a draft by the International Law Commission. The treaty was adopted on 18 April 1961, by the United Nations Conference on Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities held in Vienna, Austria, and first implemented on 24 April 1964. The same Conference also adopted the Optional Protocol concerning Acquisition of Nationality, the Optional Protocol concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, the Final Act and four resolutions annexed to that Act. One notable aspect which arose from the 1961 treaty was the establishment of the Holy See's diplomatic immunity status with other nations.
Two years later, the United Nations adopted a closely related treaty, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
Summary of provisions
The Vienna Convention is an extensive document, containing 53 articles. The following is a basic overview of its key provisions. * The host nation at any time and for any reason can declare a particular member of the diplomatic staff to be ''persona non grata
In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution.
Diplomacy
Under Article 9 of the ...
''. The sending state must recall this person within a reasonable period of time, or otherwise this person may lose their diplomatic immunity (Article 9).
* The premises of a diplomatic mission, diplomatic premiers are the houses of ambassadors and are inviolable and must not be entered by the host country except by permission of the head of the mission; likewise, the host country must never search the premises, may not seize its documents or property, and must protect the mission from intrusion or damage (Article 22). Article 30 extends this provision to the private residence of the diplomats.
* The archives and documents of a diplomatic mission are inviolable and shall not be seized or opened by the host government (Article 24).
* The host country must permit and protect free communication between the diplomats of the mission and their home country. A diplomatic bag
A diplomatic bag, also known as a diplomatic pouch, is a container with certain legal protections used for carrying official correspondence or other items between a diplomatic mission and its home government or other diplomatic, consular, or other ...
must never be opened, even on suspicion of abuse, and a diplomatic courier
A diplomatic courier is an official who transports diplomatic bags as sanctioned under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Couriers are granted diplomatic immunity and are thereby protected by the receiving state from arrest and ...
must never be arrested or detained (Article 27).
* Diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention, and the receiving state must make all efforts to protect their person and dignity (Article 29).
* Diplomats are immune from the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the host state, with exceptions for professional activities outside the diplomat's official functions (Article 31). Article 32 permits sending states to waive this immunity.
* Diplomatic missions are exempt from taxes (Article 34) and customs duties (Article 36).
* Family members of diplomats living in the host country enjoy most of the same protections as the diplomats themselves (Article 37).
Optional protocols
The same year the treaty was adopted, two protocols were added as amendments; countries mayratify
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...
the main treaty without necessarily ratifying these optional agreements.
* ''Concerning acquisition of nationality.'' The head of the mission, the staff of the mission, and their families, shall not acquire the nationality of the receiving country.
* ''Concerning compulsory settlement of disputes.'' Disputes arising from the interpretation of this treaty may be brought before the International Court of Justice.
* Countries can choose to recognize their embassies as sovereign territory
States parties to the convention
, there are 193 state parties to the Vienna Convention, including all UN member states – with the exceptions of Palau and South Sudan – and the UN observer states of the Holy See and State of Palestine
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...
. The Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
signed and ratified the convention on 18 April 1961 and 19 December 1969, respectively, prior to the UN granting China's seat to the People's Republic of China. There are no states that have signed the treaty but not ratified it.
See also
* Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) * Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) *Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations #REDIRECT Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties Between States and International Organizations or Between International Organizations ...
(1986)
* Vienna Conventions for a list of other conventions
* Diplomatic immunity
* Protection of Diplomats Convention
* Precedence among European monarchies
References
*Acta Universitatis Danubius. Relationes Internationales, Vol 9, No 1 (2016)External links
Original text related to this article
on the ''Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations'' in th
* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Denza_DCL.html Lectureby Eileen Denza entitled ''Diplomatic and Consular Law – Topical Issues'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
by John Dugard entitled ''Diplomatic Protection'' in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations Diplomatic immunity and protection treaties Cold War treaties Treaties drafted by the International Law Commission Treaties concluded in 1961 Treaties entered into force in 1964 Treaties of the Kingdom of Afghanistan Treaties of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania Treaties of Algeria Treaties of Andorra Treaties of the People's Republic of Angola Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Australia Treaties of Austria Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of the Bahamas Treaties of Bahrain Treaties of Bangladesh Treaties of Barbados Treaties of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Belize Treaties of the Republic of Dahomey Treaties of Bhutan Treaties of Bolivia Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Botswana Treaties of the military dictatorship in Brazil Treaties of Brunei Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Treaties of Burkina Faso Treaties of Burundi Treaties of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1953–1970) Treaties of Cameroon Treaties of Canada Treaties of Cape Verde Treaties of the Central African Republic Treaties of Chad Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of Colombia Treaties of the Comoros Treaties of the Republic of the Congo Treaties of Costa Rica Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Czechoslovakia Treaties of North Korea Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–1971) Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Djibouti Treaties of Dominica Treaties of the Dominican Republic Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of Egypt Treaties of El Salvador Treaties of Equatorial Guinea Treaties of Eritrea Treaties of Estonia Treaties of the Derg Treaties of Fiji Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Gabon Treaties of the Gambia Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of West Germany Treaties of East Germany Treaties of Ghana Treaties of the Kingdom of Greece Treaties of Grenada Treaties of Guatemala Treaties of Guinea Treaties of Guinea-Bissau Treaties of Guyana Treaties of Haiti Treaties of the Holy See Treaties of Honduras Treaties of the Hungarian People's Republic Treaties of Iceland Treaties of India Treaties of Indonesia Treaties of Pahlavi Iran Treaties of the Iraqi Republic (1958–1968) Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Israel Treaties of Italy Treaties of Jamaica Treaties of Japan Treaties of Jordan Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Kiribati Treaties of Kuwait Treaties of Kyrgyzstan Treaties of the Kingdom of Laos Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of Lesotho Treaties of Liberia Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Liechtenstein Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of Madagascar Treaties of Malawi Treaties of Malaysia Treaties of the Maldives Treaties of Mali Treaties of Malta Treaties of the Marshall Islands Treaties of Mauritania Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Mexico Treaties of the Federated States of Micronesia Treaties of Monaco Treaties of the Mongolian People's Republic Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Morocco Treaties of the People's Republic of Mozambique Treaties of Myanmar Treaties of Namibia Treaties of Nauru Treaties of Nepal Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Nicaragua Treaties of Niger Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Norway Treaties of Oman Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of the State of Palestine Treaties of Panama Treaties of Papua New Guinea Treaties of Paraguay Treaties of Peru Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of the Estado Novo (Portugal) Treaties of Qatar Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Moldova Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of Rwanda Treaties of Samoa Treaties of San Marino Treaties of São Tomé and Príncipe Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Sierra Leone Treaties of Singapore Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of the Somali Republic Treaties of South Africa Treaties of Francoist Spain Treaties of Sri Lanka Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis Treaties of Saint Lucia Treaties of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan Treaties of Suriname Treaties of Eswatini Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Syria Treaties of Tajikistan Treaties of Thailand Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of East Timor Treaties of Togo Treaties of Tonga Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of Tuvalu Treaties of Uganda Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of the United Arab Emirates Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Tanzania Treaties of the United States Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Uzbekistan Treaties of Vanuatu Treaties of Venezuela Treaties of Vietnam Treaties of South Vietnam Treaties of the Yemen Arab Republic Treaties of South Yemen Treaties of Yugoslavia Treaties of Zambia Treaties of Zimbabwe United Nations treaties 1961 in Austria Treaties extended to Aruba Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands Treaties extended to Greenland Treaties extended to Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Treaties extended to Bermuda Treaties extended to the British Virgin Islands Treaties extended to the Cayman Islands Treaties extended to the Falkland Islands Treaties extended to Gibraltar Treaties extended to Montserrat Treaties extended to the Pitcairn Islands Treaties extended to Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Treaties extended to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Treaties extended to the Turks and Caicos Islands Treaties extended to British Hong Kong Treaties extended to Portuguese Macau Treaties extended to West Berlin