Defend Truth

Politics

Diplomats and their ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card

Diplomats and their ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card

First our own minister of international relations played the “diplomatic immunity” card as the reason her bag shouldn't be subjected to security checks, and now Dominique Strauss-Kahn is citing it as the reason why his civil rape case should be dropped. But what exactly does diplomatic immunity entail? By REBECCA DAVIS.

The concept of diplomatic immunity dates back to the use of messengers in ancient times to carry messages between settlements. For them to perform their tasks, messengers needed to be able to move back and forth without fear of harm – that old “don’t shoot the messenger” principle. The practice was codified by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, and the rest is history.

What’s important to realise about diplomatic immunity is that it is not designed to give diplomats special privileges, but to enable them to do their jobs properly. This is particularly vital during periods of strained relations between two countries to ensure the individuals’ protection. There are distinct limits to the principle: if you commit a crime unrelated to your diplomatic role, your home government is likely to whip that rug from under your feet faster than you can whisper, “but I’m a diplomat”. Sometimes it’s a grey area, though –  the American consul general to Russia was involved in a car accident in 1998 that left a young man disabled. The US Court of Appeals ruled that he could not be sued civilly because he was using his vehicle for a diplomatic mission at the time.

In Strauss-Kahn’s case, lawyers for the rape plaintiff have dismissed his defence because they reject the idea that he qualifies as a diplomat. They’re right – diplomatic immunity is only for diplomats. DM



Read more:

Photo: REUTERS 

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.