6. Diplomatic Law

  • The Analytical Guide to the Work of the International Law Commission. Available here. See especially:

    5.1 Representation of States in their relations with International Organizations.

    5.2 Status, privileges and immunities of international organizations, their
    officials, experts, etc.

    9.1 Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities [genesis of the Vienna Convention on
    Diplomatic Relations, 1961]

    9.2 Consular Intercourse and Immunities [genesis of the Vienna Convention on
    Consular Relations, 1963]

    9.3 Special missions

    9.4 Question of the protection and inviolability of diplomatic agents and other
    persons …

    9.5 Status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by
    the diplomatic courier

    These entries allow us to track the various stages in the consideration of each of these topics by the ILC and governments. They record key dates and are invaluable for providing the references for source material. Here and there they also contain useful summaries of proceedings. The links, however, are not very good, though this is chiefly because most of the documents to which references are made are not themselves available on the web.

  • Havana Conventions, 1928
    Historians of diplomatic and consular law will be interested in the Convention on Diplomatic Officers and the Convention on Consular Agents drawn up by the states of the Pan-American Union and signed in Havana in February 1928. They can be found here.
  • Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961. [ full text]
  • Convention on Special Missions, 1969. [ full text ]
  • Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the United Nations. This valuable site provides the most up to date information on the status of these treaties, i.e. which states have signed, signed and ratified, or acceded to, and thus which are in force. For diplomatic law, go straight to Chapter III.
  • ICJ Cases on Diplomatic and Consular Law
  1. Asylum Case (Colombia/Peru), 1950 and supplementary decision of 1951
  2. United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran  (US v Iran), 1979-81
  3. Advisory Opinion on Obligation to Arbitrate (PLO case), 1988
  4. LaGrand Case, 2001 (Germany v US – re. Vienna Convention on Consular Relations)
  5. Congo v Belgium , 2000-02 (re. Arrest warrant for Congo Foreign Minister)
  6. Status vis-à-vis the Host State of a Diplomatic Envoy to the United Nations (Commonwealth of Dominica v. Switzerland) (2006)
  7. Certain Questions concerning Diplomatic Relations (Honduras v. Brazil) (2009-10)
  • International Law Commission
  1. Diplomatic Protection
  2. Right of Asylum
  3. Status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by the diplomatic courier