The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is the 1961 multilateral treaty that codifies the modern law of diplomatic relations, setting out the privileges and immunities granted to diplomatic missions and their staff so that states can maintain relations even during periods of tension or conflict. It establishes the inviolability of diplomatic premises and diplomatic agents and largely exempts accredited diplomats from the host country's criminal jurisdiction. It is a separate instrument from the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which governs how treaties generally are made and interpreted rather than diplomatic conduct specifically.
Facts
Key ProvisionAdopted on 18 April 1961 and in force from 1964, it codifies the customary international law of diplomatic relations: the inviolability of diplomatic mission premises, archives and correspondence, the inviolability of the diplomatic bag, and the immunity of diplomatic agents from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state and, with defined exceptions, from its civil and administrative jurisdiction as well. It also obliges the receiving state, even amid severed relations or armed conflict, to respect and protect mission premises and to grant diplomatic staff the facilities needed to leave the country, and it remains the primary legal basis for diplomatic immunity worldwide. 1 Classification
Document Type Original Language Original Language Original Language Original Language Original Language Connections
Associated With
The Law of Treaties convention codifies the general rules of treaty-making and interpretation that govern the Diplomatic Relations convention as a treaty in its own right.
Source Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (UN Office of Legal Affairs)
Influenced
The 1961 Convention codified the pre-existing customary international law of diplomatic immunity into binding, widely ratified treaty law.
Source Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (UN Office of Legal Affairs)
Shaped
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) is the codifying instrument, with Article 31 the operative text on immunity from criminal jurisdiction.
Source Diplomatic Immunity (Cornell LII)
Sources
1. Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (UN Office of Legal Affairs)
United Nations Office of Legal AffairsDocument type, description
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is the 1961 multilateral treaty that codifies the modern law of diplomatic relations, setting out the privileges and immunities granted to diplomatic missions and their staff so that states can maintain relations even during periods of tension or conflict.
- Convention text and overview
- Influenced: Diplomatic Immunity, Convention overview
View the Source 2. Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (Wikipedia)
In Group: Treaties and Agreements of 1946 to 1989, Lead paragraphQuote, In Group: Treaties and Agreements of 1946 to 1989, Lead paragraph
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries.
Wikidata: Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
Wikidata Q659717, class allow-list match, case-insensitive label variant (w-bbfill-smallsix2-0926/resolve_ci.ps1)View the Source Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (UN Office of Legal Affairs)
United Nations Office of Legal AffairsAssociated With: Vienna Convention on the Law of TreatiesView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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