What Is Diplomatic Immunity Nolo. Foreign government officials in the U. S. enjoy some protection from prosecution, but not in all matters. The term diplomatic immunity refers to a principle of international law that limits the degree to which foreign government and international organization officials and employees are subject to the authority of police officers and judges in their country of assignment. Does this mean that foreign officials can get away with anything in the countries where theyre posted, as is often assumed Not exactly. This article will take a closer look at the actual legal standards governing diplomatic immunity, especially in the United States. Strictly speaking, the principle of diplomatic immunity does not apply to all foreign government or international organization officials and employees. Serial Shahrzad. When it does apply, it applies differently to different categories and subcategories of such persons and their families, dependent on circumstances. Note Diplomatic immunity is also to be distinguished from sovereign immunity, which applies to the person and property of foreign governments themselves and is not discussed in the present article. Diplomatic Immunity for Embassy Personnel. Diplomatic agents that is, high ranking embassy officials ambassadors, for example who serve the function of dealing directly with their host countrys officials on behalf of their home country enjoy the highest degree of immunity. The same applies to their family members. The police cannot detain them, arrest them, or search or seize their houses and other property. I/41GZK8fTtZL.jpg' alt='Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity' title='Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity' />Diplomats cannot be prosecuted or otherwise forced to appear in criminal court. Nor can they be sued in civil courts, except for their personal non official involvement in certain commercial, real estate, or inheritance related matters, or for their separate professional activities. So, for example An ambassador who is sued for failing to pay her personal home mortgage premium may lose title to her house but may not be forced to pay damages and may not be evicted. A second category of embassy personnel, the administrative and technical staff secretaries, for example who directly support diplomatic activities, enjoy the same immunity from police actions and criminal courts, but a lesser degree of immunity from civil courts. They can be sued like anyone else, except for acts performed in connection with their official function. Cracker Water Softener. No such exception applies to their family members. Accordingly, an embassy secretary who fails to pay his personal home mortgage premium may not only lose his title but also be sued for damages though he may not be evicted. Yet other embassy employees chauffeurs, for example, who only indirectly support diplomatic activities, enjoy the lowest degree of immunity. They have either criminal or civil immunity only for acts performed in connection with their embassy role. Their family members enjoy no immunity at all. There are exceptions. In rare cases, both the second and third categories of embassy personnel above may enjoy as much immunity as diplomatic agents. But this only happens when the home country and the host country enter a special agreement or treaty for that purpose. Diplomatic immunity has been around for hundreds of years under customary international law as something of a golden rule Treat other diplomats as you would like. Corel Painter X Torrent Keygen here. Rhino horn for Rocket Man Africa is a smugglers paradise for North Korean diplomats. Rhino horn and ivory smuggling help to fund the regime in Pyongyang. Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity' title='Diplomats Diplomatic Immunity' />Moreover, home country governments can waive diplomatic immunity. Finally, no immunity applies to embassy employees or the family members of such employees who are nationals or permanent residents of the host country. Diplomatic Immunity for Consular Personnel. Consular personnel generally enjoy less immunity than embassy personnel. Consular officers career consuls and other foreign government officials responsible for issuing travel documents, promoting commerce or tourism, and similar functions enjoy full immunity for acts performed in connection with their official function. Diplomatic license plates issued by the federal government are addressed on this site because they are so much in evidence in the District of Columbia and because. Diplomatic immunity is for more than blocking small time issues like parking tickets. Classic hit from The Diplomats album entitled Diplomatic Immunity. Some of you only know the concept of diplomatic immunity from movies like Lethal Weapon 2, which have featured evil diplomats who use their immunity as a Get Out of. However, they are otherwise fully subject to criminal prosecution, except that they may be detained only in felony cases. No such exception applies to their family members, who enjoy no immunity at all. Their property can be searched by police officers. They can also be sued like private citizens although they are prohibited by international law from engaging in commercial or professional activities outside their official functions. Consulates administrative and technical staff are not prohibited from engaging in commercial or professional activities outside their official functions. However, they enjoy immunity only for acts performed in connection with their official functions. Other consular employees enjoy almost no immunity, except that they cannot be forced to appear as witnesses in court for purposes of providing evidence about official consular affairs. Here again, there are exceptions. Consular personnel may acquire almost as much immunity as diplomatic agents based on a special treaty between their home country and their host country. No immunity applies to consular personnel who are nationals or permanent residents of the host country, except that honorary consuls enjoy immunity for acts performed in connection with their official functions. Diplomatic Immunity for International Organization Representatives and Personnel. Interestingly, international law is often less important than national laws when it comes to defining the immunity of representatives and personnel of international organizations such as the United Nations or the International Monetary Fund. Under U. S. law, high ranking international government representatives members of national missions who are assigned to international organizations usually enjoy as much immunity as diplomatic agents, while all other national mission staff enjoy immunity only for acts performed in connection with their official functions. Similarly, most international organization personnel enjoy immunity only for acts performed in connection with their official function, while some but not all high ranking officials may sometimes enjoy almost as much immunity as diplomatic agents. For example the Secretary General of the United Nations enjoys full diplomatic immunity, but the Director of the International Monetary Fund as we saw in the  case of Dominique Strauss Kahn  in 2. What Diplomatic Immunity Does Not Mean. Diplomatic immunity does not mean that its beneficiaries can do whatever they want and get away with it. Police officers are allowed to disregard it whenever necessary to prevent a grave crime or an imminent danger to public safety. In cases of traffic violation, even though diplomatic vehicles may not be impounded, police officers are still allowed to issue citations, and host governments may suspend driving privileges. In addition, host countries can request that home countries waive a crime suspects immunity. In the alternative, host countries may expel the suspect from their territory. Finally, especially when the principle extends only to acts performed in connection with official functions, it is important to note that it is host country judges themselves who get to define the limits of immunity.