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When old principles face new challenges : a critical analysis of the principle of diplomatic inviolability

This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the principle of diplomatic inviolability. The principle of diplomatic inviolability is generally regarded by international law scholars as one of the oldest established principles of international law. The concept of inviolability in contemporary international law contains two distinct aspects: in terms of the duty of the receiving State, the first aspect involves the negative duty of not taking any enforcement action against the inviolable diplomatic premises, diplomatic agents or the diplomatic property, while the second aspect requires the positive duty to protect these premises, personnel and property. The contemporary legal regime governing the principle of diplomatic inviolability can be seen through the core provisions stipulated in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. Several controversies can be identified when the authorities of the receiving State face dilemmas of deciding whether the principle of diplomatic inviolability or other norms of international law shall prevail. The dilemmas reveal the conflicts between the principle of diplomatic inviolability and other norms of international law, such as the protection of national security, public safety and human life. In the era of fragmentation of international law, it is not easy for either the authorities of the receiving State or international law scholars to settle the controversies with any straightforward solutions, for the reason that the precedence of diplomatic inviolability would inevitably compromise other norms and vice versa. The thesis examines the concept and theoretical basis of the principle of diplomatic inviolability, explores the historical evolution of the principle, analyses the contemporary legal regime of the principle and the controversies involving the conflicts between the principle and other norms of international law. Finally, the thesis critically reviews the various traditional solutions and proposes several alternative solutions to settle the controversies.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:632751
Date January 2014
CreatorsBao, Yinan
PublisherUniversity of Sussex
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/51411/

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