Size of the Mission

Subject(s):

Diplomatic immunity — Diplomatic missions — Diplomatic relations

This chapter explores Article 11 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which deals with the appropriate size of the diplomatic mission. Before the mission, both of the sovereign States involved can agree on its size. If there is no prior agreement, then the receiving party may require the size to be reasonable and normal. The Article also states that the receiving State may refuse to accept officials of a particular category. The International Law Commission decided that a balance must be struck between the interests of the sending and the receiving State. The chapter then highlights the controversy that emerged due to the text used in the second paragraph that certain nations such as United States became unhappy with the phrase ‘that the receiving State may refuse to accept officials of a particular category’ even though the Commission stresses that it non-discriminatory and is used in the context of the first paragraph regarding the size of the mission.