Commencement of Functions and Precedence of Heads of Mission

Subject(s):

Diplomatic immunity — Diplomatic missions — Diplomatic relations

This chapter considers Article 13 and Article 16 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Article 13 deals with the commencement of functions of the heads of the diplomatic mission. The Article states that heads of the mission takes up his functions only when he either submits his credentials or when he has notified his arrival and a true copy of his credentials has been presented to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State or any other similar office. The Article also states that the presentation of the head’s credentials will be determined by the date and time of his arrival to the receiving State. Complementary to this, Article 16 details the precedence of the heads of the diplomatic mission. Under the Article, precedence shall take place in the order of the date and time of taking up their functions in accordance with Article 13.