Part I General Framework, 2 Historical Developments Influencing the Present Law of Visiting Forces

Subject(s):

Immunity from jurisdiction — Treaty provisions

This chapter focuses on the historical and the legal development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) SOFA in 1951 and subsequent developments. It shows how prior to 1951, bilateral agreements reflected the relative bargaining positions of the Sending and Receiving States and how the terms of the 1951 multilateral treaty were debated in the legislatures of the US and the UK. This is no mere ‘lawyers’ law’ concerned solely with resolving conflicts of jurisdiction between different States. The issues raised within it are frequently of constitutional significance, ranging from the protection of the citizen and of the serviceman to ‘immunity’ from the jurisdiction of the Receiving State. This chapter also sketches the background to challenges posed by post-cold war types of military operations in the law relating to Visiting Forces