 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Consular immunity" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Consular immunity privileges are described in theVienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 (VCCR).[1][2] Consular immunity offers protections similar todiplomatic immunity, but these protections are not as extensive, given the functional differences betweenconsular and diplomatic officers. For example, consular officers are not accorded absolute immunity from a host country’scriminal jurisdiction, they may be tried for certain local crimes upon action by a local court, and are immune from local jurisdiction only in cases directly relating to consular functions.
| Category | May be arrested or detained | Residence may be entered subject to ordinary procedures | May be issued traffic ticket | May be subpoenaed as witness | May be prosecuted for unofficial acts | Official family member | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diplomatic | Diplomatic agent | No[a] | No | Yes | No | No | Same as sponsor |
| Member of administrative and technical staff | No[a] | No | Yes | No | No | Same as sponsor | |
| Service staff | Yes[b] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[b] | No[b] | |
| Consular | Career consular officers | Yes, if for a felony and pursuant to a warrant.[b] | Yes[c] | Yes | No, for official acts. Testimony may not be compelled in any case. | Yes[d] | No[b] |
| Honorary consular officers | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases | Yes | No | |
| Consular employees | Yes[b] | Yes | Yes | No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases | Yes[b] | No[b] | |
| International organization | Diplomatic-level staff of missions to international organizations | No[a] | No | Yes | No | No | Same as sponsor |
| International organization staff[d] | Yes[d] | Yes[d] | Yes | No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases | Yes[d] | No[b] | |
| Support staff of missions to international organizations | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, for official acts. Yes, in all other cases | Yes | No | |
| |||||||
Procedurally, official acts immunity is raised as anaffirmative defense.[3]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Roles |
| ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offices | |||||||||||||||||
| Types | |||||||||||||||||
| Topics | |||||||||||||||||
| Documents | |||||||||||||||||
| Other topics | |||||||||||||||||
