Diplomatic Asylum : Exploring a Legal Basis for the Practice Under General International Law

Following the vexed codification attempts of the International Law Commission and the relevant jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, this book addresses the permissibility of the practice of diplomatic asylum under general international law. In the light of a wealth of recent practice, most prominently the case of Julian Assange, the main objective of this book is to ascertain whether or not the practice of granting asylum within the premises of the diplomatic mission finds foundation under general international law. In doing so, it explores the legal framework of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, the regional treaty framework of Latin America, customary international law, and a possible legal basis for the practice on the basis of humanitarian considerations. In cases where the practice takes place without a legal basis, this book aims to contribute to bridging the legal lacuna created by the rigid nature of international diplomatic law with the absolute nature of the inviolability of the mission premises facilitating the continuation of the practice of diplomatic asylum even where it is without legal foundation. It does so by proposing solutions to the problem of diplomatic asylum. This book also aims to establish the extent to which international law relating to diplomatic asylum may presently find itself within a period of transformation indicative of both a change in the nature of the practice as well as exploring whether recent notions of humanity are superseding the traditional fundaments of the international legal system in this regard. Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Relevance of the Topic 1.2 Legal Context 1.3 Outline References Chapter 2: What Is Diplomatic Asylum? 2.1 What Is Diplomatic Asylum? 2.1.1 Right of a State 2.1.2 Asylum 2.1.3 Diplomatic Asylum 2.1.3.1 In a Narrow Sense 2.1.3.2 In a Broader Sense 2.1.3.3 Safe-Conduct 2.1.3.4 Diplomatic Protection 2.1.4 Territorial Asylum 2.1.5 Political Asylum 2.1.6 Using an Embassy as a Mechanism to Achieve Territorial Asylum 2.1.7 Collective Shelter 2.2 Summary References Chapter 3: The History of the Practice in the Context of Diplomatic Law 3.1 Foundations 3.2 Continuation in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries and Subsequent Fall from Favour 3.3 Revival in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 3.3.1 Asylum on Warships 3.3.2 Asylum on (Merchant) Ships 3.4 Notable Twentieth Century Practice 3.4.1 Spain: Diplomatic Asylum in the Context of the Spanish Civil War 3.4.2 Argentina 3.4.2.1 Juan Domingo Perón 3.4.2.2 Rodolfo Puiggrós and His Wife 3.4.2.3 Héctor Cmpora 3.4.2.4 Juan Abal Medina 3.4.2.5 Summary 3.4.3 Bolivia 3.4.4 Chile 3.4.5 Colombia 3.4.5.1 Alfonso López Pumarejo and Dr. Carlos Lleras Restrepo 3.4.5.2 Gabriel García Mrquez 3.4.5.3 Summary 3.4.6 Costa Rica 3.4.7 Cuba 3.4.7.1 Mario G. Menocal, His Nephew, Martín Menocal, and (Pedro) Martínez Fraga 3.4.7.2 October 1932 3.4.7.3 Carlos Prío Socarrs 3.4.7.4 Manuel Urrutia 3.4.7.5 Olga Morgan 3.4.7.6 The Mariel Cuban Exodus 3.4.7.7 July 1990 3.4.7.8 Arturo Sandoval, His Wife and Son 3.4.7.9 Alina Fernndez Revuelta 3.4.7.10 Twenty-one Cuban Asylum Seekers 3.4.7.11 Summary 3.4.8 Guatemala 3.4.8.1 Juan José Arévalo Bermejo 3.4.8.2 Jacobo Árbenz Guzmn and Family 3.4.8.3 Francisco Bobadilla Palomo 3.4.8.4 Summary 3.4.9 Haiti 3.4.9.1 Twenty-two Opponents of the Governing Regime 3.4.9.2 Leon Veillard 3.4.9.3 Albert Pierre, Gener Crotin, Edner Pageotte et al 3.4.9.4 Franck Romain 3.4.9.5 Prosper Avril 3.4.9.6 Summary 3.4.10 Nicaragua 3.4.10.1 Leonardo Argüello Barreto, His Wife and Eleven Officers; Captain Francisco (Panchito) Aguirre Baca and His Brother Ho... 3.4.10.2 Sergio Ramírez Mercado 3.4.10.3 Lt. Roberto Granera 3.4.10.4 José Efrén Martínez Mondragón (and Nine Other Persons) 3.4.10.5 Summary 3.4.11 Panama 3.4.12 Paraguay 3.4.13 Peru 3.4.13.1 Haya de la Torre Colombian-Peruvian Asylum Case Request for Interpretation of the Asylum Case Haya de la Torre Case 3.4.13.2 Alan García 3.4.13.3 Summary 3.4.14 Venezuela 3.5 ILC Attempts to Codify the Issue 3.6 The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 3.7 Diplomatic Asylum in Latin America in the Twenty-first Century 3.7.1 Bolivia 3.7.2 Ecuador 3.7.3 Honduras 3.7.4 Peru 3.7.4.1 Alberto Pizango 3.7.4.2 Alan García 3.7.4.3 Conclusion 3.7.5 Venezuela 3.7.5.1 Pedro Carmona 3.7.5.2 Carlos Ortega 3.7.5.3 Nixon Moreno 3.7.5.4 Roberto Enríquez and Eduardo Vetancourt 3.7.5.5 Venezuelan Judges 3.7.5.6 Freddy Guevara 3.7.5.7 Guaido Supporters 3.7.5.8 Leopoldo López and His Wife 3.7.5.9 Summary 3.8 Conclusion References Chapter 4: International Treaty Law 4.1 Universal Treaty Law 4.1.1 Akin to Territorial Asylum 4.1.1.1 Art. 2 (1) and (4) UN Charter 4.1.1.2 The UN Declaration on Territorial Asylum 4.1.1.3 Conclusion 4.1.2 Art. 22 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 4.1.3 Art 41 (1) Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 4.1.4 Art. 41 (3) Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 4.1.5 Conclusion 4.2 Regional Treaty Law: Latin America 4.2.1 Founding Principles 4.2.1.1 Rules of Lima 1865 4.2.1.2 Rules of La Paz 1898 4.2.1.3 The Rules of Asunción 1922 4.2.2 Treaties 4.2.2.1 The Treaty on International Penal Law 1889 4.2.2.2 Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1907 4.2.2.3 The Bolivarian Agreement on Extradition 1911 4.2.2.4 Convention on Asylum 1928 4.2.2.5 Montevideo Convention on Political Asylum 1933 4.2.2.6 Treaty on Political Asylum and Refuge 1939 4.2.2.7 Convention on Diplomatic Asylum (Caracas) 1954 4.2.3 Applicability of Regional Treaty Law on a Universal Level 4.2.4 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Customary International Law 5.1 What Is Customary International Law? 5.1.1 State Practice 5.1.1.1 ICJ Jurisprudence 5.1.1.2 Conclusion 5.1.2 Opinio Juris 5.2 Regional Custom 5.3 State Practice with Regard to the Practice of Diplomatic Asylum 5.3.1 Africa 5.3.2 Asia 5.3.2.1 Indonesia 5.3.2.2 North Korea 5.3.2.3 Japan 5.3.2.4 Turkey 5.3.2.5 South Korea 5.3.2.6 Conclusion 5.3.3 Europe 5.3.3.1 France 5.3.3.2 Spain 5.3.3.3 Hungary 5.3.3.4 Yugoslavia 5.3.3.5 Switzerland 5.3.3.6 Germany 5.3.3.7 Belgium 5.3.3.8 The Netherlands 5.3.3.9 Romania 5.3.3.10 The Holy See 5.3.3.11 Italy 5.3.3.12 United Kingdom 5.3.3.13 Sweden 5.3.3.14 Poland 5.3.3.15 Czechoslovakia 5.3.3.16 Greece 5.3.3.17 Denmark 5.3.3.18 Conclusion 5.3.4 Latin America 5.3.5 Northern America 5.3.5.1 U.S. 5.3.5.2 Canada 5.3.5.3 Conclusion 5.3.6 Oceania 5.3.7 Conclusion 5.4 Opinio Juris with Regard to the Practice of Diplomatic Asylum 5.4.1 Opinio Juris in Favour of the Practice 5.4.1.1 Latin America 5.4.1.2 Europe 5.4.1.3 Oceania 5.4.2 Evidence of States Rebuking the Practice 5.4.2.1 Africa 5.4.2.2 Asia 5.4.2.3 Europe 5.4.2.4 Latin America 5.4.2.5 Northern America 5.4.2.6 Oceania 5.4.3 Conclusion 5.5 Does Customary International Law Support a Right to Diplomatic asylum? References Chapter 6: Diplomatic Asylum on the Basis of Humanitarian Considerations 6.1 Human Rights Considerations As a Source of Law 6.2 The Applicability of Human Rights Provisions and Principles to Diplomatic Asylum 6.2.1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 6.2.2 European Convention on Human Rights 6.2.3 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 6.2.4 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 6.2.5 African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples ́ Rights 6.2.6 American Convention on Human Rights 6.2.7 Temporary Shelter 6.2.8 Deriving from the Principle of Humanitarian Intervention 6.2.9 Non-refoulement 6.2.10 Conclusion 6.3 Diplomatic Asylum As a Human Rights Conundrum References Chapter 7: Conclusion 7.1 Does International Law Support the Granting of a Right to Diplomatic Asylum? 7.1.1 Treaty Law 7.1.2 Customary International Law 7.1.3 Diplomatic Asylum on the Basis of Humanitarian Considerations 7.2 The Problem of Diplomatic Asylum 7.3 Potential Solutions to Address the Problem 7.3.1 Declaring Persona Non Grata and the Severance of Diplomatic Relations 7.3.2 Depriving Mission Premises of Diplomatic Status 7.3.3 Codification of the Question of Diplomatic Asylum 7.3.4 Interpreting the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to Provide for a More Restrictive Diplomatic Immunity 7.3.5 Isolating States Which Breach the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 7.3.6 Respecting the Principle of Non-interference Whilst Protecting the Asylee 7.3.7 Countermeasures 7.3.8 Conclusion 7.4 A Developmental Perspective of the Concept of Diplomatic Asylum Annex References