Immunity, Individuals and International Law.

Which Individuals are Immune from the Jurisdiction of National Courts under
International Law?

Elizabeth Helen Franey

A thesis submitted to the Department of Law of the

London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy, London, June 2009

Declaration

I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD
degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely
my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work
of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me
and any other person is clearly identified in it).

The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is
permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may
not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author.

I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe
the rights of any third party.

Abstract.
State immunity under international law extends to protect some individuals from
criminal prosecution before national courts. This thesis aims to identify which
individuals are immune from prosecution before the English courts, for what conduct,
and for what period. The justifications for immunity are examined, and the extent of
immunity ratione personae and immunity ratione materiae are explored.

This thesis argues that immunity ratione personae is only narrowly available to high
state officials, and that the immunity accorded, by consent, to special missions is
sufficient to cover other official visits.

In Pinochet (No 3) all seven judges agreed:

1. An ex-head of state is immune from prosecution for murder and conspiracy to

murder alleged to have been committed in the forum state.
2. All state officials no matter how minor are entitled to continuing immunity

This thesis analyses state practice in arresting or prosecuting foreign state officials, and
argues that both of these statements are incorrect. This thesis argues that immunity does
not attach to conduct alone, for a person to have continuing immunity ratione materiae
they must have had immunity ratione personae. The forum state must have agreed to the
official being present on its territory, and agreed to the purpose of the visit. Those
officials present on the territory of a foreign state with the consent of that state who have
immunity ratione personae have continuing immunity ratione materiae only for official
conduct, acta jure imperii. This does not extend to acts of violence.

Finally the development of the regime for the prosecution and punishment of
international crimes by national courts is considered. The conflict with immunity is
examined, and a possible reconciliation between the two principles is suggested by
using the complementarity principle in the statute of the International Criminal Court.

Prologue.
On 16 October 1998 I was Deputy Chief Clerk at Bow Street Magistrates Court, and I
was the clerk responsible for advising Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate Nicholas
Evans and preparing the provisional warrant issued for the arrest of Senator Pinochet
Ugarte. I was also the clerk during the committal proceedings heard by Metropolitan
Stipendiary Magistrate Ronald Bartle in October 1998. The arrest of Pinochet and the
litigation thereafter introduced me to an area of law hitherto unknown to me, and started
me on a path of study which has led eventually to this thesis. During the decade that has
passed many things have changed. Bow Street Court has closed, and Metropolitan
Stipendiary Magistrates are now District Judges. Magistrates Courts are no longer small
independent organisations as Her Majestys Court Service has been created as part of
the Ministry of Justice and I am now a civil servant. My role remains substantially the
same despite all the changes, and I continue to encounter challenging cases and
applications, some of which are material used in this thesis. All of the cases quoted in
this thesis from Bow Street and City of Westminster Magistrates Court were heard in
open court and are in the public domain.

I wish to thank the District Judges at the City of Westminster Court and in particular the
Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) Tim Workman for his kindness and support. I
wish to thank Professor Greenwood, who was my supervisor until February 2009 when
he was appointed as a judge at the International Court of Justice, for his generous
patience and his continued gentle guidance.

I also say thank you to my family, my children Thomas and Katherine, and my husband
James without whose continued assistance and encouragement this thesis would never
have been completed.

Immunity, Individuals and International Law.

Which Individuals are Immune from the Jurisdiction of National Courts under
International Law?

Contents
Page Number
Introduction

Immunity from Criminal Prosecution

17

The Immunity of Individuals is Considered Important by States.

25

The Extent of Immunity needs to be Clear.

26

Determining Immunity is Important for International Relations.

27

Determining Immunity is Important to Individuals.

30

Does Immunity mean Impunity?

32

What this Thesis is not Considering.

34

The structure of this thesis.

35

Chapter 1
Immunity Before National Courts.

38

A Question of International Law as Interpreted by National Law.

English law and International Law.

39

International Law on Immunity Incorporated into English Law.

45

Customary International Law Relating to Immunity from Prosecution.

49

Chapter 2
Why should Individuals be Immune under International Law from Criminal

54

Jurisdiction? What is the Justification for Immunity?

Sovereignty and Equality. LEtat Cest Moi.

55

All States are Equal. Par in Parem Non Habet Imperium.

59

The Efficient Performance of Functions.

61

To Promote International Relations.

73

Conclusion.

75

Chapter 3
Immunity Ratione Personae

77

Head of State.

77

Must be the Head of a State.

83

The Head of Government.

93

The Foreign Minister.

97

Other Ministers of State.

108

Special Missions.

116

Must be a High Official of a State.

128

Conclusion

132

Chapter 4.
Immunity Ratione Materiae
The Doctrine of Restrictive Immunity. Acta Jure Imperii and Acta Jure

134
136

Gestionis
Immunity for acta jure imperii applies to individuals.

139

Continuing Immunity.

152

What Conduct is Official and carries with it Immunity?

156

Pinochet, An Ex-Head of State had continuing Immunity for what Conduct?

158

Are Other Officials Entitled to Immunity Ratione Materiae? Does Conduct

167

carry Immunity?
Diplomats and Consuls: Performance of Duties.

197

The Waiver of Immunity.

204

States Requesting Immunity.

206

Prosecutions for Serious Crimes Committed by State Agents.

Terrorism

207

Terrorism by Disguised Members of Armed Forces

211

Assassination

212

Kidnapping

218

Prosecution for Passport Offences.

222

Prosecutions for Trespassing.

223

Prosecutions for Collecting Information.

225

Efforts to Retrieve Agents.

235

Conduct not on the Territory of the Forum State.

239

Conclusion.

241

Chapter 5.
Immunity and Impunity. Is there a conflict in International Law?

243

Human Rights, Individual Responsibility and the Duty to Prosecute.

245

Human Rights Conventions.

245

The Genocide Convention 1948.

246

The Geneva Conventions 1949.

248

The Torture Convention 1984.

249

Individual Responsibility

252

The Duty to Prosecute.

254

The Pinochet Case.

256

The Decision of the Divisional Court.

257

The First Decision of the House of Lords.

257

The First Decision of the House of Lords set aside:

259

The Final Decision of the House of Lords.

After Pinochet.

265

The International Criminal Court.

266

The Arrest Warrant Case.

271

Conclusion.

280

Bibliography

289

Introduction
Henceforth, all former heads of government are potentially at risk.1

On the sixteenth of October 1998 a warrant was issued for the arrest of Senator Augusto
Pinochet Ugarte, a Chilean national and former head of state. Pinochet was in hospital in
London for medical treatment. The warrant was issued in Spain, alleging that Pinochet
had committed genocide in Chile, and asserting that Spain had jurisdiction to try
Pinochet for that conduct. At that time Spain and the United Kingdom (UK) were both
parties to a multi-lateral extradition treaty, the European Convention on Extradition
(1957), and had agreed to extradite persons accused of serious criminal conduct. In
cases of urgency a warrant, known as a provisional warrant, could be issued for the
arrest of a person before the receipt of the formal request for extradition. In such cases
the requesting State would have 40 days from the arrest to submit the formal request for
extradition. The judicial authority in Spain asked the English authorities to arrest
Pinochet for extradition to Spain.

The Metropolitan Police, who believed that Pinochet was due to leave the UK, made an
application for a provisional warrant. Shortly before 9 pm on Friday 16 October 1998
Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, Nicholas Evans issued such a warrant alleging
murder of Spanish citizens in Chile. 2 Pinochet was arrested later that evening. Although
it was not apparent on the face of the warrant, the allegation was that Pinochet
committed the offences as commander of the army, and later as head of state, using the
apparatus of the state. He was President of the Government Junta of Chile from 11
September 1973 until 26 June 1974, and Head of State of the Republic of Chile from 26
June 1974 until 11 March 1990. At the time of his arrest he was a Life Senator.

Margaret Thatcher Lords Hansard Home Page. 6 Jul 1999. Column 800 & 801.
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199899/ldhansrd/vo990706/text/90706-20.htm

The English warrant did not allege genocide as an extradition crime as was alleged in the Spanish
warrant. As the definition of genocide in English law was narrower than the Spanish definition of the
offence, as it did not include the extermination of a political group, and at that time was restricted to
offences which occurred in the United Kingdom.

It was alleged that he gave orders to eliminate, torture and kidnap persons and to cause
others to disappear, through the actions of the secret service, the Direction de
Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), as part of an operation known as Condor, the aim of
which was to eliminate political opponents of his regime. The agents of DINA were
specially trained in torture techniques, and were said to be directly answerable to
General Pinochet. It was alleged that they undertook the killings, disappearances and
torture on the orders of General Pinochet. Pinochet was charged with using the powers
of the state of which he was head to torture, murder and cause disappearances.
This case was of considerable general importance internationally 3 as it was the first
case in which a local domestic court, refused to afford immunity to a former head of a
foreign state on the grounds that there can be no immunity against prosecution for
certain international crimes. The above quotation from Mrs Thatcher demonstrates the
consternation the arrest caused.
On 24 March 1999 the House of Lords gave its final judgment 4 as to whether Pinochet
was immune from the criminal jurisdiction of the domestic courts of states, other than
Chile, for offences committed whilst he was head of state. Before the case was heard in
the House of Lords for the second time, the formal request for extradition was received
from Spain, and the allegations against Pinochet included murder and conspiracy to
murder in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal as well as the widespread persecution of his
own citizens in Chile. The allegations of murder and conspiracy to murder were alleged
to have occurred not only in Chile, but also on Spanish territory. The House of Lords did
not fully consider whether this criminality within the territorial jurisdiction of another
state negated his immunity.

R. v. Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate and others, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No. 3)
[2000] 1 AC 147. Lord Browne-Wilkinson at 201 D.

The question as to whether Senator Pinochet could be the subject of these extradition proceedings was
considered twice by the House of Lords because the lawyers for Senator Pinochet successfully applied to
the House of Lords to have the first decision overturned on the basis that one of the adjudicating Judges
Lord Hoffman was associated with Amnesty who intervened.

10

In the judgment given on 24 March 1999 six of the judges were agreed that Pinochet
was immune from prosecution for the offences of murder and conspiracy to murder,
only Lord Millett dissented on the basis that there could not be immunity for offences
which were alleged to have taken place in the requesting state, that is Spain. Lord
Browne-Wilkinson said As to the charges of murder and conspiracy to murder, no one
has advanced any reason why the ordinary rules of immunity should not apply and
Senator Pinochet is entitled to such immunity. The question this poses is why should
offences of murder and conspiracy to murder carry immunity? What are the ordinary
rules of immunity which apply to such offences?
The transcript 5 of the argument before the House of Lords, in those proceedings, records
that on Tuesday 4 February 1999, the last day of the hearing, the following submissions
were made by Professor Greenwood, counsel for the Kingdom of Spain. Miss
Montgomery was counsel for Pinochet, and Dr Collins counsel for Chile.

Professor Greenwood: It is for the Respondent and for Chile to make good their case
in respect of immunity. It is for them to show that there is a duty under international law
for this country to accord Senator Pinochet immunity. What they have invited your
Lordships to do is to take as a starting-point in the analysis that all officials and former
officials enjoy immunity in respect of their official acts. Miss Montgomery put it that
there was no reason to distinguish between a former head of state and other officials,
and Dr Collins was even more categorical in his submissions that the principle of
immunity applied to the official acts of all officials and therefore, by extension to all
former officials and that it was then for the Appellants to show that there was an
exception to that principle of immunity and then to look to see whether either the
immunity has been waived or there is an exception to it which covers the facts of this
case.

Pages 43 44 transcript. I am very grateful to Professor Christopher Greenwood who lent me the
transcript.

11

My Lords, we submit that that starting-point is wrong. It is, first of all, a starting point
of quite extraordinary breadth. If Dr Collins submissions are accepted in full, it would
mean that for well over a century states have been wrongly trying foreign spies, people
who in their own territory commit on behalf of other states, murders, attacks, abduction
of people, sabotage, acts of that kind. One needs only look at a handful of the cases of
the last few years: the Rainbow Warrior case in New Zealand, French agents convicted
and sentenced to prison for manslaughter for blowing up a trawler in Auckland
Harbour.

Lord Browne-Wilkinson: Did the French Government claim immunity

Professor Greenwood: My Lord, I checked the report of the case in the New Zealand
Law Reports. No, the French Government did not.

Lord Browne-Wilkinson: This is one of the difficulties because when the state officials
get up to high jinks, no immunity is claimed by their state; in fact, to the contrary.

Professor Greenwood: Quite so, my Lord, but if I might suggest, that is a piece of state
practice of quite considerable importance. France was clearly extremely aggrieved at
the imprisonment of its two agents. The matter did eventually go to international
arbitration and the one man and one woman were eventually released into French
custody. The Prime Minister of Israel, according to yesterdays reports in the
newspapers, has said that Israel will do everything it can to get back from Cyprus the
two Mossad agents who have been imprisoned there. But if Dr Collins is right, why do
they not assert immunity in those circumstances. The fact that they never do, the fact
that Dr Collins could not take us to a single case of an offence committed in the territory
of State A by an official of State B in which State B successfully asserted immunity, does
actually suggest that perhaps this is a case of the whole regiment being out of step
except Albert. There is, in fact, no immunity to assert.

12

Lord Millett: Speaking for myself, I cannot see how State A can claim immunity for
criminal acts done in State B, the forum state, because the most important exercise of
sovereignty must be maintenance of law and order in your own state. That must
override anything except ratione personae, must it not?

Professor Greenwood: Yes, my Lord, and, of course, a diplomat who is admitted to the
territory of the forum state with the permission of that forum states government is in a
different position from the undercover agent who comes here and commits an
assassination, the person who comes here to assassinate a political dissident. If one
takes the rationale for immunity put forward by Dr Collins in the Republic of Chiles
case, a central feature of his analysis of the policy lying behind immunity is the principle
that one state should not intervene in the internal affairs of another but there is no
possible way in which a state can claim that it was a matter of its own internal affairs
that its operatives had gone and killed somebody in the territory of another state. It is
the state where the offence took place whose internal affairs have been interfered with in
violation of international law, and that would be true whether the offence took place in
the forum state or in a third country.

The final decision of the House of Lords was that Pinochet was not entitled to immunity
from prosecution for offences of official torture committed after 8 December 1988, the
date when Spain, Chile and the UK had all ratified the torture convention. Six of the
seven judges decided that Pinochet, as a former head of state, was entitled to immunity
from prosecution for offences of murder, and conspiracy to murder, even where the
allegation was that the conduct had taken place in Spain. What was being considered
was Pinochets entitlement to immunity, as an aspect of the immunity of the state of
Chile from the jurisdiction of the courts of other states. This is state or sovereign
immunity which one state must afford another state before its municipal courts. This
immunity is usually from civil jurisdiction, immunity from being sued, but some
individuals are immune from prosecution because of state immunity. The basic principle
being that if conduct is attributable to the state, then the official should be entitled to the
same immunity. The officials and the state are equated one with another.

13

Apart from the passages quoted above, it was accepted by all parties, and also by the
judges, that Pinochet was entitled to immunity from prosecution for ordinary crimes, as
opposed to the international crime of torture, no matter where these offences occurred.
Even if they occurred on the territory of a foreign state. Professor Greenwoods
argument is not dealt with in with the judgment of the House of Lords, and appears to
have been forgotten.

If, as Lord Millet stated, the primary function of sovereignty is to preserve the peace and
security within a states territory, and if the purpose of immunity is to prevent the
interference of one state in the affairs of another state, then immunity surely cannot
subsist for offences committed on the territory of another state. The acceptance of the
premise that all officials are immune from the jurisdiction of other states for offences
which are official conduct is sweeping and wide, and was never properly considered by
the House of Lords.

The discussion quoted above highlights a number of questions regarding the concept of
state or sovereign immunity from criminal prosecution.

1. Does state immunity apply to all state officials, or does it only apply to some
officials?
2. If it only applies to some officials, how do we decide which officials are entitled
to immunity?
3. If an official has immunity does that continue after an official has left office?
4. Is there a difference between conduct in the forum state, and conduct in an
officials own state?
5. Is an official who is entitled to immunity safe from prosecution no matter what
the alleged conduct, or is some conduct so iniquitous that immunity cannot
apply?
6. What is the purpose of immunity? It is to protect a state, but from what, and in
what circumstances?

14

The question of the immunity of state officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction is still
debated, and is now included in the long-term programme of work of the International
Law Commission (ILC). In July 2008 the ILC considered the Special Rapporteurs
preliminary report 6 and a memorandum by the ILC Secretariat on the subject. 7

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the questions, Why is there immunity from
prosecution, and then to determine Who is immune from the criminal jurisdiction of
other States? There are three main considerations here. First, why is immunity asserted?
Immunity is emphatically asserted, and vigorously protected by states, but what is its
purpose? It is only when we understand the purpose of the concept, that it can properly
be applied. Secondly, which individuals are entitled to immunity, and is that immunity
limited to certain conduct, or for certain purposes? Thirdly does this immunity continue,
or is it limited in time?

An associated question is whether immunity has to be asserted, or whether the forum

state should give effect to it proprio motu, either by refraining from prosecution or by
the court of trial dismissing the charges. In civil proceedings immunity has to be
accorded whether or not it is asserted by the state in question. 8 But is this the case in
criminal proceedings? Does immunity have to be claimed by the state in question, or
does the prosecuting state have to recognise an individuals right to state immunity even
though it is not claimed? Another related question is whether it is enough for the
individual to claim immunity or whether his state must take some action on his behalf.

State immunity is one of the oldest principles of international law. It is also a

fundamental principle, as not being subject to the jurisdiction of another state, is one of
6

U.N. Doc A/CN.4/601.

U.N. Doc A/CN.4/596.

Article 6.1 of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property.
A state shall give effect to state immunity under article 5 by refraining from exercising jurisdiction in a
proceeding before its courts against another state and to that end shall ensure that its courts determine on
their own initiative that the immunity of that other state under article 5 is respected. Section 1(2) State
Immunity Act 1978. A court shall give effect to the immunity conferred by this section even though the
state does not appear in the proceedings in question.

15

the essential attributes of the independence of states. A state is immune from the
jurisdiction of the courts of other states because all states are independent and equal, 9
and therefore one state cannot adjudicate upon the conduct of another state. For one
state to scrutinise the conduct of another state before its courts, and to pass judgment
thereon, would mean that the adjudicating state was deciding the legitimacy, or legality,
of the actions of another state, and was substituting its own opinion for that of another
state, thereby making its own decisions superior to that of the second state. Therefore
the second state could not be equal or independent. This principle of public international
law that one state cannot claim jurisdiction over another state is expressed by the Latin
phrase, par in parem non habet imperium. 10

The fact that one state could not be impleaded before the internal courts of another state,
and enjoyed absolute immunity from the domestic jurisdiction of another state was
customary international law until the mid-twentieth century, when the restrictive
doctrine of immunity in civil cases became accepted. 11 This is an exception to state
immunity for the enforcement of commercial contracts entered into by states. It
gradually became agreed in the interests of stability and fairness in commerce. As
international customary law progressed to give effect to this commercial exception, the
immunity of states was limited to acta jure imperii, that is acts performed in the exercise
of sovereign or governmental authority. Whereas acta jure gestionis, acts of a
commercial or private nature, which a private person may perform, do not attract
immunity. A second exception to state immunity also developed at this time, for torts
attributable to a state, mainly because of the use of motor vehicles by state officials. The
restrictive doctrine of immunity has now been articulated and agreed in a number of

Article 2(1) Charter of the United Nations. The Organisation is based on the principle of the sovereign
equality of all its members. The principle is elaborated the GA Res 2625 (XXV) (1970).

10

An equal has no power over an equal.

11

See The Philipine Admiral [1977] AC 373, Trendtex Trading Corp. v Central bank of Nigeria [1977]
QB 529, and I Congreso del Partido [1983] 1 AC 244 for acceptance in English common law.

16

international conventions 12 and has been incorporated into statute. 13 This concept of
restricted immunity applies to civil matters, not criminal matters. 14

Immunity from Criminal Prosecution.

It has long been established that state immunity extends to cover some state officials,
and protects them from all litigation, and proceedings in foreign states. Historically the
head of state, usually a monarch, and the state were seen as synonymous; and the
immunity of the state was that of the monarch. 15 Such a head of state has always been
immune from the jurisdiction of the domestic courts of other states. 16 But does the fact
that a state is immune from civil liability mean that an individual is immune from
criminal prosecution. A state can be liable under civil law, but it cannot be prosecuted. 17
12

European Convention on State Immunity (1972). United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional

Immunity of States and Their Property, 2004. GA Res 59/38 of 2 December 2004. (The UN Convention).
In Jones v Ministry of the Interior Al-Arabiya as Sudiya and another; Mitchell and Others v Ali-dali and
Others [2006] UKHL 26, 14 June 2006, the House of Lords at paragraph 8 and 47 accepts that the UN
Convention is an authoritative statement of customary international law.
13

Section 1(1) UK State Immunity Act 1978. ILM 17 (1978) p. 1123.Section 1604 United States Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act 1976. ILM, 15 (1976) 1388. Section 3(1) Singapore State Immunity Act 1979
reproduced in State Immunity. Selected Materials and Commentary. Edited by Dickinson, Lindsay and
Loonan p. 504. Section 3(1) Pakistani State Immunity Ordinance No. VI of 1981 reproduced in State
Immunity. Selected Materials and Commentary. Edited by Dickinson, Lindsay and Loonan p 496. Section
2(1) South African Foreign State Immunities Act No 87 of 1981reproduced in State Immunity. Selected
Materials and Commentary. Edited by Dickinson, Lindsay and Loonan p. 513. Section 3(1) Canadian
State Immunity Act 1982. ILM, 21 (1982) p. 798. Section 9 Australian Foreign States Immunities Act
1985. ILM, 22 (1986), p. 715.
14

Section 16(4) UK State Immunity Act 1978. Section 17 Canadian State Immunity Act 1982. Section 3
Australian Foreign States Immunities Act 1985.Section 19(1)(b) Singapore State Immunity Act 1979.
Section 17(2)(b) Pakistani State Immunity Ordinance No. VI of 1981.
15

See Sir Arthur Watts, The Legal Position in International Law of Heads of State, Heads of
Government and Foreign Ministers, Receuil des Cours de lAcademie de droit international de la Haye,
vol. 247 pp 9 -136, Part IV Protection, Privileges and Immunities (1) General where he discusses the
relationship between a sovereign and his state. He says In many respects the state could almost be seen
as the property of the ruler, and it was to a considerable degree the rulers personal attributes of
sovereignty which gave his state the quality of being a sovereign state, rather than the other way round.
16

See Sir Arthur Watts The Legal Position in International Law of Heads of States, of Governments and
Foreign Ministers, footnote 15 at p. 54.
17

Oppenheims International Law. Ninth Edition. Volume 1 PEACE Edited by Sir Robert Jennings and
Sir Arthur Watts Introduction and Part 1 p 533 534 says that a state may bear criminal responsibility for
egregious violations of international law and refers to the ILC YBILC (1976), ii. pt 2, pp 361 457. There
is at present no international convention agreeing that states should be prosecuted for crimes. There is no
law in England which provides a procedure whereby a state may be prosecuted.

17

Criminal liability is the liability of an individual for his own unlawful actions.
Nonetheless state immunity has covered the criminal actions of certain state officials in
the past, and continues to do so today. Although the concept of The State has changed
fundamentally since the seventeenth century and the days of King Louis XIV of France
who ruled on the principle that LEtat cest Moi, state immunity continues to extend
to individuals and protect them from prosecution.

There are some foreign nationals who are immune from prosecution before the courts of
England and Wales. 18 The Arrest Warrant Case, 19 in which the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) gave judgment on 14 February 2002, confirmed that heads of state, heads
of government and also foreign ministers are entitled to complete immunity from
prosecution while they are in office. They cannot be arrested, nor can a warrant be
issued for their arrest. Diplomats have immunity on the territory of the receiving state
and whilst travelling to and from that state. Articles 29 to 36 of the Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations 1961 provide for the privileges and immunities of diplomatic
agents, and are accepted to be declaratory of customary international law. Serving
diplomats cannot be prosecuted by the receiving state, in the absence of a waiver of
immunity by the sending state. They are expected to abide by the laws of their host
country, but if they contravene those laws they cannot be prosecuted. If a diplomatic
agent transgresses the criminal law of the receiving state, the sanction available to the
receiving state is to expel the offender, unless the sending state agrees to waive the
immunity. 20 Consular officials have a more limited protection which applies to acts
performed in the exercise of their official functions. 21

State officials do not usually visit other states intent on committing crimes, and articles
41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, 55 of the Vienna
18

England hereafter will be used to refer to both England and Wales.

19

ICJ 14 February 2002. Case Concerning the Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000. (Democratic Republic of
Congo v Belgium). 128 ILR 1.
20

Article 9 and 32 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. Articles 23 and 45 Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations 1963. Article 41 Convention on Special Missions 1961.
21

Article 43 paragraph 1 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963

18

Convention on Consular Relations 1963, and 47 of the New York Convention on

Special Missions 1968 impose an obligation upon officials visiting a foreign state to
abide by local law. Nevertheless visiting officials sometimes do commit crimes
inadvertently or otherwise, and have been held to be immune. Between 2003 and 2007
seventy seven serious offences, that is offences which carry a penalty of twelve months
imprisonment or more, were alleged to have been committed in the UK by persons
entitled to diplomatic immunity. 22 There are other individuals who are entitled to
immunity from criminal prosecution because they are state agents and the purpose of
this thesis is to identify the extent of their entitlement to immunity both as regards
conduct and time.

Immunity is an exception to the jurisdiction which a state has over its territory, and all
persons on that territory. Par in parem non habet imperium used to mean that one state
had no jurisdiction over another state and its recognised officials, but during the
twentieth century states agreed that such immunity was no longer absolute. This
exception to the public international law principle results in a limitation on the exception
of jurisdiction in domestic law. State immunity is an exception to the jurisdiction of
states, and the restrictive doctrine limits that exception to acta jure imperii, that is an
exercise of sovereign or governmental authority, as opposed to acta jure gestionis, acts
of a private nature, which a private person may perform.

Immunity is therefore an exception to the ordinary rules of jurisdiction. It is also an

aspect of the principle par in parem non habet imperium; that is the principle that all
sovereign states are equal, and one state cannot claim jurisdiction over another state.
The principle is given effect by being an exception to territorial jurisdiction. A state has
jurisdiction over its territory and all persons on that territory. A visitor to a foreign
country agrees to be subject to the laws and legal system of the visited country for the
duration of the visit. The visitor agrees to observe the laws of that state, and to accept
responsibility for his actions during his visit, by entering the territory of that state he is
22

Written statement by David Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lords
Hansard Text. 26 June 2008. Column 36WS.

19

accepting that he is subject to the jurisdiction of that state. The principle par in parem
non habet imperium developed before the growth of the assertion of extra-territorial
jurisdiction by states. A person entering the territory of a foreign state is accepting that
he is subject to the jurisdiction of that state including any lawful extraterritorial
jurisdiction asserted by that state. So a visiting foreigner may be prosecuted for offences
which did not occur in the territory of the state he is visiting. Indeed he may be
prosecuted for offences which occurred on the territory of his own state.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction is also an exception to the principle of the independence of

states. A state is responsible for its own internal affairs. For one state to assert
jurisdiction over the territory of second state, without the consent of the second state, is
interference in that second states internal affairs, and a breach of that states
independence. 23 Civil law jurisdictions have traditionally asserted jurisdiction over
crimes committed by their own nationals in other states, and this adoption of jurisdiction
based on nationality is also asserted by common law jurisdictions in some
circumstances. For example, section 9 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861
provides for the courts of the UK to have jurisdiction over offences of murder and
manslaughter committed by any subject of Her Majesty anywhere in the world. The
implementation of this legislation does not prevent the prosecution of the British
national by the forum state, and it is a parallel jurisdiction, rather than a substitute. A
prosecution for extraterritorial offences where jurisdiction is based upon nationality
requires the assistance of the forum state in the collection of evidence, and therefore in
practice does not lead to any breach of the independence of states.

During the latter part of the twentieth century the concept of extraterritorial jurisdiction
developed. Before that time piracy was the only crime of universal jurisdiction. This
was piracy on the high seas, the area of the sea to which no state could lay claim, and
did not apply to piracy in territorial waters. During the twentieth century a number of
international conventions were signed regarding crimes of international concern. State
23

See Jurisdiction: Changing Patterns of Authority over Activities and Resources. D.W. Bowett. BYIL.
1982 p. 1-26.

20

parties agreed to assert extraterritorial jurisdiction over crimes such as torture, war
crimes, and terrorist offences, and to prosecute if the alleged perpetrator was on their
territory. 24 This extraterritorial jurisdiction has also been agreed for other offences of
international concern such as drugs offences, corruption and money laundering. 25 Some
of the treaties went further than an agreement to assert jurisdiction, they introduced the
principle aut dedere aut judicare, that is, extradite or prosecute. States agreed that if an
alleged perpetrator of crimes was on their territory, and he was not extradited, then the
case should be referred to their prosecuting authorities for prosecution. The purpose of
this principle is to prevent criminals being able to hide in foreign states and evade
justice. 26

There is a conflict between extraterritorial jurisdiction and immunity. If states have

agreed that states can try offences committed on the territory of another state, then why
should state officials of a contracting state be immune from prosecution in the territory
of other contracting states? More so if the states have agreed that if an alleged criminal
is on their territory, then the case should be referred to the prosecuting authorities. There
is a conflict or tension between these principles of immunity, and extradite or prosecute.
These conventions were originally believed to be hortatory, but any agreement between
states has to be more than an aspiration. When a state enters into a convention, that state
is then bound by the principle of good faith, to give effect to the convention.

Although there are not many trials in the UK of foreigners committing offences abroad,
there have been some. For example on 1 April 1999 at the Central Criminal Court,
Anthony Sawoniuk was convicted under the War Crimes Act 1999 of murder in
circumstances constituting a violation of the laws and customs of war. He was convicted
of two offences of murdering Jews in 1942 during World War II, in Belarus after the
24

See for example, article 5 Torture Convention 1984, article 7 Montreal Convention 1971, article 7
Convention on Crimes Against Internationally Protected persons 1973, article 7 International Convention
for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings.
25

Article 4 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances 1988. Article 42(4) United Nations Convention Against Corruption 2003.
26

See for example Oppenheims International Law. See footnote 17 at p. 953, and Problems & Process.
International Law and How We Use it. Rosalyn Higgins at p. 65.

21

Nazi invasion. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. 27 Another example is Faryadi

Sarwar Zardad who, on 18 July 2005 at the Central Criminal Court, was convicted of
charges of conspiracy to torture and conspiracy to take hostages in Afghanistan between
1992 and 1996, and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. 28 Both Anthony Sawoniuk
and Faryadi Sarwar Zardad were habitually resident in England, and both were
convicted of crimes committed on the territory of foreign states when the territory was
not occupied by the UK.

A visitor may be the subject of extradition proceedings, if the country he is visiting has
an extradition agreement with a country which wishes to try him for an offence. He can
be extradited even though the offences did not occur on the territory of the state
requesting extradition, so long as they are extradition crimes. His extradition may even
be requested for offences which occurred on the territory of his own state, and this is
what happened in the case of Pinochet, the former Chilean head of state. In 1988 when
he was visiting London in 1988 his extradition was requested by Spain, for offences of
torture, alleged to have occurred in Chile. He was arrested, and the English courts had to
decide whether he was immune from criminal proceedings. The case has a complicated
history, but in the final judgment, Pinochet (No. 3) in the House of Lords on 24 March
1999, as will be shown in later chapters of the thesis, all seven adjudicating Law Lords
were agreed on two principles; the first that if Pinochet had still been head of state he
would have been immune from prosecution; and secondly, that, subject to certain
exceptions, all state officials are immune from prosecution for offences committed as
part of their official function.

This immunity from prosecution for high state officials, for even the most serious of
allegations, has also been confirmed by the ICJ, in the Arrest Warrant Case. 29 That
Court stated that certain high state officials are immune from prosecution before the
27

R v Sawoniuk [2000] 2 Cr App Rep 220.

28

R v Zardad [2007] EWCA Crim 279.

29
128 ILR 1. See also A. Cassesse When May Senior State Officials Be Tried For International Crimes?
Some Comments on the Congo v Belgium Case. 13 EJIL 853.Campbell McLachlan Pinochet
Revisited. (2002) ICLQ. 51 959. Decisions of International Tribunals. (2003) ICLQ 2003 52 775.

22

domestic courts of other states, and that this immunity for individuals applies to the head
of state, the head of government, the foreign minister. The reasoning used by the ICJ,
that such immunity is granted to enable the official to perform his function, means that
state immunity arguably applies to other ministers of state. This thesis will examine this
argument.

Although some individuals are immune from prosecution, the extent of that immunity is
not clear, and this thesis is asking which foreign nationals cannot be prosecuted before
the criminal courts of England because they are entitled to state immunity? In other
words when is a court prevented from issuing a warrant or summons because the
proposed defendant is protected by state immunity? Are there individuals who cannot be
arrested because they are inviolable? Who cannot stand trial? Does it matter what they
are alleged to have done, or when they did it?

These are questions which have practical consequences. Cases which are decided before
the House of Lords, or the ICJ, started as applications for warrants or summonses before
courts of first instance; and in England this is the Magistrates Courts. In recent years
there have been applications for warrants of arrest for serving or retired foreign state
officials, for example Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, 30 Shaul Mofaz 31 the
Minister of Defence of Israel and Bo Xilai 32 the Minister of Overseas Trade of China,
and in these cases warrants were refused because the person was immune.

Who is immune, and who is not, is a matter of international law, which is primarily
concerned with relations between states. Immunity is a protection for the state, not the
individual, and as such it is a matter for the state concerned, not the individual alleged to
have committed a crime. The state may assert immunity on behalf of the official, or a
state may decide not to claim that immunity. A state may decide to waive immunity, and

30

Tatchell v. Mugabe 14 January 2004 Bow Street Magistrates Court. (unreported). See also Immunity
and International Crimes in English Law. Colin Warbrick. ICLQ vol. 53, July 2004 pp 769 774.
31

128 ILR 709.

32

128 ILR 713.

23

abandon an individual official who was acting in an official capacity. Human rights
conventions are that part of international law concerned with the protection of
individuals from the actions of states, particularly the state of which they are a national,
but no human rights convention considers the criminal responsibility of an individual
acting in an official capacity and his liability for criminal conduct. The decision whether
to waive immunity is entirely that of the state concerned, and the individual official
accused of criminal conduct has no say whether his immunity is waived or not. 33 This is
because the immunity is not his, but that of the State. In a recent example in 2003
Colombia waived the immunity of a diplomat Jairo Soto-Mendoza, a military attach at
the Colombian embassy in London, who was accused of murdering Damian Broom who
had mugged Mr Soto-Mendozas son Valencia. Mr Soto-Mendoza was tried at the
Central Criminal Court and found not guilty on 22 July 2003. 34 Another example is
Hissene Habre who was President of Chad between 7 June 1982 and 1 December 1990.
He is accused of crimes against humanity and torture in Chad during that time, and is
presently under house arrest in Senegal pending prosecution by Senegal or extradition to
Belgium. On 7 October 2002 Chad waived any immunity to which Habre may be
entitled. 35

State immunity is an exception to the territorial application of law, and personal

immunity is an aspect of state immunity, that is the immunity a sovereign state has from
the jurisdiction of other states. Although it protects the individual, its purpose is to
protect the state, and it only protects the individual to the extent that the state considers
it necessary to protect him. If a state waives the immunity of an individual then the
individual has no recourse in the forum state, he cannot claim that this is unfair. It is for
the state to claim or to waive, and states guard the right to claim immunity.
33

Dickinson v Del Solar [1930] 1 K.B. 376.

34

23 July, 2003, The Times, p.7

35

ILR 125 579. See also the Case Concerning Questions Relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or
Extradite (Belgium v Senegal) ICJ 2009 No 144. Belgium is requesting the ICJ to declare that Senegal is
obliged to bring proceedings against Habre, and failing prosecution, Senegal is obliged to extradite Habre
to Belgium for trial. Belgium made a request for the indication of provisional measures which was
refused on 28 May 2009. http://ww.icj-cij.org/docket/files/144/15149.pdf. At the time of writing no issue
of immunity is being raised before the ICJ.

24

The Immunity of Individuals is Considered Important by States.

Immunity is a principle of great importance to states; they are willing to expend

resources by taking the preliminary point of entitlement to immunity, rather than by
defending an easily winnable case. This could be said to be protecting states in that the
conduct alleged is not subject to scrutiny, as the court is not deciding whether the
allegation is true. But when considering immunity the court has to consider whether the
individual is immune on the assumption that the alleged conduct actually took place and
that the individual possessed the required mens rea, and therefore the allegations are
rehearsed and repeated. In the Pinochet case lawyers for Pinochet emphasised
throughout the proceedings that Pinochet asserted his innocence, but this is lost in the
reporting of the case. The allegations of widespread torture and murder, abduction and
disappearances perpetrated by Pinochets regime against his own population have been
repeated many times. If Pinochet had been extradited to Spain and had been found notguilty the fact would have been reported, but he and the Government of Chile chose to
fight extradition, and leave the world believing that he was guilty of the crimes alleged.

In the Arrest Warrant case the Democratic Republic of Congo considered that the issue
of state immunity was of such importance that resources should be deployed to take the
matter to the ICJ, and to ask that court to decide whether the issue of the warrant of
arrest was a breach of the immunity of the Congo. The Congo proceeded with the case
even though Mr Yerodia, against whom the arrest warrant was issued, ceased to be
Minister of Foreign Affairs in November 2000, and ceased to hold any ministerial office
before the ICJ heard the case. Even though Mr Yerodia was no longer a minister the
Congo instructed an Ambassador, supported by seven counsel and advocates and a
counsellor to defend the case. The ICJ agreed that the issue of immunity was a legal
dispute and decided that this change in the status of Mr Yerodia did not deprive the
application of its object, and that the case was not moot. 36 No political problems would

36

128 ILR 1 paras. 32 & 44.

25

have been caused in the Congo after Mr Yerodia ceased to be a minister, yet the Congo,
a war torn country with many other pressing problems, continued with the case.

Why do states defend immunity, and protect the concept. Would the idea of the
sovereign state change and the international order be different if state immunity did not
exist? Immunity is a fundamental principle, in that immunity is part of the sovereign
equality which defines a state; but would the concept of a state be different if immunity
did not exist, or is it such a fundamental part of what it is to be a state, that it has to be
part of international law?

The Extent of Immunity needs to be Clear.

The purpose of international law is to facilitate peaceful relations between states, and
state immunity is one of the mechanisms whereby states avoid conflict. It prevents one
state from questioning and criticising the policy of another state. Instituting criminal
proceedings is a statement that behaviour is illegal. The act of commencing proceedings
is a declaration that the alleged conduct is prohibited, and therefore wrong. In a case
where the policy of another state is the issue, then the very fact that an investigation has
been undertaken, or proceedings commenced is a criticism of that state.

For a state to arrest a person who is entitled to immunity is, at the very least, an
embarrassment to that state. The arrest may also be perceived as an insult and an affront
to the dignity of the second state, and may cause an international incident. International
incidents disrupt international discourse, and the most serious international incidents
involve a resort to armed force. International incidents should be avoided if possible.
Therefore it is important to identify who is entitled to immunity and for what conduct.

If an official is arrested, it is difficult for that official to carry on the functions of

government. If a minister, or officials accompanying a minister on a state visit were in
danger of being arrested then the visit would not take place. In the Arrest Warrant Case
the ICJ noted at paragraph 71 of its judgment that Mr Yerodia on applying for visas to

26

two countries learned that he ran the risk of being arrested and he travelled by
roundabout routes and the issuance of the warrant was liable to affect the Congos
conduct of its international relations.

The United Nations (UN) Charter prohibits disputes between states being decided by
force. 37 One state should not force another state to agree with it, or to do as it says. By
article 2.1 the UN is based on the principle of the sovereign equality, and by article 2.7
the UN should not intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic
jurisdiction of any state. Each state is required to respect the internal arrangements of
other states. The function of courts is to decide legal questions, and thereby avoid
conflict. Therefore one state should respect the decisions of the domestic courts of
another state. If the domestic courts of one state consider matters which are internal
matters for another state, without that states consent, then the second state may not
accept any decision of the court, and it may be viewed as an insult to the dignity of the
first state.

It is important to identify the extent of immunity for the international legal order, for
enforcement agencies, and also for individuals. Individuals are entitled to know whether
or not they will be protected by immunity before they embark upon a course of conduct,
and to what extent that immunity will continue to protect them. It is also important for
the integrity of the system of international criminal law. If the criminal law is to have a
deterrent effect, the first consideration must be whether there is a possibility of
prosecution. For the system to have integrity and be trusted it must be seen to be fair,
not just as the imposition of victors justice or might means right.

Determining Immunity is Important for International Relations.

The extent of immunity under international law is important for the international legal
order, and for the maintenance of good relations between states. Failure to respect
37
Articles 2.3, 2.4 and Chapter VI United Nations Charter. See also The Declaration on Principles of
International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the
Charter of the United Nations (1970). GAR 2625 (XXV)

27

immunity and inviolability under international law is a breach of an international

obligation, and the responsibility for this lies with the state. A court which issues a
warrant, or brings proceedings against a person who is inviolable and entitled to
immunity, is involving the responsibility of the state. A state can be asked to justify its
conduct if a warrant is issued by its judiciary for the arrest of a foreign official. This is
what occurred in the Arrest Warrant case where the ICJ found that the issuance of a
warrant of arrest for a serving foreign minister was a breach of international
responsibility.

On 12 July 1999 in a debate in the House of Lords after the arrest of Pinochet, Lady
Thatcher expressed the fear of heads of state and governments, when she said those
still in government will be inhibited from taking the right action in a crisis, because they
may later appear before a foreign court to answer for it 38. Is this a justified fear that
political enemies, or the victors in a conflict, will take revenge and pretend it is justice?
Are the decisions to be taken by those in power so difficult and fraught with danger that
they cannot be answerable to the law? Or is it a licence for the most powerful people in
the world to act in a manner unrestrained by law or morality. Is it a licence for genocide
and torture or a legitimate protection from political enemies?

If immunity is a screen protecting those who are guilty of the worst crimes then the
inhibition described by Mrs Thatcher is a justification for removing immunity, as it will
make those in power consider carefully what they are planning before they oppress
others. The possibility of prosecution should act as a deterrent preventing the creation of
future despots.

Mrs Thatcher then continued in a final ironic twist, those who do wield absolute power
in their countries are unlikely now to relinquish it for fear of ending their days in a
prison. This is a justification not for allowing the continuation of immunity, but for
removing the immunity enjoyed by high state officials. Any privilege which is so

38

See footnote 1.

28

egregiously abused should not be allowed. If immunity assists in the creation of

megalomaniacs and supports tyranny then it should be limited.

Pinochets supporters, who spoke in the debate in the House of Lords, considered the
decision to prosecute Pinochet to be a political act, rather than as a fulfilment of
international obligations. The UK, on being requested by Spain, another party to the
European Convention on Extradition, to arrest Pinochet for extradition, had an
obligation to arrest him. Whereas Pinochet asserted that the UK had a duty in
international law to respect his immunity. Here there are international obligations in
conflict with each other. The obligation to arrest and either prosecute or extradite under
the torture convention, the obligation to extradite to Spain under the European
Convention, and the obligation to Chile under customary international law to respect
state immunity and the principle not to interfere with the internal affairs of another state.

What the Spanish authorities were asserting was a right to try Pinochet for criminal
conduct which occurred not in Spain, but in Chile. The courts of one country were
seeking the extradition of an ex-head of state from a second country, for offences
allegedly committed in a third country. Lord Lamont said in the same debate in the
House of Lords Justice has to be related to a time and place. The Senators case can
be considered only by Chileans in Chile. The decision of the Home Secretary is an
affront to the sovereignty of Chile, a country with its own system of courts and its own
democracy. 39 What Lord Lamont did not explain was that Pinochet had granted
himself and the other members of his junta immunity from prosecution in Chile. 40

Here complex issues, regarding principles and obligations under treaty and customary
international law are intertwined, and are not easily understood. The issuing of a warrant
for the arrest of a person may be very urgent, and it always involves considerations
regarding the timing and manner of the arrest. The law of immunity needs to be clear so

39

See footnote 1 at Column 797.

40

Executive Decree No. 2191. 18 April 1978 (Amnesty Act)

29

that decisions which have to be made under pressure of time, and which have
implications for international relations can be made correctly.

Determining Immunity is Important to Individuals.

In the House of Lords on 12 July 1999 in the debate regarding the arrest of Pinochet
Ugarte by the metropolitan police, the former Prime Minister Lady Thatcher said,
Henceforth, all former heads of government are potentially at risk.41 She was
expressing a concern shared by others who have exercised power that they may be
brought to account for their actions after they have left office.

The debate was after the final decision of the House of Lords and after the Secretary of
State had decided that the proceedings should continue, and he had issued an authority
to proceed. The committal proceedings were fixed to commence on the 27th September
1999 at Bow Street Magistrates Court. Mrs Thatcher was expressing the concern that
immunity no longer protected a head of state or government, for actions performed as
head of state or government, after leaving office.

A person who is alleged to have committed crimes should know whether they can be
arrested and prosecuted in a state or not. Any individual is entitled to know whether he
may be prosecuted and punished for his actions. For this reason human rights
conventions provide that no-one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account
of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or
international law at the time when it was committed. 42 There are also practical
consequences for the accused individual, who may well be restricted in where he or she
can travel, if they are liable to arrest.

41

See footnote 1

42

Article 11.2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Article 7 European Convention on Human
Rights 1950

30

Any individual state official, state employee, or national of a state obeying orders from
his state should know whether or not he is liable to prosecution for his actions before he
undertakes them. If he is not immune, or there are doubts about his immunity, then he
may be pursued for the rest of his life by those who wish him to be prosecuted, and he
may be unable to travel without fear of being arrested. A person is entitled to know,
when their state demands something of them, whether they are making themselves liable
to prosecution or not. Some of those alleged to have committed offences will spend the
rest of their lives taking advice on where they can travel, and in the most extreme
examples having a campaign for their prosecution mounted against them.

This happened to Henry Kissinger who was the United States National Security Adviser
from 1969 to 1975, and Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. He served under
Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His movements were followed closely by
human rights activists for years, as he was implicated in war crimes committed during
his term of office, particularly in connection with the 1973 Chilean coup. In 2001 the
journalist Christopher Hitchens book The Trial of Henry Kissinger 43 presented a case
for Kissingers prosecution relating to his involvement in Indochina, Bangladesh, Chile,
Cyprus, East Timor and Washington DC terrorist attacks.

Also that year a French Magistrate Roger LeLoire summonsed Mr Kissinger to answer
questions about his involvement in the political killings in Chile, 44 and Judge Juan
Guzman in Chile considered making a request to the USA for Mr Kissingers extradition
regarding the death of the American film-maker and journalist Charles Horman, who
was killed by the military days after the coup in 1973. 45 In 2002 the declassification of
US state department documents led to claims that Mr Kissinger gave his approval to the
dirty war in Argentina in the 1970s, and in March 2002 it was reported that he had
cancelled a trip to Brazil as it was feared that a judge might detain him. 46 Whilst Mr
43

The Trial of Henry Kissinger. Christopher Hitchins. Verso Press 2001.

44

The Daily Telegraph 31 May 2001.

45

The Guardian Wednesday 12 June 2002

46

Miami Herald 30 August 2002

31

Kissinger was on a visit to London in April 2002 Peter Tatchell made an application
before Mr Nicholas Evans, Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate sitting at Bow Street
Magistrates Court for a summons or warrant for the arrest of Mr Kissinger alleging
offences under the Geneva Conventions Act, that between 1973 and 1977 when he was
USA Secretary of State he commissioned, aided and abetted and procured war crimes in
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The application was refused because Mr Evans was not
satisfied that a warrant was necessary to ensure the attendance of Mr Kissinger, and
therefore the consent of the Attorney-General was required before a summons could be
issued. Mr Evans did not consider it necessary to decide whether Mr Kissinger was
entitled to immunity as he was not going to issue a warrant.

It was reported by Duncan Campbell in the Guardian on 6 December 2003 that Mr

Kissinger does not travel abroad without consulting his lawyers about the possibility of
his arrest. The uncertainty in the law affected Mr Kissingers ability to travel, and put
him to expense and inconvenience. This uncertainty will continue to have practical
consequences for politicians who have taken controversial decisions whilst in power,
particularly as the House of Lords confirmed in 2006 that aggression is an international
crime recognised by international customary law. 47

Does Immunity mean Impunity?

Immunity is perceived as being fundamentally unfair, and fostering a culture of

impunity. Making individuals responsible for their criminal conduct is believed to be
one way of promoting a law abiding and peaceful international community. The
preamble to the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says the State Parties
are determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of international crimes,
and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes. 48 By this reasoning immunity
promotes armed conflict and international crimes, as the most powerful individuals in
the world are protected from prosecution.
47

R v Jones (Margaret) & Others. [2006] UKHL 16 at paragraphs 12 19.

48

http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/romefra.htm.

32

The opposing view is that immunity protects the interests of sovereign states, as
individual states must be free to take decisions unfettered by the political machinations
of other states. To prosecute a state official for official conduct is a political act, and
therefore immunity is one of the mechanisms by which states avoid conflict. For one
state to question the conduct of another states official is a criticism of that state and will
lead to conflict between those states. If one state questions the official conduct of
another state and scrutinises it before its domestic courts in public, then international
relations will be strained, and international incidents caused. Both sides of the argument
assert that the peace and stability of the world are at stake.

Immunity is seen to lead to impunity when state officials commit crimes for which their
own state will not hold them responsible. In the absence of a will to prosecute in the
territory where crimes occurred, victims turn to other states in their quest for justice.
This has not been a very successful strategy. Pinochet was eventually not extradited; the
Secretary of State ordered his discharge on the grounds of ill health. There have been a
number of applications for warrants of arrest in the English courts which have been
refused. The applications for the warrants for the arrest of President Mugabe of
Zimbabwe, Ariel Sharon then PM of Israel, Narendra Modi Chief Minister of Gujarat,
General Shaul Mofaz of Israel, Mr Bo Xilai, a Chinese Minister will be discussed later
in this thesis.

The concern regarding impunity has led to the setting up of the international tribunals,
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), later the Tribunals for East Timor and Sierra
Leone, and more recently the ICC. These have been established in different ways and
have different limits to their jurisdiction. These are a very expensive answer to the
problem of impunity, and they have been only partially successful. The International
Tribunals are not seen as the sole answer to the question of impunity, and the most

33

recent the ICC is expressed to be complementary to national jurisdictions. It is only if

national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute that the ICC has jurisdiction. 49

What this Thesis is not Considering.

The international tribunals have been created either with the consent of states, or by the
Security Council acting under chapter VII of the UN Charter, and therefore the question
of immunity from the proceedings before these tribunals does not arise. 50 The statutes of
the tribunals all specifically provide that the status of defendants does not provide for
protection from prosecution. The concept of state or sovereign immunity does not apply
to the international tribunals, 51 and therefore this thesis will not be looking at state
immunity and prosecution before an international tribunal, except insofar as it impacts
upon the jurisdiction of national courts. The question of immunity can arise if a person
appears before a national court with a view to being transferred to the ICC. Article 98.1
of the Rome Statute says that the ICC may not proceed with a request for surrender or
assistance which would require the requested state to act inconsistently with its
obligations under international law with respect to the state or diplomatic immunity of a
person of a third state, and therefore this aspect of state immunity will be considered
later in this thesis.

A second area that this thesis will not be considering, except insofar as it throws light
upon state immunity, is diplomatic immunity. Diplomatic immunity was originally an

49

Article 17 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998)

50

Prosecutor v Radovan Karadzic. IT-95-5/18-PT, Decision on the Accuseds Second Motion for
Inspection and Disclosure: Immunity Issue, at para 17,
http://www.icty.org/x/cases/karadzic/tdec/en/081217.pdf.
51

In the Prosecutor v Taylor 128 ILR 239 ex-President Taylor argued that the warrant issued for his arrest
by the Special Court for Sierra Leone should be withdrawn as it was issued when he was head of state.
The Special Court decided that as it is created by treaty it is an international criminal court, rather than a
national court. The court decided that as its statute expressly provides that official status is not a bar to
prosecution it had power to issue the warrant. The decision can be criticised on the basis it did not
consider the position of officials of non parties to the treaty. The court said at paragraph 38 Agreement
between the United Nations and Sierra Leone is thus an agreement between all the members of the United
Nations and Sierra Leone. This fact makes the agreement an expression of the will of the international
community.

34

aspect of state immunity. It developed at a time when the envoy of the sovereign was his
personal representative, and took on some of the characteristics of the sovereign,
including those of immunity and inviolability. Now the immunity of diplomats and
consuls is a separate and mature area of international law, with well developed clear
rules which are accepted by all states. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 are both accepted as being
declarative of customary international law.

A third topic, with which this thesis is not concerned, except when it is relevant to
immunity from criminal prosecution, is the immunity from civil liability. Both corporate
entities and individuals can be civilly liable, thus both a state, and the officials of a state,
can be responsible and liable for damages in a civil court. There have been many cases
brought against states, and state officials, claiming liability for wrongs inflicted. The
body of law which has built up on this subject is substantial, and will be referred to, as
the principles developed in the civil courts are relevant to criminal liability. The history
of the limiting of civil liability, and the development of exceptions to what was an
absolute immunity casts some light on how the law may develop regarding the present
conflicting principles of immunity and impunity. When a criminal prosecution is not
possible, an action for damages may well serve the purpose of apportioning blame.
When individuals cannot be brought before a criminal court, then efforts to make a state
and its officials liable before a civil court will place the facts of what happened in the
public domain.

The structure of this thesis.

The question this thesis is discussing is which individuals are immune, under
international law, from the jurisdiction of the English courts. This immunity of
individuals is an aspect of state or sovereign immunity and therefore this thesis will have
to look at state immunity. The reasons for immunity should be clear, simple and easily
understood, so that the purpose of immunity is transparent. The groups of persons to
whom it extends should be clearly identified, and the conduct which cannot be

35

prosecuted understood. Only then will immunity be accepted as legitimate part of

international law.

If the primary function of sovereignty is to preserve the peace and security within a
states territory, and if the purpose of immunity is to prevent the interference of one state
in the affairs of another state, then immunity surely cannot subsist for offences
committed on the territory of another state. The acceptance of the premise that all
officials are immune for the jurisdiction of other states for offences which are official
conduct is sweeping and wide and this proposition will be considered.

In a good legal system cases are not appealed because the principles are understood and
generally agreed. The law relating to immunity from criminal jurisdiction is not good in
this sense. In the last decade there has been the Pinochet case in the House of Lords 52
and The Arrest Warrant 53 and Djibouti v France 54 cases in the ICJ and the concept is
still debated.

Before looking at the specific situations in which immunity will or will not be accorded
to individuals this thesis will look at the justifications for immunity, why it is said that
immunity exists, and consider whether the reasons given are legitimate. It is only by
understanding why the concept exists, its purpose, and whether that purpose is
legitimate, will it be possible to understand its limits and apply it properly.

This thesis will look at the limits of immunity, what is clear and what is uncertain, and
how this area of the law has been developing. This thesis will try and identify the limits
of immunity, what is confirmed by the practice of states and what is not. One chapter
will consider immunity ratione personae, that is who is absolutely immune because of
their status, the office they hold in a state. Another chapter will look at immunity ratione

52

R v Bow Street, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No 3) [2000] 1 AC 147.

53

128 ILR 1.

54

Case Concerning Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v France) ICJ
hhtp://www.icj-cji.org/docket/files/136/14550.pdf.

36

materiae, that is, immunity because of the official nature of the conduct. Finally the
question of whether there is a conflict between the concepts of immunity and impunity
will be considered, and whether the two concepts can co-exist in a coherent way in
international law. The first chapter will review the applicable law. This immunity of
individuals is a principle of international law which is applied by the domestic courts of
states, and the first chapter will look at international law relating to immunity and how it
is applied in English courts.

37

Immunity Before National Courts.

A Question of International Law as Interpreted by National Law.
The law of nations is part of the law of the land. 55

The UN has been working to codify international law relating to the immunity of states.
On 2 December 2004 by resolution 59/38 the General Assembly adopted the United
Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, (the State
Immunity Convention). This Convention is not yet in force. It was signed by the UK on
30 September 2005 but has not been ratified at the time of writing. 56 It has been
accepted by the English Courts as codifying international law on this subject. 57

The State Immunity Convention codifies the immunity of states and their property in
civil proceedings, but it does not reflect the law relating to immunity in criminal
proceedings. 58 There are still many areas of international law which have not been
codified, and one such area is the immunity to which individuals are entitled from
criminal prosecution in foreign states. The fact that the law is not contained neatly in
one international instrument does not mean that there is no international law which
applies.

The immunity accorded to individuals before national courts, by reason of their being
agents of a state, is granted because such agents are entitled to immunity under
international law. The immunity accorded to such individuals is therefore the result of
the interplay between national and international law. How these two bodies of law
connect with each other, and which takes precedence over the other is not always easy to
decide. This thesis is looking at the immunity afforded to individuals under international
55

Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book IV, ch 5.

56

United Nations Treaty Collection.

http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=III-13&chapter=3&lang=en
57
AIG Capital Partners Inc. v Republic of Kazakhstan. [2005] EWHC 2239 (Comm). Jones v Ministry of
Interior. HL [2006] UKHL 26. Lord Bingham at para. 8. Lord Hoffman at para. 27.
58

GAR 59/38 para. 2.

38

law in English courts. This means that the law that is being applied is English law, and
international law is applicable insofar as it is part of English law. This thesis is not about
the sources of international law and the complex questions posed regarding the making
of international law, but questions are raised in this thesis about how to recognise and
identify the law relating to immunity. This chapter is looking at the law that is
applicable, and how it is identified.

English law and International Law.

The UK has an obligation to ensure that the English courts apply the law in a manner
which is consistent with international law, to the extent that international law applies. In
England the sources of law are statutes and secondary legislation, and the common law
as expressed in judicial decisions. Acts of Parliament are the primary source of law; 59
this is of particular importance in criminal law, as only a statute can create a new
offence. 60 If there is a conflict between a statute and international law then an English
court has to abide by the words of the statute. There is a presumption of construction
that legislation should be interpreted to avoid a conflict with international law. 61

The sources of law of international law are not as simple and certain as those of English
law. International society is horizontal, with no centralised government, or law making
body which can impose laws. Consequently international law is created largely by the
consent of states. The United Nations is the pre-eminent body in international society,
and all 192 states which have achieved general recognition are now members of the UN.
59

Moretensen v Peters (1906)8 F.(J.) 93.

60

R v Jones (Margaret) & Others. [2006] UKHL 16. Lord Bingham of Cornhill at para 29 an important
democratic principle in this country: that it is for those representing the people of the country in
Parliament, not the executive and not the judges, to decide what conduct should be treated as lying so far
outside the bounds of what is acceptable in our society as to attract criminal penalties. And Lord
Hoffman at para 57 Aggression not a crime in English domestic law, firstly the democratic principle that
it is nowadays for Parliament and Parliament alone to decide whether conduct not previously regarded as
criminal should be made an offence. The law concerning safe conducts, ambassadors and piracy is very
old. But new domestic offences should in my opinion be debated in Parliament, defined in a statute and
come into force on a prescribed date. They should not creep into existence as a result of an international
consensus to which only the executive of this country is a party.
61

Salomon v Commissioners of Customs and Excise. [1967] 2 QB 116, at 143

39

The UN Charter has become the basic legal instrument for the international
community 62, and obligations under the Charter prevail over any other obligations
under any other international agreement. 63 The UN, acting under Chapter VII of the
Charter, can create obligations which are binding upon States, but the UN cannot create
laws in the way that a parliament can. The UN has been working towards clarifying and
codifying international law through the ILC and establishing norms of international law
by resolutions passed by the General Assembly, and through sponsoring multi-lateral
treaties.

The ICJ was created by Chapter XIV of the UN Charter, and is the principal judicial
organ of the UN. The statute creating the ICJ is annexed to the UN Charter and forms an
integral part of the Charter. 64 Only states can be parties to contentious cases before the
court, and the function of the court is to decide in accordance with international law
such disputes as are referred to it, or to give advisory opinions if requested by authorised
bodies. The court has to apply international law, and in so doing is required by article 38
of its statute to apply:

(a) international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules

expressly recognised by the contesting states;
(b) international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
(c) the general principles of law recognised by civilised nations;
(d) subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the
most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for
the determination of rules of law.
These four categories are generally accepted as the sources of international law. 65 They
are the ways in which international law is determined, and they identify the processes
62

Oppenheims International Law. See footnote 17 at page 31.

63

Article 103 UN Charter.

64

Article 92 UN Charter.

65

Oppenheims International Law. Ninth Edition. See footnote 17 at p. 24.

40

used to create international law. The ICJ adjudicates upon disputes between states, and
in so doing declares what international law applies, thereby contributing to the
development and understanding of international law. The decisions of the ICJ have no
binding force except between the parties, and in respect of that particular case, 66 but the
law which is defined or explained in such decisions does have binding force. As the
highest judicial organ of the UN the decisions of the judges of the ICJ are a powerful
and persuasive body of opinion, not just as a subsidiary means for determining the rules
of law, but as statements of what is customary international law. What is declared to be
customary international law in such judgments is compelling unless there are persuasive
indicators that the law has changed.

The first source of international law is international conventions, that is, treaties which
have been agreed by states. A treaty is not automatically incorporated into English
law. 67 If the UK becomes party to a treaty which has to be implemented in domestic
law, then an Act of Parliament has to be passed incorporating the treaty into English
law. This is usually done by the provisions of the statute giving effect to the treaty, or
specified articles of a treaty are annexed to the statute and thereby become part of
English law.

The second source of international law is International custom, as evidence of a

general practice accepted as law, known as customary international law. This means
the practice of states, which is accepted as law by states. There are two elements the first
of which is a general practice, and this has been emphasised by the ICJ in a number of
cases.

In the North Sea Continental Shelf Cases that court said, an indispensable requirement
would be that within the period in question, short though it might be, State practice,
including that of States whose interests are specially affected, should be both extensive
66

Article 59 Statute of the ICJ1945.

67

JH Rayner (Mincing Lane) Ltd v Department of Trade and Industry. [1990] 2 AC 418 pp 476D, G477A, 483C, 499F 500D.

41

and virtually uniform. 68 And in the Nicaragua (Merits) Case, the ICJ confirmed that
when deciding a case on the basis of general customary international law, it must
discover that law from the practice of states as a whole, and said, The court must not
disregard the essential role played by general practice. 69 Such state practice must be
general, and consistently repeated over a period of time. In the Asylum Case 70 in 1950
the ICJ explained that a rule of customary international law must be in accordance
with a constant and uniform usage practised by the States in question. If a practice has
been undertaken for only a short time, and all states have not been involved in the
practice, this does not mean that particular practice is not law. It is recognised that the
length of time that a practice has to be undertaken before it becomes law may not always
be long, and that the practice of powerful and influential states may be more important.

State practice, that is the element of conduct, what states have done, does not have to
conform absolutely to the rule. States vary in their conduct, particularly when a rule is
becoming established. In the Military and Paramilitary Activities case 71 the ICJ said that
it is sufficient for a rule of international customary law for the conduct of states in
general to be consistent with the rule, and inconsistent state conduct should generally be
treated as a breach of the rule, not as an indication of the recognition of a new rule.

If there is settled state practice it is then necessary to look and see if that practice is
accepted as law. This is known as opinio juris sive necessitates or opinio juris, and is
described as a belief that the practice is obligatory under international law. States are
made up of many individuals of varying beliefs, and a state is not an entity which can
believe anything itself. Rather the practice has to have occurred in such a way as to
show a general recognition that a rule of law or legal obligation is involved. 72 In other
words, how were the actions carried out, does the practice of states show that the actions
68

ICJ Rep 1969, p. 3. para. 74.

69

ICJ Reports 1986 p. 14. para. 184.

70

ICJ Rep. 1950, p. 276.

71

ICJ Rep. 1986, p. 14.

72

North Sea Continental Shelf Cases ICJ reports 1969. p. 3 para. 74.

42

are considered to be legally binding. Is there a general consensus that the practice is a
matter of law?

Custom therefore is deduced from the practice and behaviour of states and state agents.
It is an area of law which responds as states react to changes in international society. All
states may take part in its formulation. If a state is not directly affected it may still take
part in the formulation of the law, or try to change the law by stating whether it agrees
that a certain practice is lawful or not.

Article 38 does not restrict international custom to the practice of states, and since the
creation of the United Nations there has been a growth in the importance of international
organisations. The primary international organisation is the UN itself. The General
Assembly has adopted a number of Conventions and made resolutions which are
declaratory of existing law, or aim to create new law. As these resolutions are adopted
by states, the resolution itself can be seen as both the practice of states, and an
expression of opinio juris. 73 The UN Secretary General is an international person who
commissions reports, and sometimes acts as an arbitrator. The Secretary General uses
international law, and therefore his practice can contribute to the creation and
confirmation of international customary law.

Customary international law is part of the common law of England. The leading text
Oppenheim explains at page 56 regarding the UK all such rules of customary
international law as are either universally recognised or have at any rate received the
assent of this country are per se part of the law of the land and quotes a line of cases
supporting this. International customary law is part of English law and does not have to
be incorporated by an act of parliament. This was approved by Lord Lloyd in Pinochet
(No 1). 74

73

The ICJ in the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons Case, Advisory Opinion ILR 110
para. 70 General Assembly Resolutions may provide evidence important for establishing the existence of
a rule or the emergence of an opinio juris.
74

[2000] 1 AC at 90 E.

43

In 2007 in Regina v Jones (Margaret) and Others 75 the House of Lords considered the
question whether the crime of aggression was a crime under customary international
law, and whether the crime was recognised by, or formed part of the domestic law of
England. The defendants were claiming that the Iraq war was unlawful, and therefore
they were not guilty of charges of aggravated trespass and criminal damage relating to
military bases. Lord Bingham of Cornhill considered the question whether customary
international law is, without the need for any domestic statute or judicial decision, part
of the domestic law of England. At paragraph 11 of the judgment he said that there was
old and high authority for the general truth of the proposition, but he also thought there
was truth in the contention that international law is not a part, but one of the sources of
English law. He decided that he was prepared to accept the general truth of the first
proposition for the purposes of the case he was deciding, and this fine distinction does
not affect this thesis. Whether customary international law is a source of English law, or
automatically part of it, it is the law which applies when immunity is not provided for by
statute.

English law accepts that customary international law changes as time changes. Lord
Sankey LC explained in 1934 in Re Piracy Jure Gentium 76 International law was not
crystallised in the seventeenth century, but is a living and expanding code. This causes
a problem as regards the rule of stare decisis, as there may be a conflict between
unchanging binding precedent and changing customary international law. Can an
inferior court give effect to changes in customary international law, or is the court bound
until the House of Lords accept the change? In 1977 the Court of Appeal was faced with
just such a dilemma in Trendtex Trading Corporation v Central Bank of Nigeria. 77 The
Central Bank of Nigeria was claiming state immunity from being sued on a letter of
credit. The doctrine of restrictive immunity had been adopted by many countries, but

75

[2006] UKHL 16.

76

[1934] AC 586 at 592. In this case the Full Court of Hong Kong acquitted Chinese nationals of the
offence of piracy on the high seas because they had not actually committed robbery. The decision was
overturned by the Privy Council on the basis that actual robbery was not an essential element of the
offence of piracy jure gentium, and a frustrated attempt was sufficient.

77

[1977] QB 529.

44

English case law firmly asserted the doctrine of absolute immunity. Lord Denning
discussed the two schools of thought regarding the adoption of the rules of international
law into English law. Incorporation, by which customary international law is
automatically part of English law, and transformation which says that customary
international law is only part of English law in so far as it has been adopted and made
part of the law by the decisions of judges, or by act of parliament, or long accepted
custom. Lord Denning decided that as the rules of international law change, and that
courts have given effect to these changes without any Act of Parliament it followed
inexorably that the changing rules of international law are part of English law. He
stated at 554H International law knows no rule of stare decisis, and decided that if
the court was satisfied that customary international law had changed then it could apply
that change. Shaw LJ agreed with Lord Denning and said at 579F-G that what is
immutable is the principle of English law that the law of nations must be applied in the
courts of England. He said that the English courts must at any given time discover what
the prevailing international rule is and apply that rule. Lord Stephenson did not agree
and said at 571H-572A that the court was bound by previous decisions as to what is
international law until altered by the House of Lords or the legislature. As Lord
Stephenson was in the minority the principle as enunciated by Lord Denning and Shaw
LJ that stare decisis does not apply to customary international law is now binding on
lower courts.

Having discussed the relationship between English law and international law, this
chapter will now look at what international law on the subject of the immunity of
individuals from prosecution has been incorporated into English law.

International Law on Immunity Incorporated into English Law.

In English law a number of acts of parliament give effect to treaties regarding state
immunity to which the UK is a party. The immunity of diplomatic agents and consular
agents as agreed in the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations 1961, and the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963, are incorporated in English law to the

45

extent that parliament considered necessary, in the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 and
the Consular Relations Act 1968.

Both of these acts provide that specific articles of the treaties shall have the force of law.
Section 2(1) of the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 provides that articles 1, 22, 24, 27 to
40 and 45 of Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations 1961 have the force of law.
Therefore article 29 which provides that the person of a diplomatic agent shall be
inviolable, and that he shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention, article 31
which provides that a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal
jurisdiction of the receiving state, and article 39.2 which provides that with respect to
acts performed by a person in the exercise of his functions as a member of the mission,
immunity shall continue to exist are part of English law.

Similarly the Section 1(1) of the Consular Relations Act 1968 provides that articles 1, 5,
15, 17, 27, 31 to 33, 35, 39, 41, 43 to 45, 48 to 55, 57 to 62, 66, 67, 70 and 71 of the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 have the force of law. Therefore article
43 which provides that consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable
to the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the receiving state in
respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions, article 53.4 which
provides with respect to acts performed by a consular officer or a consular employee in
the exercise of his functions, immunity from jurisdiction shall continue to subsist
without limitation of time, and article 41 which provides for the personal inviolability of
consular officers, and says that consular officers shall not be liable to arrest or detention
pending trial, except in the case of a grave crime and pursuant to a decision by the
competent judicial authority are part of English law. Section 1(2) of the Consular
Relations Act 1968 says grave crime shall be construed as meaning any offence
punishable, on a first conviction, with imprisonment for a term that may extend to five
years or more, or with a more severe sentence.

The European Convention on State Immunity 1972 is concerned with the immunity of
states and not the immunity of individuals. As the preamble explains the signatory states

46

were Desiring to establish in their mutual relations common rules relating to the scope
of immunity of one State from the jurisdiction of the courts of another State. The State
Immunity Act 1978 enabled the UK to give effect to the European Convention on State
Immunity, and, by section 1, a state is immune from the jurisdiction of the UK except as
provided by the provisions of part 1 of the Act. Sections 2 to 11 set out circumstances in
which a state may be the subject of proceedings in the civil courts. By section 14(1)(a)
references to a state includes references to the sovereign or other head of that state in his
public capacity. The act is not creating legislation relating to immunity from criminal
prosecution, and Section 16(4) says in terms that part 1 of the act does not apply to any
criminal proceedings.

Section 20 of the State Immunity Act 1978 legislates for the immunity of sovereigns or
other heads of state from both civil and criminal proceedings as that section is in Part III
of the Act, and therefore not subject to the limitation in section 16(4). Section 20(1)
provides:

Subject to the provisions of this section and to any necessary modifications, the
Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 shall apply to
(a) a sovereign or other head of state;
(b) members of his family forming part of his household, and
(c) his private servants,
as it applies to the head of a diplomatic mission, to members of his family forming part
of his household and to his private servants.

The effect of these provisions as regards civil proceedings is that if a head of state is
sued in his own right, he has the same immunity as an ambassador, but if he is sued as
the representative of the state then he has the same immunity as the state. 78

78

See Geoffrey Marston. The Personality of the Foreign State in English Law. 56 Cambridge L.J. vii
(1997) p. 374 describing the development of the state as a legal person in civil litigation from the
ambassador or prince acting in person to the position that executive recognition creates the capacity for a
foreign state to act at the plane of English law.

47

The head of a diplomatic mission is entitled to complete immunity from criminal

jurisdiction, and is inviolable and therefore cannot be arrested, but once he has left his
post he has a reasonable time to leave the country and then his immunity ends. 79 The
effect of this provision regarding the criminal liability of an ex-head of state was
considered by the judges in Pinochet (No. 3) who found its construction difficult. After
consideration they all decided that customary international law applied. The section and
the phrase any necessary qualification was described by Lord Browne-Wilkinson at
202H as a strange feature of the United Kingdom law. He said that he found the
correct way in which to apply 39(2) of the Vienna Convention to a former head of state
baffling, because he was unable to say which functions should be regarded, or when
they cease, as a former head of state almost certainly never arrives in the country let
alone leaves it. He said It is hard to resist the suspicion that something has gone
wrong, and a search of the parliamentary history of the section confirmed his
suspicion. The original section 20(1)(a) read a sovereign or other head of state who is
in the United Kingdom at the invitation or with the consent of the Government of the
United Kingdom. This was changed by a government amendment, as it was said that the
clause as introduced leaves an unsatisfactory doubt about the position of heads of state
who are not in the United Kingdom. The amendment was to ensure that heads of state
would be treated like heads of diplomatic missions irrespective of presence in the
United Kingdom.

All seven judges considered the provisions and they all decided that the immunity to
which Pinochet was entitled as a former head of state was that to which he was entitled
under customary international law. 80 It is submitted that in this the judges were correct;
it is customary international law that determines the extent of immunity for former
heads of state.

79

Article 39(2) Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.

80
Pinochet (No. 3) [2000] 1 AC 147. Lord Browne-Wilkinson at 203B-F, Lord Goff at 209H-210B, Lord
Hope at 240H, Lord Hutton at 251A, Lord Saville at 265F-H, Lord Millet at 268H-270D and Lord
Phillips at 292C.

48

These statutes are concerned only with diplomats, consuls, heads of state and their
families and households. The immunity of other state officials is not addressed by these
Acts. There is no UK legislation regarding the immunity to be afforded to other state
officials. This thesis has to determine what is the applicable customary international law,
to ascertain who is entitled to immunity and for what conduct, at what time.

Customary International Law Relating to Immunity from Prosecution.

This question that this thesis is asking is which individuals are immune in international
law from the criminal jurisdiction of England, and this is an area where customary
international law applies. This thesis therefore will have to ascertain from state practice
what is the customary international law that applies. The practice will have to be
extensive, and virtually uniform, and to have occurred in such a way as to show a
general recognition that a rule of law is involved. This is not an easy matter, and is
complicated by the fact that prosecution is a permissive jurisdiction. If there is a
permissive rule of international law then English law may not extend as far as
international law permits. 81

A permissive rule does not have to be implemented by states, but the fact that all states
do not implement the law does not mean that the rule is not a rule of customary
international law. Regarding criminal prosecutions, the fact that a state does not
prosecute a person does not mean that the state cannot prosecute that person. There are
many good reasons why persons are not prosecuted for crimes. This thesis will look at
where states prosecute, and where they do not, where states have asserted the right to
arrest and prosecute state agents, and whether this assertion was challenged by other
states on behalf of their agents? What was the justification for such a challenge; was it
on the basis that the agent was entitled to state immunity, and if so, what was the
outcome? Do states prosecute, do they assert immunity, and do they object to arrests or
prosecutions on the grounds of state immunity?

81

R v Keyn. (1876) 2 ExD 63.

49

One aspect of state behaviour that will be explored is when states do not object to
prosecutions of their officials by other states. By not objecting and by not asserting
immunity, states are accepting that immunity does not apply. Whether states do or do
not object to prosecutions of state officials, for what can be described as official
conduct, is state practice and evidence of customary international law. If states
consistently do not object to a practice, then there can be no rule of customary
international law forbidding such practice. 82 That is, if states consistently prosecute
foreign state officials, without complaint from the state to which the official belongs,
then there is no rule against such prosecutions. This is true even if not every official who
could be prosecuted is prosecuted. 83 Assertion of a right and acquiescence therein is
state practice, and an example of opinio juris. The converse may also apply, a state
asking for immunity before taking action, or requesting a pardon, or clemency, is an
indication that there is no immunity.

Judicial decisions and the teachings of leading academics are subsidiary means for the
determination of rules of international law. The writings of leading academics will be
referred to in this thesis but they have to be treated with care as such writings are not
evidence of international law in the absence of state practice. 84
82

Moretensen v Peters (1906) 8F(J) 93 pp 108. Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice BYIL 30 (1953) p 1 The Law and
Procedure of the International Court of Justice, 1951 54: General Principles and Sources of Law at p 68
consent is latent in the mutual tolerations that allow the practice to build up at all; and actually patent
in the eventual acceptance (even if tacit) of the practice, as constituting a binding rule of law.
MacGibbon (1954) 31 BYIL 143 The Scope of Acquiescence in International Law at p 182
Acquiescence is equivalent to tacit or implied consent. It takes the form of silence or absence of protest
in circumstances which demand a positive reaction. MacGibbon Customary International law and
Acquiescence 33 BYIL (1957) 115 at 145 The general acceptance or recognition has frequently
assumed the form of acquiescence.
83

S.S.Lotus (France v Turkey), PCIJ Series A, No. 10, 1927 at p 28. Even if the rarity of the judicial
decisions to be found among the reported cases were sufficient to prove in point of fact the circumstances
alleged .. it would merely show that states had often, in practice, abstained from instituting criminal
proceedings, and not that they recognised themselves as being obliged to do so; for only if such abstention
was based on their being conscious of a duty to abstain would it be possible to speak of an international
custom. This passage quoted with approval and followed in North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (Federal
Republic of Germany v Denmark; Federal Republic of Germany v The Netherlands) ICJ Reports 1969 p 3
para. 79.
84

Arrest Warrant case. ICJ. Joint Separate Opinion of Judges Higgins, Koojimans and Buergenthal, 128
ILR 119 at para 44 in the context of universal jurisdiction. These writings, important and stimulating as
they may be, cannot of themselves and without references to other sources of international law, evidence
the existence of a jurisdictional norm.

50

Judicial decisions of national courts in the context of the law of state immunity are
examples of state practice and may be evidence of opinio juris as regards immunity from
prosecution. 85 The very fact that persons are prosecuted by states, or that they are
accorded immunity is the basic state practice which has to be considered. The statements
of judges in ordering prosecution, or according immunity are evidence of opinio juris.
The practice of states in prosecuting, or according immunity, has been researched for
this thesis both by identifying reported cases on immunity, and also by making extensive
searches for prosecutions of those who are state agents engaged on state business. Key
word searches were conducted of electronic legal resource sites, Lexis Nexis and
Westlaw, using the terms state immunity and sovereign immunity to identify relevant
reported cases. There are also cases from this writers own knowledge as Senior Legal
Adviser to the International Jurisdiction Office at Bow Street Magistrates Court and the
City of Westminster Magistrates Court. Key word searches were also made of
electronic records of reputable news reports, Keesings World News Archive, Times
Digital Archive, The Times and Sunday Times 1990 - 2003, and Times Online using
key words, state, official, spy, espionage, trial, arrest and prosecution. The
criteria used to select cases regarding arrests and prosecutions from news reports are as
follows: -

1.

The person arrested must clearly be a state actor, as opposed to a

terrorist or a secessionist, or a person acting alone, or as part of a group
acting for ideological reasons;

2.

The person must be a foreign national, in many instances the

nationality of the person arrested is not reported, and such cases have
not been included.

3.

The person has to clearly acting on behalf of one state, in what can
only be described as state activity, in a second state. Cases involving

85

For example see Jones v The Ministry of Interior [2006] UKHL 26 at paras. 10, and 59 63.

51

the drug trade or other criminal activity 86 are excluded, as are those
involving missionaries or other religious figures as the motivations of
all involved are mixed. Cases where it is unclear on whose behalf a
person is acting have also not been included.
4.

The assertion of the state where the conduct took place that the activity
was on behalf of another state has been taken as sufficient. It is the
understanding of the prosecuting state that is of importance. Does the
state prosecuting assert that the criminal conduct alleged was
performed by and on behalf of a foreign state, and that there is the
right to prosecute. The denial of the allegation by the foreign state does
not affect the assertion of the right to prosecute.

5.

The person must have been arrested, or charged, and may be tried and
sentenced. There is clearly no duty upon states to try foreign nationals
who commit offences on their territory, and often states expel persons
involved in undesirable conduct. The fact that persons are not tried
does not mean that states cannot try them; there are many reasons why
a state may not wish to try a particular person such as lack of evidence,
political embarrassment, or public interest immunity considerations.

Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various
nations are a subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law. Therefore judicial
decisions may be evidence both of customary international law, and also a subsidiary
means for determining international law. Judicial decisions will be considered in this
thesis together with the writings of respected legal writers to assist in determining what

86

E.g. The case of Dr. Ralph Pinder-Wilson, a British citizen employed as the head of the British Institute
of Afghan Studies in Kabul, was sentenced on July 9, 1982, to 10 years' imprisonment for allegedly
collecting information and passing false rumours about Afghanistan to the United Kingdom and
'collaborating with counter-revolution and with imperialist states against the Democratic Republic of
Afghanistan'. Dr Pinder-Wilson was also thought to have been accused of removing ancient Afghan coins
to London, but to have claimed that they were being returned to Afghanistan after cleaning; he was
released on July 14 after apparently being forced to make a confession and to request a pardon, and left
the country immediately.

52

is international law relating to the immunity of individuals. 87 The decisions of national

courts have to be considered with some caution, as national courts should apply
international law, rather than progress it. As Lord Hoffman said in Jones v Ministry of
the Interior 88 at paragraph 63 It is not for a national court to develop international
law by unilaterally adopting a version of that law which, however desirable, forward
looking and reflective of values it may be, is simply not accepted by other states. The
distinction between lex lata and de lex ferenda is not always self-evident, and national
courts have a difficult job applying the international law of immunity as will be seen in
the cases considered later in this thesis.

The third source of international law is the general principles of law recognised by
civilised nations. The next chapter will look at the justifications for individuals being
entitled to state immunity to see if general principles of law can be deduced for such
immunity. It is only if the purpose and justification for immunity is understood that the
law can be applied fairly.

87

Examples of references to respected legal writers are by Lord Hoffman in Jones v the Ministry for the
Interior [2006] UKHL 26 at para. 84, and Lord Phillips in Pinochet (No 3) [2000] 1 AC 147 at p 283 4.

88

[2006] UKHL 26.

53

Why should Individuals be Immune under International Law from

Criminal Jurisdiction?
What is the Justification for Immunity?
The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law 89

International law recognises, as an aspect of state immunity, that certain classes of

people are immune from the criminal jurisdiction of the domestic courts of states of
which they are not nationals. State immunity is upheld by both national courts and
international tribunals. In 1999 in Pinochet (3) 90 the House of Lords held that Pinochet
had continuing immunity for offences of murder and conspiracy to murder. In 2003 the
ICJ in the Arrest Warrant Case 91 said that the immunity which protects high state
officials, heads of state and heads of government, also extends to foreign ministers. The
purpose of this chapter is to examine what is the justification for the principle. Immunity
is criticised for promoting impunity and allowing a class of persons to be unaccountable
for their actions, 92 so why is immunity allowed? It is only when the rationale for state
immunity is clear, and its purpose understood, that intelligible arguments can be made
regarding the extent of immunity.

Immunity is a principle that is as old as international law itself. The foundation for the
principle is to be found in the concept of monarchy, and the idea of the sovereign.

89

Aristotle.

90

[2000] 1 AC 147.

91

128 ILR 1.

92

See Immunity v Accountability. The Redress Trust. December 2005.

http://www.redress.org/publications/StateImmunity.pdf. The preamble to the Rome Statute for the
International Criminal Court says that the States Parties are determined to put and end to impunity fort he
perpetrators of atrocities and thus contribute to the prevention of such crimes.

54

Sovereignty and Equality. LEtat Cest Moi.

Modern international law has its roots in the monarchies of pre-French Revolution
Europe, and it is from the archaic identification of the sovereign with his state that the
modern law of immunity has developed.

The first justification for immunity stems from this time, when the sovereign was the
embodiment of the state. 93 As such he was above the law, as he was the entity which
created the law, the person from whom the law emanated. The sovereign and the state
were perceived as one and the same thing. The state, that is the territory and the persons
on that territory, were the property of the sovereign, and the attributes of the sovereign
were that of the state. A sovereign personified the state; his dignity was that of the state;
an affront to the state was also an affront to the sovereign, and likewise an action which
offended a sovereign caused offence to the state.

Sir Arthur Watts, describes such pre-French Revolution states as:

monarchies, whose rulers were regarded as possessing personal qualities of

sovereignty. In many respects the state could almost be seen as the property of its ruler,
and it was to a considerable degree the rulers personal attributes of sovereignty which
gave his state the quality of being a sovereign state The older law frequently made no
clear distinction between the Head of State on the one hand, and the state itself on the
other. Issues of sovereign immunity were mainly concerned with protecting the
position of the Head of State. 94

At this time international travel was not common, but if one sovereign were to visit
another, one all powerful being would be entering territory where another all powerful
93

Wheatons Elements of International Law. 9th Ed by W B Lawrence p 35. Wherever, indeed, the
absolute or unlimited monarchical form of government prevails in any state, the person of the prince is
necessarily identified with the state itself.

94

Sir Arthur Watts. The Legal Position in International Law of Heads of State, Heads of Government and
Foreign Ministers, see footnote 15 at p. 35

55

being had absolute jurisdiction. It was unthinkable that one such being should have
jurisdiction over the other. They were equal, and their subjects were inferior. Therefore
the rules pertaining to the ordinary citizens of a state could not apply to a visiting
monarch, and a different set of rules were required for such visits, to ensure that the
majesty of the visiting sovereign was respected. The sovereign who was being visited
accepted that the visiting sovereign could not be made the subject of his domestic laws
and courts, because the visiting sovereign was superior to those laws. The sovereign
whose territory was visited accepted he could not exercise his jurisdiction over the
visiting sovereign.

Sovereigns would send envoys to other states, and these envoys were the predecessors
of present day diplomats. As the envoy of a sovereign, an envoy carried with him some
of the attributes of the sovereign, including the fact that he was above the domestic
jurisdiction of the foreign state that he was visiting. Such envoys had to be treated with
appropriate pomp and circumstance to reflect the majesty of their master. To slight,
embarrass or otherwise offend the dignity of the envoy, was an affront to the sovereign
who sent him, and the state he represented.
The judgment in The Schooner Exchange v McFaddon 95 in 1812 discusses the
relationship between sovereigns. This case is still cited 96 and is illuminating on the
development of the rules relating to sovereign immunity. In this case it was claimed that
a French vessel which entered Philadelphia harbour for repairs was an American ship,
the Schooner Exchange, which had been seized by France on the High Seas in 1810 in
accordance with a Napoleonic decree. The United States Attorney General suggested
that the court should refuse jurisdiction on the ground of sovereign immunity.

In this case, Marshall CJ said:

95

7 Cranch 116 (1812). U.S. Supreme Court

96

Lord Millett in Pinochet (3) [2000] 1 AC 147 at p 271 described this as a seminal judgment. It is quoted
in Aziz v Aziz & Ors. [2007] EWCA Civ 712.

56

One sovereign being in no respect amenable to another, and being bound by

obligations of the highest character not to degrade the dignity of his nation, by placing
himself or its sovereign rights within the jurisdiction of another, can be supposed to
enter a foreign territory only under an express licence, or in the confidence that the
immunities belonging to his independent sovereign station, though not expressly
stipulated, are reserved by implication, and will be extended to him. This perfect
equality and absolute independence of sovereigns, and this common interest impelling
them to mutual intercourse, and an interchange of good offices with each other, have
given rise to a class of cases in which every sovereign is understood to waive the
exercise of a part of that complete exclusive territorial jurisdiction, which has been
stated to be the attribute of every nation.

The war ship was immune because it was under the direct control of the sovereign,
under sovereign command. Therefore its actions were those of the sovereign and could
not be questioned by a foreign sovereign. The actions of the war ship are actions of the
sovereign, and not subject to the local domestic jurisdiction.

At the same time a visited sovereign also has a responsibility to maintain order within
his territory, and any private or merchant ships would be subject to the local jurisdiction
on entering a foreign territory. If they were not they would pose a danger to society. In
stating this the court was making the same point as Lord Millett in the discussion quoted
at the beginning of this thesis, that the most important exercise of sovereignty must be
the maintenance of law and order in your own state. The court found that the Schooner
Exchange, the vessel in question was a war ship and therefore exempt from the
jurisdiction of the United States of America.

The immunity of the sovereign, his foreign minister, and those under the direct
command of the sovereign, employed in national objects, were justified because;

1. A sovereign has full and absolute territorial jurisdiction, but there is no

competence to have jurisdiction over another sovereign.

57

2. One sovereign is in no respect amenable to another.

3. A sovereign is bound by obligations of the highest character not to degrade the
dignity of his nation by placing himself or its sovereign rights within the
jurisdiction of another.
4. Sovereigns have perfect equality.
5. Sovereigns have absolute independence.
6. Sovereigns have a common interest impelling them to mutual intercourse and an
interchange of good offices, so that the visited sovereign waives territorial
jurisdiction.

What the court is describing is a state as it was constituted at that time, and justifying
immunity by reference to that description. It is also describing how states interact, and
the justifying immunity as necessary to enable such interaction. States were all powerful
entities with absolute jurisdiction over their territory, and all persons on their territory,
which needed to interact with each other for the purposes of trade, and to enable them to
resolve any disputes. Such interaction required different rules, as states have to show
respect for each other in their international dealings. Without immunity there would not
have been mutual intercourse and an interchange of good offices, between states.
Sovereigns were entities with absolute power within their own spheres, who would
resort to war as a method for resolving disputes if not treated carefully.

This reasoning has been followed in subsequent cases for example a similar explanation
was made in Le Parlement Belge. 97 Brett LJ declared that a states refusal to exercise
territorial jurisdiction over the person of the sovereign, his ambassador, or over public
property destined to public use though it be within the territory was a consequence of
the absolute independence of every sovereign authority and of international comity
which induces every sovereign State to respect the independence and dignity of every
other sovereign.

97

[1880] 5 Prob. Div. 197 at 212.

58

The concept of equal sovereigns, who have dignity, and must be treated with respect,
has continued to the present, but with the emphasis upon dignity as an aspect of the
sovereignty of the state rather than an attribute of monarchy. 98
Dignity was considered by the ICJ in the Djibouti v France Case. 99 The court at
paragraph 180 of the judgment given on 4 June 2008 held that sending an invitation to
give evidence to the President of Djibouti when he was in France attending an
international conference was not an attack on his honour or dignity. At paragraphs 175
and 180 the court said that, in the context of an official visit by the head of state of
Djibouti to France, the passing of confidential information about the criminal
investigation in which he was being invited to testify, to the media, could be a violation
by France of its international obligations.

Heads of state are granted special treatment because they represent the persona of
modern sovereign states. The concept of the sovereign ruler was replaced by that of the
sovereignty of states, and the head of state is granted special status as recognition of that
sovereignty. The head of government is also granted a special status, but this is not
because of he is a sovereign. The second justification for state immunity is because
states are equal.

All States are Equal. Par in Parem Non Habet Imperium.

All states are equal in international law, they are equal members of the international
community, and consequently no state can claim jurisdiction over another state. This is
expressed in the rule, par in parem non habet imperium, which means that that an equal
has no authority over an equal, that is one sovereign state is not subject to the
jurisdiction of another state.

98

In Mariam Aziz v Aziz and Ors. [2007] EWCA Civ 712 the publication of details of the personal life of
the Sultan of Brunei was not an attack on his states dignity.
99

Case Concerning Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v France) ICJ.
hhtp://www.icj-cji.org/docket/files/136/14550.pdf.

59

The absolute monarchies of the pre-French Revolution states have been replaced by the
modern state. After the Second World War the modern system of international law was
created. The United Nations was formed, with the UN Charter as the pre-eminent
international instrument. One of the basic principles of modern international law is that
all states are considered equal in international law. This principle is enunciated in article
2, paragraph 1, of the Charter The Organisation is based on the principle of the
sovereign equality of all its members, and further elaborated in The Declaration on
Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among
States in accordance with the United Nations 100 which is declaratory of international
law. 101 The Declaration says that all states enjoy sovereign equality. Even though states
are different they have equal rights and duties and are equal members of the
international community. This principle of equality applies to all states. Sovereign
equality includes the principle that one state shall not interfere with the internal matters
of another state. 102

These concepts of equality and non interference, which are essential elements of
sovereignty, mean that the internal arrangements of states should be respected by other
states. International law does not prescribe how a state should be organised, and states
may be very different one from another, but they are required to respect each others
independence.

For a time the immunity of states and their envoys were absolute, but when states began
trading themselves, and entering into commercial contracts with individuals, the
principle was perceived as unfair, as it gave honest traders no recourse if a state
breached a contract. For a time the existence of the principle of state immunity was
questioned, for example in a case in the USA, Larson v Domestic and Foreign Corpn 103
in 1949, it was stated:
100

GA Res 2625 (XXV)(1970).

101

Military and Paramilitary Activities Cse, ICJ Rep (1986), pp 89-90, 91.

102

Article 2 United Nations Charter.

103

(1949) 337 US 682, 703.

60

The principle of sovereign immunity is an archaic hangover not consonant with

modern morality and that it should therefore be limited whenever possible
In 1952 in his article The Problem of Jurisdictional Immunities of Foreign States, 104
Sir Hersch Lauterpacht said that the principle of immunity had become obsolete, and
unjust. He analysed the Schooner Exchange case and said:

It is clear from the language of that decision that the governing, basic principle is not
the immunity of the sovereign state but the full jurisdiction of the territorial state and
that any immunity of that sovereign state must be traced to a waiver express or
implied of its sovereignty of the territorial state, and must not readily be assumed.

He thereby emphasised that the law of state immunity is based on the consent of both
states involved. The consent of the forum state being required as much as that of the
state claiming immunity, and that that consent could be withdrawn if appropriate.

After a period of uncertainty in the law the restrictive theory of immunity became
established whereby there is immunity for conduct performed in the exercise of
sovereign authority, what is called acta jure imperii, but not for conduct of a private or
commercial law character, acta jure gestionis.

Since then the principle of state immunity has been strongly re-affirmed by states, who
assert it vigorously in the courts.

The Efficient Performance of Functions.

As explained earlier in this chapter, the immunity of the envoy of the sovereign was
originally an aspect of the immunity of the sovereign himself, but the need for
diplomatic relations between states, and diplomatic missions led to this becoming a
104

(1951) BYBIL p 220.

61

separate area within international law, which is now established and well developed.
This area of international law was codified in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations 1961which is now accepted to be part of customary international law. 105 The
immunities of diplomats are now seen as separate from state immunity. The regime for
diplomatic immunity, although it has been grossly abused on occasion, is still upheld by
states, and seen to be very important in helping maintain peaceful international relations
between states.

When it was drafted, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 was partly
declaratory of international customary law, and partly lex ferenda. In the commentary on
the draft articles the ILC mentioned three theories that influenced the development of
diplomatic privileges and immunities;

1. The extraterritoriality theory, according to which the premises of the mission

represented an extension of the territory of the sending state;
2. The representative character theory which based such privileges and immunities on
the idea that the diplomatic mission personifies the sending state;
3. The functional necessity theory, which justified privileges and immunities as being
necessary to enable the mission to perform its functions.

The Commission said it was guided by this third theory in solving problems on which
practice gave no clear pointers, while bearing in mind the representative character of the
head of the mission and of the mission itself. 106 The Commission considered both
function and representative character to be important.

The Preamble to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 says that the
states party recalling that peoples of all nations from ancient times have recognised the
status of diplomatic agents, and having in mind the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations concerning:
105

Para 62. U.S. v Iran ICJ Reports 1980, p. 3.

106

YBILC, 1958, II, pp. 94-95.

62

1. The sovereign equality of states.

2. The maintenance of international peace and security.
3. The promotion of friendly relations among nations

believe that an international convention on diplomatic intercourse, privileges and

immunities would contribute to the development of friendly intercourse among nations,
irrespective of their differing constitutional and social systems.

Thus the fundamental purpose of diplomatic and consular immunity is to help maintain
international peace and security, by promoting friendly relations among nations by
friendly intercourse, whilst recognising the sovereign equality of states.

The preamble continues that the states parties to the convention realise that the purpose
of such privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient
performance of the functions of diplomatic missions as representing states.

The logic of this being that the purpose of the privileges and immunities afforded to
diplomatic staff is to assist them perform their functions efficiently, and the efficient
functioning of diplomatic missions assists in friendly intercourse between nations and
the maintenance of international peace and security. Therefore the immunity accorded to
diplomatic staff is to help maintain international peace and security.

Why is immunity from criminal prosecution necessary to enable diplomatic staff to

perform their functions efficiently? This immunity is necessary for them to function in a
foreign state with a different culture, and different laws. State representatives who enter
the territory of another state, where the internal arrangements may be very different
from their own national state, may inadvertently infringe the criminal law through
ignorance of cultural differences. They need to be protected from unintentional
infringements of criminal law. Even within the European Union, which aims to create a

63

common area of freedom, security and justice, 107 predicated upon being an area where
member states have the same values, there are great variations in the substantive
domestic criminal law, in areas such as abortion, 108 the use of drugs, 109 and freedom of
speech. 110 There is also the fear that the criminal jurisdiction of the foreign state could
be used for political ends, or that unfamiliar criminal procedures could be unfair.

But what is it they have to do that requires such immunity? The functions of a
diplomatic mission consist inter alia in:

(a) Representing the sending state in the receiving state;

(b) Protecting in the receiving state the interests of the sending state and of its nationals,
within the limits permitted by international law;
(c) Negotiating with the government of the receiving state;
(d) Ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the receiving state,
and reporting thereon to the government of the sending state;
(e) Promoting friendly relations between the sending state and the receiving state, and
developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations. 111

These all seem to be perfectly reasonable and lawful activities, there is nothing here that
would immediately need immunity to enable them to carry out any of these functions,
except that the fourth function involves collecting information. It is emphasised that all
lawful means can be used to ascertain conditions and developments in the receiving
state and indeed it is the duty of all diplomatic agents to respect the laws and regulations

107

The Treaty of Amsterdam on the European Union which came into force on 1 May 1999.

108

See e.g. BBC News: 12 Feb. 2007. www.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6235557.stm.

109

There is an EU Drugs strategy, see "http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/04/st15/st15074.en04.pdf"

but the law on the possession and supply of controlled drugs is very different in The Netherlands, where
cannabis can be obtained easily and possession of other drugs is treated as a medical rather than a criminal
justice matter.
110

On 20 February 2006 David Irving, described as a British revisionist historian pleaded guilty in
Austria to charges of denying the Holocaust. He was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. The Times. 21
February 2006. There is no equivalent charge in the UK.
111

Article 3.1 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.

64

of the receiving state, but the collection and reporting of information is dangerous. Spies
are regularly prosecuted by states, and diplomats who are associated with spying are
expelled. In many states the collection of information is illegal. The diplomatic agent
may have immunity, but that does not mean that there is no sanction against those who
transgress. The establishment of diplomatic relations between states, and of permanent
diplomatic missions, takes place by mutual consent, and the sanction on a breach of
diplomatic privilege or immunity is to exclude a diplomat or member of the mission,
and the ultimate sanction is to terminate diplomatic relations. If a diplomat could be
prosecuted for collecting information he would have to explain what information was
collected and why. This would expose the plans and policies of his state to the scrutiny
of the internal courts of a foreign state.

There is also the possibility of arrests and prosecutions being brought for political
purposes. When alleged spies are arrested, and diplomats expelled, the sending state
always denies the allegations, and often says that the prosecutions are brought for a
political purpose. If accredited diplomats were prosecuted, then rather than assisting
international relations, keeping embassies in foreign states would add to the conflict
between states.

Diplomats represent their state, and if a person who represents a state is arrested or
charged and brought before a court in another state then the dignity of the first state is
compromised. Dignity is a difficult concept to describe, but it is certainly not in keeping
with the dignity of a state, for its representative in a foreign state, to stand in the dock of
a criminal court in that state, unless the sending state has agreed to this. If the dignity of
a state or its representative is not respected, then friendly relations between states are not
being developed, and international peace and security are threatened.

Two other conventions which are relevant are the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations 1963 and The New York Convention on Special Missions 1968. In the
preambles to both conventions the states party declare they have in mind the purposes
and principles of the United Nations concerning the sovereign equality of states, the

65

maintenance of international peace and security, and the promotion of friendly relations
among nations. In both conventions immunities are granted by the states parties in the
stated belief that the conventions would contribute to the development of friendly
relations among nations, whatever their constitutional and social systems.

By article 43.1 of the Convention on Consular Relations consuls are granted immunity
from prosecution for criminal conduct, but only from prosecution for acts performed in
the exercise of consular functions, and by article 41.1 they are also inviolable and not to
be arrested or detained pending trial, except in the case of a grave crime and pursuant to
a decision by the competent judicial authority. The preamble to the Vienna Convention
on Consular Relations recognises that the purpose of privileges and immunities is not to
benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of functions by consular posts
on behalf of their respective states.

Article 29 of the Special Missions Convention provides that the members of a special
mission shall be inviolable, and not liable to any form of arrest or detention, and article
31.1 that they shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state.
The preamble to this convention again says that the purpose of this immunity is not to
benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of special
missions as missions representing the state.
All three of these conventions, which are declaratory of customary international law, 112
emphasise that the purpose of the immunity, and other privileges, is to ensure the
effective performance of the tasks the state officials have been sent to perform on behalf
of their state. This is reflected in the fact that the state can waive the immunity if the
state wishes to do so. 113 The immunity is not that of the individual, but that of the state
and its purpose is to ensure that specific actions undertaken on the behalf of the state are
performed efficiently.
112

Arrest Warrant case. ICJ 128 ILR 1at paragraph 52.

113

Article 32 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961; Article 45 Vienna Convention on

Consular Relations 1963; Article 41 New York Convention on Special Missions 1968.

66

The ICJ emphasised the importance of the international law relating to diplomats and
consuls, in the US Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran Case 1980, 114 in which the
court said that law was vital for the security and well-being of the international
community. The facts of this case are not about the diplomatic staff breaking the
domestic law of Iran, rather Iran failed in its duty to protect the diplomats.

On 4 November 1979 several hundred Iranians, some of whom were described as

students, forcibly occupied the United States embassy in Tehran. They were protesting
at the Shah of Iran being allowed to take refuge in the United States. He was allowed to
enter the USA on the grounds that he needed medical treatment. The Iranian security
forces did not protect the embassy. The demonstrators seized fifty two people, including
fifty consular and diplomatic staff, and held them hostage, demanding the return of the
Shah, and his property. The ICJ said that the state of Iran was not responsible for the
initial attack as the militants did not have official status, and that public declarations by
the Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious leader of the country, exhorting students to
mount attacks to force the United States to return the deposed and criminal Shah did
not amount to an authorisation from the state of Iran to undertake the specific operation
of invading and seizing the US embassy. But, the court continued, Iran had a clear duty
to protect the US embassy and consulates, and the court found that Iran was in breach of
its international obligations by not restoring the status quo and offering reparation for
the damage. The occupation of the embassy and detention of the hostages became acts
of the state of Iran on 17 November 1979, when the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a decree
asserting that the US embassy was a centre of espionage and conspiracy and that
those people who hatched plots against our Islamic movement in that place do not
enjoy international diplomatic respect, and declaring that the premises of the embassy
and the hostages would remain as they were until the USA handed over the former Shah
for trial and returned his property to Iran. At that stage the militants, the authors of the
invasion and jailers of the hostages become agents of the Iranian state for whose acts the
state of Iran was internationally responsible.
114

U.S. v Iran ICJ Reports 1980, p. 3.

67

At paragraph 91 of its judgment ICJ strongly affirmed the fundamental character of

diplomatic and consular law and at paragraph 92 said this case was of very particular
gravity because the government of the receiving state had disregarded the inviolability
of a foreign embassy, and stated:

Such events cannot fail to undermine the edifice of law carefully constructed by
mankind over a period of centuries, the maintenance of which is vital for the security
and well-being of the complex international community of the present day, to which it is
more essential than ever that the rules developed to ensure the ordered progress of
relations between its members should be constantly and scrupulously respected.

The court said the law of diplomatic and consular immunity is an integral part of
international law, which is necessary for the ordered progress of relations between
members. 115

State immunity and diplomatic and consular immunity although related, are two
different regimes. Although the two bodies of law derived from the same source
historically, the immunities of diplomats and consuls are now seen as separate from state
immunity. This was emphasised in Re P (Diplomatic Immunity: Jurisdiction) 116 which
concerned the custody of two children, and the removal of the children from England
without the consent of the mother.

The father was an American diplomat and the family resided in London where he was
posted. In 1997 the mother, a German national, commenced divorce proceedings in
Germany, and she made an application in England for residence orders in respect of the
children. The US government and the father successfully sought a dismissal of the
English proceedings on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. The father was then
115

The hostages were being held when the ICJ gave this judgment and they were finally released in
January 1981.
116

[1998] 2 FCR 525, [1998] 1 FLR 1026.

68

ordered to return to the USA by his superiors and he duly returned taking the children
with him. The mother also returned to America.

In November 1997 the mother obtained in the English family court, an ex parte
declaration, that the removal of the children from England, by the father, was a wrongful
removal. The father and the USA sought a dismissal of the proceedings on the grounds
of state and diplomatic immunity. The Court of Appeal held that diplomatic immunity
was not immunity from legal liability, but immunity from suit. Whilst the father could
not have been prevented, at the time, from taking his children with him from England,
after he had returned to the USA and his diplomatic status had been determined so far as
the UK was concerned, his action in taking the children could not be considered to have
been the exercise of a function as a member of the mission within article 39(2) of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961. The Court of Appeal said that state
immunity is a separate concept to diplomatic immunity and his actions were covered by
state immunity, as immunity ratione imperii applies to all state officials performing state
functions, and that the agent of a foreign state would enjoy immunity in respect of his
acts of a sovereign or governmental nature. The fathers act of taking his children back
to the USA at the end of his mission, was an act of a governmental nature, and as such
was subject to state immunity from legal process. The court explained the rational for
this as being the operational freedom on the part of the sending state; that one state
could not be fettered by the domestic courts of another state.

Mr P was a diplomat, and therefore he was completely immune and could not be
prevented from removing his children when he left England. But the court was not of the
view that the removal of his children was an act in the exercise of his functions as a
member of the diplomatic mission and therefore the action did not carry with it
continuing diplomatic immunity. But the court considered that the act of taking his
children back to the USA at the end of his mission was an act of a governmental nature
since it was performed under governmental instructions and as such was subject to state
immunity from legal process. Any attempt by the English courts to prevent the diplomat
complying with his orders would have been to fetter the government of the United States

69

in managing its foreign service, and this would be an unwarranted interference in the
internal matters of a foreign state, and breach the principle of the sovereign equality of
states.

The justification for the concept of state immunity ratione personae was considered in
the Arrest Warrant Case. 117 The ICJ decided that the immunity to be accorded to a
serving minister for foreign affairs had to be determined on the basis of the functional
justification for immunity.

On 11 April 2000 an investigating judge in Brussels issued a warrant of arrest for Mr.
Yerodia, the then minister for foreign affairs of the Congo, charging him with offences
constituting grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and with crimes against
humanity. Mr. Yerodia was accused of having made various speeches inciting racial
hatred during August 1988 in the Congo. The Congo instituted proceedings in the ICJ
claiming that Mr Yerodia was immune from prosecution as he was the Congolese
foreign minister, and asserting that the issue of the warrant was contrary to the
principles of territorial integrity and sovereign equality, and justifying immunity by
reference to these principles.

The ICJ said that as there were no specific treaty provisions relating to the immunities of
foreign ministers customary international law applied. The court said that it found the
two Vienna Conventions and the Convention on Special Missions to be of useful
guidance, and as the immunities accorded to foreign ministers were granted, not for their
personal benefit, but to ensure the effective performance of their functions on behalf of
their respective states, to determine the extent of these immunities, the court had first to
consider the nature of the functions exercised by a foreign minister.

The court listed the powers of a foreign minister, and what his role is, that is the court
considered what a foreign minister does, and said:

117

128 ILR 1.

70

1. He is in charge of the governments diplomatic activities and generally acts as its

representative in international negotiations and intergovernmental meetings, and
2. Ambassadors and other diplomatic agents carry out their duties under his or her
authority, and
3. The acts of the minister for foreign affairs may bind the state represented, and there
is a presumption that a minister for foreign affairs, simply by virtue of that office,
has full powers to act on behalf of the state. 118

Then the court went on to examine what a foreign minister needed to perform those
functions, and said that:

1. He would be frequently required to travel internationally, and thus must be in a

position freely to do so whenever the need should arise.
2. He must be in constant communication with the government, and with its
diplomatic representatives around the world, and capable of communicating at
any time with representatives of other states.

The court considered what he had to do as foreign minister and how he did it, and
decided that a foreign minister needed to be able to travel and communicate freely to be
able to fulfil his role.

Then the court drew an analogy to heads of state and heads of government, who are
recognised under international law as representatives of their state just because of the
office they hold. The court noted that a minister for foreign affairs being responsible for
the conduct of his states relations with all other states, also occupies such a position and
is recognised under international law as representative of the state solely by virtue of
holding the office, and that as foreign minister he carries with him his own authority,
and has no need for letters of credence. The court observed that it is generally the
minister who determines the authority to be conferred upon diplomatic agents and
countersigns their letters of credence, and it is to the minister of foreign affairs that
118

Art 7(2)(a) Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969.

71

charges daffairs are accredited. In this the court is saying that the minister for foreign
affairs is a particularly special representative of his state, that he personifies an aspect of
his state, and that it is because of that position, and what he is required to do as that
office holder, he requires immunity to perform his function. To be immune a person has
to hold a particular important state position, with international responsibility, and be
required to travel internationally and communicate freely.

The court is justifying the immunity conferred upon him by reference to his position, not
just to ensure he can perform his functions. The immunity is justified by his status, and
the power he has. It is conferred to protect him from the actions of other states, to enable
him to perform his functions as one of the pre-eminent members of his state. It is about
the power of a state and who represents that power; and the decision of the court was
that a foreign minister whilst abroad is completely immune and inviolable from the
criminal jurisdiction of other states.

The court found that both the issue of the warrant, and its circulation failed to respect
the immunity of the minister for foreign affairs, and that this was a breach of an
international obligation owed to the Congo.

This functional justification for immunity is that it enables officials to perform their
duties. But this justification does not make sense when an official has left office as there
are no functions to maintain. In any event how can it be the function of an official,
whether or not he is entitled to immunity, to commit crimes? The second justification
for the continuing immunity is that to prosecute the functionary would be to question the
conduct of the state, and thereby circumvent the sovereign immunity of a state. The
immunity of the state would be illusory if an individual could be held responsible when
a state cannot. This makes sense in civil proceedings as any liability would be that of the
state. But criminal proceedings are different, a state cannot be prosecuted, and
individuals are responsible for their own criminal conduct; that is why an act is classed
as criminal. A state in prescribing certain conduct as criminal is stating that an
individual is to be punished for such actions.

72

To Promote International Relations.

Immunity is one of the mechanisms used by the modern sovereign states to facilitate
friendly relations between states, and to prevent disputes between states. States need to
work together, and to do so they need to work through people such as ministers and
diplomats. Such persons would be hampered in their functions if they could not feel safe
in a foreign jurisdiction, or whilst travelling. Modern sovereign states are independent
and equal. Their internal arrangements should not be subject to the scrutiny of other
states, and their policy and public administration are not subject to interference from
foreign courts. The concept of the dignity of a state and of its agents is one of the ways
in which states maintain appropriate standards in their dealings with each other.
International law requires that states settle their disputes by peaceful means, and to do
this requires international mechanisms for the orderly management of disputes.

What is the disorderly management of a dispute? The final resort is to the use of armed
force. The first stated purpose of the United Nations is to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war. In The Charkieh (No 1) 119 in 1873, a case in the Court of
Admiralty regarding a collision in the Thames between two steamships the eponymous
The Charkieh, which belonged to the Khedive of Egypt and The Batavier, Sir Robert
Phillimore said:

The object of international law, in this as in other matters, is not to work injustice, not
to prevent the enforcement of a just demand, but to substitute negotiations between
governments, though they may be dilatory and the issue distant and uncertain, for the
ordinary use of courts of justice in cases where such use would lessen the dignity or
embarrass the functions of the representatives of a foreign state.

This same point has been made recently by Judges Higgins, Kooijmans and Buergenthal
in their joint separate opinion in the Arrest Warrant case; at paragraph 75 they say:
119

LR 4 A&E 59 at 97.

73

The law of privileges and immunities, however, retains importance since immunities
are granted to high State officials to guarantee the proper functioning of the network of
mutual inter-State relations, which is of paramount importance for a well-ordered and
harmonious international system. 120

Lord Browne-Wilkinson, one of the Judges in Pinochet (No.3), was a participant in the
Princeton Project to formulate principles on universal jurisdiction. The other participants
in the project were all academics, and the principles produced are aspirational. In
dissenting from the Princeton Principles Lord Browne-Wilkinson said:

But the Princeton Principles propose that individual national courts should exercise
[universal] jurisdiction against nationals of a state which has not agreed to such
jurisdiction. Moreover the Principles do not recognise any form of sovereign immunity:
Principle 5(1). If the law were to be so established, states antipathetic to Western
powers would be likely to seize both active and retired officials and military personnel
of such Western powers and stage a show trial for international crimes. Conversely,
zealots in Western States might launch prosecutions against, for example, Islamic
extremists for their terrorist activities. It is nave to think that, in such cases, the
national state of the accused would stand by and watch the trial proceed: resort to force
would be more probable. In any event the fear of such legal actions would inhibit the
use of peacekeeping forces when it is otherwise desirable and also the free interchange
of diplomatic personnel.
I believe that the adoption of such universal jurisdiction without preserving the existing
concepts of immunity would be more likely to damage than to advance chances of
international peace. 121

120

Arrest Warrant case. ICJ. Joint Separate Opinion of Judges Higgins, Koojimans and Buergenthal, 128
ILR 119.
121

http//lapa.princeton.edu/hosteddocs/univ_jur.pdf at page 49.

74

The underlying reason for immunity is that it is one of the mechanisms used by states to
maintain peaceful co-existence. It assists in the development of friendly relations
between states, and the settlement of international disputes between states by peaceful
ends. If one state considers that an official act by another state is illegal, that is an
international dispute, which should be dealt with on the international plane. The
municipal law of one state, which is created by that state, is not competent to adjudicate
upon the official decisions of another state, as that state is equal to and independent from
the first state. For the courts of one state to decide whether another states official acts
are illegal or not is to introduce international politics into national courts. One function
of international law is to manage disputes in an orderly manner, and state immunity
assists by removing some disputes from the national to the international plane.

Conclusion.

Some individuals are granted immunity as an aspect of the immunity of the state. It is
granted because they are representative of the state to enable them to better perform
their functions. It is not granted to individuals for their own benefit. The immunity
protects the state, and therefore the persons or representatives who carry out that states
legitimate international functions must also be immune.

The justifications for immunity ratione personae and immunity ratione materiae are not
identical. A person who is entitled to immunity ratione personae is completely immune
during the time he is in office. This is to protect his person whilst he is in office, and to
enable him to perform his functions. A high state official could not carry out his duties if
he had to protect himself from arrest or defend proceedings. Such concerns would
impede his ability to work. Immunity ratione personae protects the state by protecting
the individual high state officials. Immunity ratione materiae protects the state and any
protection thereby afforded to an individual is incidental. The purpose of immunity
ratione materiae is to protect a state and state business from interference by other states.
It protects state sovereignty and sovereign acts by preventing them being examined and
questioned in the courts of other states.

75

The justifications for immunity are criticised, and not accepted as fair and desirable by
everyone. Immunity is seen to be in conflict with the first Nuremberg principle that a
person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is
responsible and therefore liable to punishment. There are continued attempts to
prosecute those who are protected by immunity.

The following chapters will look at immunity ratione personae and ratione materiae to
endeavour to establish the limits of this immunity. What kind of position has to be held,
the persons who are immune, from what, and how long that immunity lasts?

76

Immunity Ratione Personae.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. 122

Certain individuals enjoy immunity from the jurisdiction of other states because of the
position they hold in their state. This is known as immunity ratione personae, or status
immunity. It is accorded to those persons holding the highest positions within a state,
and to those who are responsible for a states international relations. This chapter will
look at those individuals and the immunity they enjoy. All of the Judges in Pinochet
(No. 3) agreed that if Pinochet had still been head of state he could not have been
extradited because he would have been immune. Immunity which continues after
leaving office and immunity and international crimes will be considered later in this
thesis. This chapter will look at which high state officials are immune because of the
position they hold, and the extent of that immunity.

Head of State

The first official to whom immunity ratione personae applies is the person who holds the
highest position in a state, the head of state. The head of state is a state official, but a
very special one. He is the prime representative of the state, the personification of the
state. A head of state holds that position wherever he is, and at all times. The immunity
which a head of state enjoys attaches to him as a symbol of the sovereignty of the
state. As Oppenheim says he is The highest organ of the state, representing it, within
and without its borders, in the totality of its relations, is the Head of State 123 At one
time heads of state interacted with each other on the international plane, and
international relations were the relationships which heads of state had with each other as
individuals. Now international relations are conducted by foreign ministries as well as
heads of state and heads of government, and many heads of state have only a formal
constitutional role.
122

George Orwell. Animal Farm.

123

Oppenheims International Law. Footnote 17 at p. 1033.

77

A head of state can be either a monarch or a president. The head of state may be called
by different titles, such as Chairman of the Council of State, and President of the
Command Council of the Revolution. It is not the title which confers immunity, but the
position which is held. The head of state may be an individual or a group of people, and
he may or may not have political power. International law does not prescribe what sort
of head a state should have, but howsoever constituted, that entity represents the state
itself. He is the embodiment of the state, and if he were to be prosecuted the state would
be insulted.

It would be an affront to the dignity and sovereignty of the state which he personifies
and a denial of the equality of sovereign states to subject him to the jurisdiction of the
municipal courts of another state, whether in respect of his public acts or private
affairs. His person is inviolable; he is not liable to be arrested or detained on any
ground whatever. 124

The head of state is one of the persons who require no further accreditation to represent
a state. He is one of the persons who hold full powers. Article 7 of the Vienna
Convention of the Law of Treaties 1969 describes full powers in relation to treaties
and the persons who have those powers and says:

1. A person is considered as representing a state for the purpose of adopting or

authenticating the text of a treaty or for the purpose of expressing the consent of
the state to be bound by a treaty if:
(a) he produces appropriate full powers; or
(b) it appears from the practice of the states concerned or from other
circumstances that their intention was to consider that person as
representing the state for such purposes and to dispense with full powers.
2. In virtue of their functions and without having to produce full powers, the
following are considered as representing their state:
124

Pinochet (No. 3) [2000] 1AC 147. Lord Millett at page 269 A B.

78

(a) Heads of state, heads of government and ministers for foreign affairs, for
the purposes of performing all acts relating to the conclusion of a treaty;
(b) Heads of diplomatic missions, for the purpose of adopting the text of a
treaty between the accrediting state and the state to which they are
accredited.

Full powers means a document emanating from the competent authority of a state
designating a person or persons to represent the state for negotiating, adopting or
authenticating the text of a treaty, for expressing the consent of the state to be bound by
a treaty, or for accomplishing any other act with respect to a treaty. A head of state does
not need such a document, and represents the state by virtue of his office. A head of
state is also an internationally protected person as defined by article 1 of the Convention
on Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons 1973.

There is no international convention regarding the immunity of heads of state, and the
immunity to be accorded to heads of state is customary international law. All the major
commentators are agreed that heads of state are immune from criminal prosecution in
foreign states. Oppenheim says that a head of state who is visiting a foreign state, with
the knowledge and consent of its government is exempt from the criminal jurisdiction
of the state. 125 Sir Arthur Watts writes that for criminal proceedings a head of states
immunity is generally accepted as being absolute as regards the ordinary domestic
criminal law of other States, 126 and Satow declares He is entitled to immunity
probably without exception from criminal and civil jurisdiction. 127 All three are
writing about a head of state who visits another state. The concept that one state should
prosecute high state officials for offences committed in their own or a third state, other
than as victorious belligerents, is a very recent idea.

125

Oppenheims International Law. Footnote 17 at p.1038.

126

Sir Arthur Watts, The Legal Position in International Law of Heads of State, Heads of Government
and Foreign Ministers, footnote 15 at p. 55.
127

Satow, Guide to Diplomatic Practice (5th. edn, 1979) para. 2.1.

79

There has been very little litigation regarding the immunity from criminal prosecution of
heads of state and other high state officials. The matter was not much considered until
the 1990s, and there is much that remains uncertain.

One of the old cases often cited supporting the principle of the absolute immunity of
heads of state is the Duke of Brunswick v King of Hanover, 128 in which Charles Lord
Cottenham the then Lord Chancellor said:

The whole question seems to me to turn upon this, . That a foreign Sovereign,
coming into this country, cannot be made responsible here for an act done in his
sovereign character in his own country; whether it be an act right or wrong, whether
according to the constitution of that country or not.

Viewed from the perspective of the twenty-first century the facts of this case are very
strange. This is a case which demonstrates the changes in international society over the
last 150 years, and therefore has to be treated with care as to any principles enunciated.
One of the very odd aspects of this case is that both parties have two characters or roles;
they are both British subjects, as well as being foreign sovereigns.

After the breakdown of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany split into a number of small
principalities, including Hanover and Brunswick. In 1830 the appellant Charles, was the
reigning Duke of Brunswick, and he owned estates of considerable value in Brunswick,
Hanover, France and elsewhere. He was very rich, but he was squandering his fortune.
On 6 September 1830 his government was overthrown. Charles was not in Brunswick
and he was prevented from returning. In 1830 Charles went to Hanover with a small
retinue, with the intention of making a peaceable entry into his own dominions, and he
was attacked by a party of armed men, and had to flee into Prussia to escape. He left
behind him 24,000 crowns, or 4,500, which was a fortune at the time.

128

(1848) 2 HLC 1. 9 ER 993.

80

On 2 December 1830 the Germanic Diet of Confederation, which included William the
Fourth, the then King of both Hanover and the UK, passed a decree, whereby Charles
brother William was invited to be the Duke of Brunswick. In February 1831, William
the Fourth, and William Charles brother published a declaration deposing Charles from
the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick, and declaring William to be the Duke of
Brunswick.

In 1833 His Majesty William the Fourth of Hanover, and William, Duke of Brunswick,
deprived Charles of his property and appointed a guardian over him, they signed an
instrument stating Certain facts, either notorious or sufficiently proved, have caused us
to arrive at the conviction that his Highness Duke Charles is at this time wasting the
fortune which he possesses we have consequently considered that the only method of
preserving the fortune of his Highness Duke Charles from total ruin, is to appoint a
guardian over him. A member of the English aristocracy, The Duke of Cambridge,
who was also the Viceroy of Hanover, was appointed as guardian. After the death of
William the Fourth, in June 1837, his brother, Ernest Augustus, who was an English
peer, the Duke of Cumberland, became King of Hanover and was appointed Charless
guardian in place of the Duke of Cambridge. The Duke of Cambridge paid all the
receipts from Charless estates to him, including the money left in Hanover. As King
Ernest Augustus continued to take all the receipts from the rents from what had been
Charles property.

The court was asked to declare that instruments declaring Charles, then Duke of
Brunswick, as incompetent, and appointing the Duke of Cambridge, who became King
Ernest I, as guardian of his fortune and property were absolutely void and of no effect.
Charles wanted to regain control of his fortune.

The court decided that the English courts did not have jurisdiction over actions of a
sovereign character, by foreign sovereign, in his own country. The court held that the
King of Hanover, who was also a British subject, and was in England exercising his
rights as such subject, could not be made to account in the English courts for acts of

81

state done by him in Hanover and elsewhere abroad, in virtue of his authority as a
sovereign, and not as a British subject.

This is a very old case, and the facts are odd in that both parties were British citizens as
well as being European royalty, and they were both England. The German States at that
time were fragmented and small, and the European royals had many family ties. The fact
that the head of one state was also a citizen of another state was not seen as a source of
possible conflict of loyalty, rather that it created close relationships. The case is not
considering a criminal prosecution, and certainly not a criminal prosecution for conduct
on English territory. Now if a foreign sovereign were to be also a British citizen, and
were to commit an offence in England, whilst here in a private capacity, it would be
hard to argue that there would not be jurisdiction to prosecute him. If he committed an
offence in his role as head of state the first question to be asked would be in what
capacity was he in England? This case is important in that it enunciated neatly a
principle that has been quoted with approval many times since, but the facts do not assist
when considering modern cases.

There a number of cases in which criminal courts have accepted as customary

international law the principle that a serving head of state is entitled to immunity from
prosecution in other states. In the Pinochet case one matter that all the Judges were
agreed upon is that a serving head of state is entitled, under customary international law,
to complete immunity from criminal prosecution before the domestic courts of foreign
states. If Pinochet has still been head of the state of Chile in 1988, when he visited
London he could not have been arrested. As Lord Browne-Wilkinson said this
immunity enjoyed by a head of state in power and an ambassador in post is a complete
immunity attached to the person of the head of state or ambassador and rendering him
immune from all actions or prosecutions, 129

129

Pinochet (No. 3) [2000] 1 AC 147 at page 201E.

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This was also confirmed by the ICJ in the Arrest Warrant Case, 130 at paragraph 51 of the
judgment the court said, the Court would observe at the outset that in international law
it is firmly established that, as also diplomatic and consular agents, certain holders of
high-ranking office in a State, such as the Head of State, Head of Government and
Minister for Foreign Affairs, enjoy immunities from jurisdiction in other States, both
civil and criminal.

Must be the Head of a State.

To be entitled to immunity as a head of state the person afforded such immunity must be
the representative of the sovereignty of the state. In US v Noriega, 131 Manuel Noriega
claimed immunity as a head of state but he was not granted it by the US courts on the
grounds that he had never been constitutional head of Panama.

During the 1970s and 1980s Noriega was chief of military intelligence in Panama, and
he became commander of the Panamanian defence forces. He abused his position, and
between 1982 and 1985 he conspired with a cartel of drug traffickers from Colombia to
transport cocaine through the Panama Canal to the USA, and to transport ether for
cocaine processing back from the United States.

On 4 February 1988 Noriega was indicted on drug related charges in the USA. At that
time he was commander of the Panamanian Defence forces. Shortly thereafter,
Panamas president, Eric Delvalle, formally discharged Noriega from his military post.
Noriega refused to accept the dismissal; he took over the government of Panama and
called himself President. Panamas legislature ousted Delvalle from power, but the
USA continued to acknowledge Delvalle as the constitutional leader of Panama. Later
after a disputed presidential election in Panama, the USA recognised Guillermo Endara
as Panamas legitimate head of state.

130

128 ILR 1.

131

(1990) 746 F. Supp. 1506.

83

On 15 December 1989, Noriega publicly declared that a state of war existed between
Panama and the USA. Within days President Bush directed US armed forces into
combat in Panama for the stated purpose of safeguarding American lives, restoring
democracy, preserving the Panama Canal Treaties, and seizing Noriega to face federal
drug charges in the United States. There was an armed conflict during which Noriega
lost effective control over Panama and he surrendered to US military officials on 3
January 1990, and he was taken to Miami to face the charges. In June 1990 he was
convicted in the US District Court for Southern Florida of eight criminal charges arising
out of his participation in an international conspiracy to import drugs into the United
States. 132 Before the District Court Noriega argued that he was entitled to immunity as a
head of state. That court noted that head of state immunity was grounded in customary
international law, but said that in order to assert such immunity, a government official
must be recognised as head of state and this had not happened with regard to General
Noriega.

Noriega appealed to the US Court of Appeals. He claimed he was entitled to head of

state immunity, on the ground that he had served as the de facto, if not the de jure,
leader of Panama. On 7 July 1997 that court gave judgment 133 and upheld his
convictions. The court said it had to apply principles of customary international law, but
in accordance with the law and procedures of the United States. The US Court of Appeal
explained the development of the law relating to state immunity in the USA. In 1812 the
United States Supreme Court held in the case of the Schooner Exchange v McFaddon
that nations had agreed to the exemption of the person of the sovereign from arrest or
detention within a foreign territory. The principles of international comity outlined in
the Schooner Exchange case led to the development of the general doctrine of foreign
sovereign immunity under which the United States judiciary deferred to the executive as
to whether to accept jurisdiction over actions against foreign states. Nations concerned
about their exposure to judicial proceedings in the United States by appropriate
representations, sought recognition by the State Department of their claim of immunity,
132

US v Noriega 99 ILR 143.

133

United States of America v Noriega 121 ILR 591.

84

and asked that the State Department advise the Attorney General of the claim of
immunity and that the Attorney General instruct the United States Attorney for the
relevant district to file in the district court the appropriate suggestion of immunity.
And as this doctrine emerged the courts consistently deferred to the decisions of the
political branches in particular those of the Executive Branch on whether to take
jurisdiction over actions against foreign sovereigns and their instrumentalities

In 1976 the US Congress passed the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) which
contains a comprehensive set of legal standards governing the claims of immunity in
every civil action against a foreign state or its political subdivisions, agencies, or
instrumentalities, and codified the State Departments general criteria for making
suggestions of immunity. The FSIA transferred responsibility for case by case
application of these principles from the executive to the judiciary. Because the FSIA
addressed neither head of state immunity, or foreign sovereign immunity in the criminal
context, the US Court of Appeals had to decide whether head of state immunity applied
to General Noriega. That court applied the principles and procedures outlined in the
Schooner Exchange, and the following line of cases and the court decided it must look
to the executive branch for the propriety of Noriegas claim. The court said that by
pursuing and capturing Noriega, the executive had clearly demonstrated its view that he
should be denied head of state immunity. The court added that were it to make an
independent determination, it was unlikely that the Noriegas head of state immunity
claim would prevail given that he never served as the constitutional leader of Panama,
that Panama had not sought immunity on his behalf, and that the charges related to his
private pursuit of personal enrichment.

In this case the American courts interpret customary international law in their own
judicial system, applying principles of international law. The US Court of Appeal was
influenced by the fact that the executive had pursued and arrested Noriega, clearly
demonstrating that the executive did not believe he was immune. The executive should
observe state immunity. If a person is entitled to immunity, he should not be arrested.
The fact that Panama did not claim immunity for Noriega also weighed with the court.

85

Panama may have had other very good reasons for not wanting to claim immunity for
him, such not wanting a dictator back. But any immunity, if it existed, was that of the
State of Panama, and Panama did not claim it. Finally the court said that the acts for
which he was prosecuted were private rather than public acts, and therefore did not carry
immunity. This question of continuing immunity for official acts, immunity ratione
materiae will be considered in the next chapter. Noriega was refused immunity because
he never had been entitled to it, if he had been entitled immunity was not claimed by
Panama on his behalf, and any immunity would not continue for his private actions.
In the case of Re Honecker 134 the courts of the then Federal Republic of Germany had
to decide whether the Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic
Republic was entitled to immunity. In this case the Second Criminal Chamber of the
Federal Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Germany gave judgment on 14
December 1984. Between 1945 and 1990 Germany was partitioned, and comprised two
sovereign States, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal
Republic of Germany (West Germany). The two states embraced very different
ideologies and were antagonistic to each other. East Germany would not allow its
citizens to travel to West Germany. In 1984 Erich Honecker was the Chairman of the
Council of State of the German Democratic Republic. A man who had been held as a
prisoner in East Germany, instituted criminal proceedings in West Germany against
Honecker as Chairman of the Council of State for the deprivation of liberty. The
Federal Public Prosecutor applied to the Supreme Court for determination of the
competent court. The Supreme Court said the application could not be allowed as the
Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic was entitled to
immunity in accordance with the rules of customary international law. The court found
that the Chairman of the Council of State enjoyed the privileges and exemptions to
which any head of state was entitled including immunity. The court said that the
criminal proceedings against Honecker, and investigations by the police or public
prosecutor were inadmissible. In a previous case 135 the Federal Supreme Court accepted
134

80 ILR 365.

135

78 ILR 150 at 165.

86

that East Germany was a sovereign state and therefore the head of East Germany was
entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution.

To establish whether the Chairman of the Council of State of East Germany was head of
state the Federal Supreme Court looked at the internal law of East Germany, and also at
the conduct of West Germany. The Constitution of East Germany provided that the
Council of State as a whole constituted the supreme authority of that state. The
Chairman of the Council of State presided over its work, nominated the authorised
representatives of East Germany in other states and received the credentials and recall of
the representatives of other states accredited to East Germany. The Supreme Court
deduced from this that the Chairman of the Council of State was clearly looked upon as
head of state in East Germany. The Court also said this was also evident from the
conduct of the West German Government in its bilateral practice in relation to East
Germany since the entry into force of the Treaty on the Basis of Relations of 21
December 1972.

The Supreme Court was satisfied that the Chairman of the Council of State was the head
of a foreign state, and that as such Honecker enjoyed those privileges and exemptions to
which a head of state is entitled, and the court stated that the foremost of which was
immunity. This meant that no criminal proceedings could be instituted against him, and
any inquiry or investigation by the police or public prosecutor was therefore
inadmissible. 136 In making its decision the court looked at the role played by the
Chairman of the Council of State in East Germany and also the conduct of the West
German government towards East Germany which demonstrated that it accepted the
Chairman of the Council of State as the head of the East German state.

136

Following the re-unification of Germany, Honecker initially left the country but later returned and was
charged under the law of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with various counts of unlawful
homicide, on the basis that he had been responsible between 1961 and 1980 for ordering numerous
measures establishing the regime in force at the Berlin wall, including the use of firearms to prevent
escapes to the West. Honecker Prosecution Case 100 ILR 393.

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The French Courts also considered the question of who is head of a state in the case of
Gaddafi. 137 On 19 September 1989 a DC 10 aircraft operated by UTA airlines exploded
above the desert of Tenere in Chad. Everyone on board, one hundred and fifty six
passengers and fourteen crew members, died. A number of those who died were French
citizens, including Laurence de Boery, Beatrice de Boerys sister. Traces of explosives
were found in the wreckage, and evidence was found linking the explosion to Libya.

An investigation was opened and on 12 June 1988 six Libyan nationals were ordered to
be tried before the Court of Assizes. The defendants were Colonel Gaddafis brother-inlaw, who was head of the Libyan secret service, four officers in the secret service, and
an official of the Libyan embassy in Brazzaville. They were accused of murder and
destruction of property by explosive substance causing death and involving a terrorist
undertaking. On 10 March 1999 the six defendants were convicted in their absence, and
sentenced them to life imprisonment.

After this judgment on 16 June 1999, Beatrice de Boery and the Association S.O.S.
Attentats, an organisation which pursued the perpetrators of terrorist attacks, and
assisted relatives of the victims, applied for criminal proceedings to be commenced in
the French courts against Colonel Gaddafi, President of the Command Council of the
Revolution in Libya, for complicity in murder and the destruction of property by an
explosive substance, causing death and involving a terrorist undertaking. They said the
involvement of Colonel Gaddafi was established by the following facts:

1. The attack was committed by Libyan officials with the logistical support of
the state, thereby giving rise to the assumption that the Libyan secret
services, directed by Colonel Gaddafis brother-in-law, were operating with
his backing.
2. Abdallah Elazragh left the Libyan embassy in Brazzaville suddenly without
any objection on the part of the Libyan Minister for Foreign Affairs.

137

125 ILR 490.

88

3. The persons accused of involvement in the attack enjoyed special protection,

notwithstanding the arrest warrants which had been issued against them.
4. The Libyan authorities submitted a forged file to the examining magistrate,
to establish that one of the persons concerned was dead. This involved coordination between a number of Libyan state departments which could only
have been directed by the head of state.
5. Two of the officials accused of participation were granted exceptional
promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, which could only have been
decided on the authority of Colonel Gaddafi himself, as a reward for the
crime committed.

They were accusing Colonel Gadaffi, as head of state, of being involved in terrorism and
of using the apparatus of the state for terrorism. The examining magistrate opened a
criminal enquiry and the Ministre Public lodged an appeal against the decision, on the
basis that the Libyan leader was entitled to jurisdictional immunity.

The Court of Appeal of Paris dismissed the appeal on 20 October 2000. That court
decided that the French courts had jurisdiction as the victims were of French nationality.
The Court then considered whether Colonel Gaddafi was the head of the Libyan state,
and decided that he was. The court looked at Colonel Gaddafis official position in
Libya as president of the Command Council of the Revolution, the highest authority
in the Libyan Republic, in accordance with the constitutional proclamation giving him
the title of Guide of the Grand Revolution of 1 September and decided he was
effectively head of state. The court also looked at what he did, and decided that he
performed effectively and continuously the normal functions reserved for heads of state.
Internally he was the Supreme Commander of the Army, he had the power to shape the
general policy of the country, and he presided over large national demonstrations.
Internationally he participating at summit meetings of Arab or African heads of state,
and he was President of the Council of the Community of States of Sahel and the
Sahara, and he received the representatives of foreign states, and the letters of
accreditation of their ambassadors. The court was taking notice of the fact he was the

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highest state official in Libya, and he was responsible for international relations with
Libya. The court decided he was pre-eminent within the Libyan State, and was head of
state. The court was looking his position, and at what he did, rather than his title.

The Paris Court of Appeal then examined whether Colonel Gaddafi, as head of the state
of Libya, was entitled to immunity. The court noted that the immunity from jurisdiction
of a foreign head of state was not guaranteed under French legislation, or by an
international treaty to which France was a party, but that such immunity was an
accepted part of customary international law which was binding on France.

The court then went on to consider the extent of the immunity afforded to incumbent
heads of state and said that, whilst such immunity had originally been absolute, since
World War II it had become subject to limitations. A series of international conventions
ratified by France precluded reliance on jurisdictional immunity by heads of state in
proceedings before international tribunals for crimes against humanity, genocide and
war crimes. The court was of the opinion that these conventions, rather than constituting
limited exceptions to absolute immunity, reflected the desire of the international
community to punish the most serious crimes, even where they had been committed by a
head of state in the performance of his duties. The court described such serious crimes
as international crimes contrary to the conscience of humanity. The court said that
combined effect of the Preamble to, and Article 22 of, the Statute of the ICC, was to
recognise that it was the duty of signatories to the ICC convention to exercise their
jurisdiction over international crimes, which were not limited to those specifically
mentioned in the convention, even where the person accused had the official status of a
head of state. The court said that the effect of these treaty provisions, and recent judicial
decisions in particular Pinochet and Noriega constituted proof of a general practice
accepted as law by all states, including France, according to which immunity from
prosecution only covered those public acts performed by a head of state if they were not
to be regarded as international crimes. The court decided that it followed that immunity
could not cover acts of complicity in murder and the destruction of property by terrorist

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action, where a head of state ordered the destruction of a passenger aircraft carrying
civilians.

This was muddled reasoning. The limitation of immunity before international tribunals
is not evidence of an international consensus to limit immunity before national courts,
and both the cases of Pinochet and Noriega did not relate to incumbent heads of State.

The Procureur General appealed to the Court of Cassation against this judgment, and on
13 March 2001 the Court of Cassation allowed the appeal and terminated the
proceedings against Colonel Gaddafi. The Court of Cassation accepted that Colonel
Gaddafi was head of state. The Court of Cassation gave a very short judgment and said
that it had considered the general principles of international law and international
custom precludes heads of State in office being the subject of proceedings before the
criminal courts of a foreign state in the absence of specific provisions to the contrary
binding on the parties concerned. The Court of Cassation considered that the Paris
Court of Appeal misconstrued the principle of the immunity of heads of state as the
alleged crime, however serious, did not constitute one of the exceptions to the principle
of jurisdictional immunity of foreign heads of state in office.

It is submitted that the Court of Cassation is correct that Colonel Gaddafi was entitled to
immunity as head of the state of Libya, and correct in its statement that customary
international law grants immunity to heads of state in office in the absence of specific
provisions to the contrary binding the parties concerned. But by saying that the alleged
crimes were not one of the exceptions to the principle of immunity, implies that there
are crimes which are exceptions to that principle. This is not the case; the immunity of
serving heads of state from the jurisdiction of foreign states is absolute. This was
confirmed by the ICJ in the Arrest Warrant Case as explained earlier. The only
exception is transfer to an international tribunal.

The question of whether a serving head of state was entitled to immunity was considered
by the Senior District Judge, Tim Workman, sitting at Bow Street Magistrates Court on

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14 January 2004, (unreported) Peter Tatchell, a reporter, applied for a warrant for the
arrest of Robert Mugabe, the serving head of government of Zimbabwe. 138 The
allegation was of committing offences of official torture in Zimbabwe. The Senior
District Judge gave a short written judgment declining to issue a warrant of arrest on the
grounds that Mr Mugabe enjoyed state immunity. Judge Workman said:

The issue to which I have directed my mind is whether President Mugabe has immunity
from prosecution as a Head of State. It is accepted that he is presently the Head of State
of Zimbabwe. Mr Tatchell has argued persuasively that the doctrine of State immunity
is not one which sits comfortably with the States obligation under international law to
prosecute grave crimes of universal jurisdiction. Mr Tatchell has sought to persuade
me that the principle of universal jurisdiction should be extended to override the
immunity afforded to a Head of State. Whilst international law evolves over a period of
time international customary law which is embodied in our Common Law currently
provides absolute immunity to any Head of State. In addition to the Common Law our
State Immunity Act of 1978 which extends the Diplomatic Privileges Act of 1964
provides for immunity from the criminal jurisdiction for any Head of State. I am
satisfied that Robert Mugabe is President and Head of State of Zimbabwe and is entitled
whilst he is Head of State to that immunity. He is not liable to any form of arrest or
detention and I am therefore unable to issue the warrant that has been applied for.

A head of state is a special person who is entitled to immunity as a reflection of his preeminence in the state, but what about other high state officials? In the Pinochet case
Lord Millet was of the opinion that such immunity attached only to the head of state,
and not the head of government. Lord Millet said in Pinochet (No. 3) a7 268H:

Immunity ratione personae is only narrowly available. It is not available to

serving heads of government who are not also heads of state. It would have been
available to Hitler but not to Mussolini or Tojo.
138

Constitution of Zimbabwe. Chapter IV, para 27. There shall be a President who shall be Head of State
and Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces.

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Immunity ratione personae is only narrowly available, but not as narrowly as Lord
Millet believed. The next section of this chapter will consider heads of government and
any immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of foreign courts to which they are entitled.
Again there have not been many cases in national courts regarding heads of government
being prosecuted before the national courts of foreign states.

The Head of Government

Not all heads of state are also head of government, although some, such as the President
of the USA are both head of state and head of government. In the UK, the Queen is the
head of state, and as such she has a constitutional role; and the Prime Minister is the
head of government. Other states use other titles for their head of government; it is the
role that matters, not the title.

The head of government is a person who has full powers as defined by article 7 of the
Vienna Convention on Treaties, and he does not have to furnish any evidence of his
authority to legally bind his state. He is also an internationally protected person, as
defined by the Convention on Crimes Against Internationally Protected persons 1973.
These conventions recognise the importance of the head of government in the
international arena.

In paragraph 51 of the Arrest Warrant case judgment the ICJ observed that the head of
government is one of the holders of high ranking office in a state who enjoy immunity
from both criminal and civil jurisdiction in other states, and that the purpose of such
immunity is to enable them to perform their function.

In 2002 the Belgian Courts had to consider the immunity of a serving head of
government in the case of Re Sharon and Yaron. 139 Between the sixteenth and
eighteenth of September 1982 massacres took place in Palestinian refugee camps in
139

127 ILR 110.

93

Lebanon. These massacres were attributed to Lebanese Phalangist 140 militias, and
occurred during an international armed conflict, when Israeli armed forces invaded part
of Lebanon. Ariel Sharon was Minister of Defence of Israel at the time, and Amos
Yaron was divisional commander of forces operating at the entrance to the camps.

In 2001 twenty-four non residents of Palestinian and Lebanese origin, brought an action
before the Belgian courts, on the basis of personal injuries suffered, or loss of close
family members or property, in the attacks on the refugee camps. The allegation was
that Ariel Sharon and Amos Yaron were complicit in the massacres, and that they failed
to intervene to stop them, and therefore they were guilty of serious violations of
international humanitarian law. Section 7 of the Belgian Law 1993, granted Belgian
courts universal jurisdiction over a series of violations of international humanitarian law,
in particular war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, irrespective of the place
where the crimes were committed. This law gave Belgian courts jurisdiction over
foreigners alleged to have committed such crimes abroad.

At the time of the proceedings Ariel Sharon was the Prime Minister of the State of
Israel, and AmosYaron was the Director General at the Ministry for National Defence of
the State of Israel.

On 26 June 2002 the Court of Appeal in Brussels held that the proceedings were
inadmissible under the Belgian criminal procedure rules, as the alleged perpetrators
were not in Belgium, and there was no evidence they were on the point of arriving in
Belgium. The applicants appealed to the Court of Cassation, and that court found that
the accused did not have to be present in Belgium for the proceedings to be instigated.
That court also found that customary international law prohibited heads of state and
government from being the subject of proceedings before the criminal courts of foreign
states, in the absence of contrary international treaty provisions binding upon the states
concerned. The court considered the Genocide Convention, article 27(2) Of the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Geneva Conventions and Additional
140

A Lebanese Christian paramilitary group.

94

protocols thereto, and decided that non of these treaties had affected the customary
international law immunity of heads of state or government from the jurisdiction of
other states. The court said:

if this provision of Belgian municipal law were to be interpreted as setting aside the
principle of immunity under customary international criminal law, it would thereby
violate that principle. The rule of municipal law cannot therefore have that objective
and must instead be understood as only excluding the possibility that the official
capacity of a person should provide a basis for criminal non-accountability for the
international crimes enumerated in that Law.

The court held that Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister of Israel was entitled to immunity
and the proceedings against him were inadmissible. That court found that the
proceedings against Amos Yaron were admissible, as he was not head of state or
government. 141 The question of whether he was entitled to immunity ratione personae as
Director General at the Israeli Ministry of Defence was not addressed by the Belgian
Court of Cassation. Whether a defence minister is entitled to state immunity will be
examined later in this chapter.

Another attempt was made to issue proceedings against Ariel Sharon in a foreign
jurisdiction, in England, on 15 July 2003 at Bow Street Magistrates Court (unreported).
David Anthony Hurndall, the father of Tom Hurndall made an application for a warrant
for the arrest of Ariel Sharon, who was still the Israeli Prime Minister at that time. Mr
Sharon was on a official visit to London the purpose of which was to impress on Mr.
Sharon the need for concessions on the road map to peace, while Mr Sharon will be
seeking to rebuild Israels relationship with the UK. 142 Tom Hurndall, a young
photographer, was shot in Rafah, Gaza on 11 April 2003 by Israeli soldiers. He later
141

In April 2003 the Belgian Parliament amended section 5(3) of the Law of 1993 so as to provide that
the international immunity attached to the official capacity of a person shall not prevent the application
of this Law, within the limits laid down by international law, thereby requiring the Belgian courts to
respect the rules of customary international law on jurisdictional immunity.

142

The Telegraph 14 July 2003.

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died of his injuries. Mr David Hurndall was asking for a warrant of arrest for Mr Sharon
under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 for grave breaches of Geneva Convention IV.
The application was made on the basis that Israeli soldiers were being protected from
prosecution, and that this culture of impunity was the responsibility of the Israeli Prime
Minister who was thereby implicated in the incident.

Senior District Judge Tim Workman declined to issue a warrant and said in his reasons.

While I have great sympathy for Mr Hurndall and his family, I am unable to link the
tragic events of 22 April with Mr Sharon himself or identify an offence which the Prime
Minister, in person, might have committed. I am also satisfied that Mr Sharon is a Head
of State and is entitled to immunity from prosecution. I am satisfied that the issue of a
warrant is part of the prosecution process whether with or without bail, and even if I
had been persuaded that there was sufficient evidence linking Mr Sharon with an
offence I would have declined to have issued an arrest warrant on the ground that Mr
Sharon is Head of State and entitled to customary international law immunity.

The applicant tried to distinguish this case from that of the Arrest Warrant case by
saying that if a warrant with bail were issued, then Mr Sharon could still perform his
functions, and it would not interfere with his official duties. The applicant also argued
that the court should commence proceedings first, and then Mr. Sharon should claim
immunity. Neither argument was successful. At paragraph 70 of the judgment in the
Arrest Warrant case the ICJ said that the mere issuance of the warrant was a breach of
the international obligation owed by Belgium to the Congo, and the Congo was required
to cancel the warrant. Judge Workman considered that issuing a warrant was part of the
prosecution process, and that under customary international law Mr Sharon was entitled
to complete immunity. If a warrant had been issued, even if Mr Sharon had immediately
claimed immunity, the time and effort required for him to do that would have been an
interference with the official duties he was undertaking.

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The head of government is entitled to state immunity ratione personae as well as the
head of state. What about other high state officials, are they entitled to immunity?

The Foreign Minister

The foreign minister can act internationally on behalf of his state. He is the head of the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the department of a state which communicates with other
states, and he is in charge of his states ambassadors and consuls. Under article 10 of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to be
notified of the appointment of members of diplomatic missions, their arrival and
departure, and by article 41.2, unless states agree otherwise, all official diplomatic
business is conducted with the foreign ministry of the receiving state. A foreign minister
is one of the persons who hold full powers, and needs no further accreditation to
represent a state for the purposes of adopting or authenticating the text of a treaty. 143
Statements made by a foreign minister on behalf of his government are binding upon his
state. 144 A foreign minister is an internationally protected person within the meaning of
the Convention on Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons. If a crime were
committed against him it would constitute a threat to the maintenance of normal
international relations.

Despite the fact that the foreign minister is obviously at the heart of diplomatic and
international relations, there was doubt about his immunity ratione personae, which was
resolved by the ICJ in the Arrest Warrant Case. 145 This case was brought by the Congo
against Belgium concerning the arrest warrant of 11 April 2000.

143

Article 7 Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties 1969.

144

PCIJ The case concerning the Legal Status of Eastern Greenland. A recorded and minuted declaration
made by Mr Ihlen, the Norwegian Foreign Minister on 22 July 1919 informing the Danish Minister that
the Norwegian Government would not make any difficulties in the settlement of the recognition of Danish
sovereignty over Eastern Greenland was binding upon Norway.
145

128 ILR 1.

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This warrant was issued by an investigating judge of the Brussels tribunal de premiere
instance for the arrest of Mr. Yerodia who was then the serving minister for foreign
affairs in the Congo. Belgian nationals and residents made complaints alleging that Mr
Yerodia had perpetrated international crimes in the Congo. They asked the investigating
judge to initiate proceedings against Mr Yerodia. On 11 April 2002 the investigating
judge issued a warrant for the arrest Mr Yerodia. The warrant was described as an
international arrest warrant in absentia as Mr Yerodia was not in Belgium. The
warrant charged Mr Yerodia with grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions by making
speeches inciting racial hatred and racially motivated attacks. The speeches were alleged
to have resulted in several hundred deaths, the internment of Tutsis, summary
executions, arbitrary arrests and unfair trials.

It was agreed by the parties before the ICJ that the alleged acts were committed outside
Belgian territory, that Mr Yerodia was not a Belgian national, and that Mr Yerodia was
not on Belgian territory at the time that the arrest warrant was issued and circulated, and
no Belgian nationals were victims of the violence that was said to have resulted from Mr
Yerodias alleged offences.

On 7 June 2000 the arrest warrant was transmitted to Interpol, the International Criminal
Police Organisation. The function of Interpol is to enhance and facilitate cross-border
criminal police co-operation worldwide. Interpol circulated the warrant internationally
by way of a Green Notice, which is a notice which asks for States to locate suspects,
not to arrest them. A Red Notice which requests the arrest of an individual with a view
to extradition was not issued. The warrant was transmitted to the Congo on 7 June 2000,
and was received by the Congolese authorities on 12 July 2000. On 17 October 2000 the
Congo instituted proceedings in the ICJ requesting the court to declare that Belgium
shall annul the international arrest warrant issued on 11 April 2000.

In November 2000 the court was informed that, following a ministerial reshuffle in the
Congo, Mr Yerodia was no longer foreign minister, and that he was minister for
education. A new government was formed in the Congo in mid-April 2001 and Mr

98

Yerodia was not appointed as a minister. On 12 September 2001 Belgium requested

Interpol to issue a Red Notice in respect of Mr Yerodia. That was after Mr Yerodia
ceased to be a minister, but whilst the proceedings were still pending before the ICJ. On
19 October 2001 Belgium informed the court that Interpol had requested additional
information, and no Red Notice had been circulated. When the ICJ gave judgment on 14
February 2002 Mr Yerodia did not hold ministerial office in the Congo.

The Congo initially made the claim against Belgium on two grounds. First that universal
jurisdiction breached the principle that a state should not exercise its authority on
another state, and the principle of sovereign authority; and secondly that non recognition
of the immunity of the foreign minster was a breach of diplomatic immunity.

These submissions were refined as the proceedings continued, the Congo no longer
claimed that Belgium wrongly conferred upon itself universal jurisdiction in absentia,
and confined itself to arguing that the arrest warrant was unlawful because it violated the
immunity from jurisdiction of its minister for foreign affairs. In its written and oral
submission to the court the Congo contended that the issue of the warrant was a breach
of customary international law, rather then a breach of diplomatic immunity.

The Congo requested the ICJ to find that by issuing and internationally circulating the
arrest warrant, Belgium committed a violation of the rule of customary international law
concerning the absolute inviolability and immunity from criminal process of incumbent
foreign ministers and that Belgium thereby violated the principle of sovereign immunity
among states. The Congo said that a formal finding by the court of the unlawfulness of
the act would constitute an appropriate form of satisfaction, which would provide
reparation for the moral injury caused to the Congo. The Congo also requested the ICJ
to declare that any state, including Belgium, was precluded from executing the warrant,
because both the issue of the warrant and its international circulation were violations of
international law. The Congo asked the court to require Belgium to recall and cancel the
arrest warrant, and to inform the foreign authorities to whom the warrant was circulated,

99

that Belgium renounced its request for their co-operation in executing the unlawful
warrant.

Belgium requested the court, as a preliminary matter, to declare that the Court lacked
jurisdiction and/or that the application was inadmissible; and if the court concluded that
it did have jurisdiction to reject the submission of the Congo on the merits of the case,
and to dismiss the application.

Although Belgium did not deny that a legal dispute existed between itself and the Congo
when the application was filed, Belgium made much of the change in circumstances
regarding Mr Yerodia, and made preliminary objections to the proceedings. The ICJ
gave short shrift to all of these arguments saying that it had jurisdiction, and that the
application was not moot.

The ICJ said that logically the question of immunity should be addressed after a
determination of jurisdiction, since it is only where a state has jurisdiction under
international law, in relation to a particular matter, that there can be any question of
immunities in regard to the exercise of that jurisdiction. As the ICJ is limited to
answering the matter in dispute between the parties, the court decided that it would
address the question, whether, assuming that it had jurisdiction under international
law to issue and circulate the arrest warrant of 11 April 2000, Belgium in so doing
violated the immunities of the then Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo?

The Congo maintained a minister for foreign affairs in office is entitled to an absolute or
complete immunity from criminal process, and that this immunity is subject to no
exception. The Congo contended that no criminal prosecution may be brought against a
minister for foreign affairs in a foreign court so long as he or she remains in office, and
that any finding of criminal responsibility by a domestic court in a foreign country, or
any act of investigation undertaken with a view to bringing him or her to court, would
contravene the principle of immunity from jurisdiction. According to the Congo, the
basis of such criminal immunity is purely functional, and immunity is accorded under

100

customary international law simply in order to enable the foreign state representative
enjoying such immunity to perform his or her functions freely without hindrance. The
Congo added that the immunity accorded to ministers for foreign affairs when in office
covers all their acts, including any committed before they took office, and that it is
irrelevant whether the acts done whilst in office may be characterised as official acts, or
not.

The Congo did not deny the existence of a principle of international criminal law, that
the accuseds official capacity at the time of the acts cannot, before any court, whether
domestic or international, constitute a ground of exemption from his criminal
responsibility or a ground of mitigation of sentence. The Congo stressed that the fact
that an immunity might bar prosecution before a specific court or over a specific period
does not mean that the same prosecution cannot be brought, if appropriate, before
another court which is not bound by that immunity, or at another time when the
immunity need no longer be taken into account. The Congo concluded that immunity
does not mean impunity.

Belgium maintained that while ministers for foreign affairs generally enjoy an immunity
from jurisdiction before the courts of a foreign state, such immunity applies only to acts
carried out in the course of their official functions, and cannot protect such persons in
respect of private acts or when they are acting otherwise than in the performance of their
official functions. Belgium said that Mr Yerodia enjoyed no immunity at the time when
he was alleged to have committed the alleged crimes, there was no evidence that he was
acting in any official capacity, and the warrant was issued against him personally.

The starting point for the ICJ in its judgement was that there is a firmly established rule
of customary international law that certain holders of high-ranking office in a state, such
as the head of state, the head of government and the minister for foreign affairs, enjoy
immunities from jurisdiction in other states, both civil and criminal. The court then went
on to examine the immunity from criminal jurisdiction and the inviolability of an
incumbent minister for foreign affairs.

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The court examined the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations and
the New York Convention on Special Missions and said that these conventions were
useful guidance on certain aspects of the questions of immunities, but as they did not
contain any provision specifically defining the immunities enjoyed by ministers of
foreign affairs, the court had to decide the questions relating to the immunities of such
ministers on the basis of customary international law.

The court considered the preamble to the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Privileges
and Immunities stating that the purpose of diplomatic privileges and immunities is to
ensure the efficient performance of the functions of diplomatic missions as representing
States, and the corresponding provision in the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations. From this the court deduced that the immunities accorded to ministers for
foreign affairs are similarly not granted for their personal benefit, but to ensure the
effective performance of their functions on behalf of their respective states. The court
said that in order to determine the extent of these immunities, the court must therefore
first consider the nature of the functions exercised by a minister for foreign affairs.

As explained earlier in this thesis the court then went on to look at the functions
expected of a foreign minister, and how he carries out his duties. The court looked at the
role and what a foreign minister is required to do. The court then observed that a
minister for foreign affairs occupies a similar position to a head of state, or a head of
government, as he is responsible for the conduct of his states relations with all other
states, and is recognised under international law as representative of the state solely by
virtue of his office. The court noted that a foreign minister does not require letters of
credence, that it is generally the minister who determines the authority to be conferred
upon diplomatic agents and countersigns their letters of credence, and that it is to the
minister for foreign affairs that charges daffairs are accredited.

Here the ICJ is looking not just at the functions performed by a foreign minister, but
also at the position he holds within a state, the power of the state which he wields, and

102

the fact that a foreign minister has a special status in international society and that this is
acknowledged in international law.

At paragraph 54 of its judgment the Court concluded that:

the functions of a Minister for Foreign Affairs are such that, throughout the duration
of his or her office, he or she when abroad enjoys full immunity from criminal
jurisdiction and inviolability. That immunity and that inviolability protect the individual
concerned against any act of authority of another state which would hinder him or her
in the performance of his or her duties.

Then in paragraph 55 the court goes on to explain how wide this immunity is:

1. No distinction can be drawn between acts performed by a minister for foreign

affairs in an official capacity, and those performed in a private capacity
2. There is no distinction between acts performed before the person concerned
assumed office and acts committed during the period of the office.

This is because if a minister for foreign affairs is arrested in another state on a criminal
charge, he or she is clearly prevented from exercising the functions of his or her office.
The risk of arrest may prevent a foreign minister from freely travelling internationally
when required to do so.

The ICJ then considered whether there is an exception to this immunity for war crimes
or crimes against humanity, and decided there is not. The court explained that this
immunity does not mean impunity from prosecution, and described the circumstances in
which a former foreign minister may be prosecuted for such offences. This aspect of the
judgment is considered in a following chapter of this thesis.

The next question for the court was whether the issuance of the arrest warrant, and the
international circulation of the warrant, violated the rules governing the immunity from

103

criminal jurisdiction of incumbent foreign ministers. The Congo asserted that the mere
issuance of the warrant constituted a coercive measure, even if it was not executed. That
the international circulation of the warrant was a fundamental infringement of the
Congos sovereign rights, as it significantly restricted its foreign minister who did not
have full and free exercise of his international negotiation and representation
functions.

The court considered the nature of the warrant and noted that it was intended to enable
the arrest on Belgian territory of an incumbent foreign minister, and also the purpose of
the warrant which was an order to all bailiffs and public authorities to execute the arrest
warrant. The court accepted that the warrant did make an exception for the case of an
official visit, and that Mr Yerodia never suffered arrest in Belgium, but said that given
the nature and purpose of the warrant, its mere issue violated the immunity which Mr
Yerodia enjoyed as the Congos incumbent minister for foreign affairs. The court
concluded that the issue of the warrant constituted a violation of an obligation of
Belgium towards the Congo, in that it failed to respect the immunity of that minister
and, more particularly, infringed the immunity from criminal jurisdiction and the
inviolability then enjoyed by him under international law.

Belgium admitted that the purpose of the international circulation of the disputed
warrant was to establish a legal basis for the arrest of Mr Yerodia abroad and his
subsequent extradition to Belgium, but argued that there were further preliminary steps
to be taken, and that no Interpol red notice was requested until Mr Yerodia no longer
held ministerial office.

The court did not agree with this view. The court said that given the nature and purpose
of the warrant its international circulation by the Belgian authorities:

1. effectively infringed Mr Yerodias immunity as the Congos incumbent minister

for foreign affairs and

104

2. was further more liable to affect the Congos conduct of its international
relations.

Since Mr Yerodia, as foreign minister, was required to travel in the performance of his
duties, the international circulation of the warrant, even in the absence of further steps
by Belgium, could have resulted in his arrest while abroad. The court noted that Mr
Yerodia on applying for a visa to go to two countries learned that he ran the risk of
being arrested as a result of that arrest warrant issued against him by Belgium, and that
the arrest warrant had forced him to travel by roundabout routes. The court concluded
that the circulation of the warrant, whether or not it significantly interfered with Mr
Yerodias diplomatic activity, constituted a violation of an obligation of Belgium
towards the Congo, in that it failed to respect the immunity of the incumbent minister
for foreign affairs of the Congo and, more particularly, infringed the immunity from
criminal jurisdiction and the inviolability then enjoyed by him under international law.

In this judgment the court is unequivocal in its finding that an incumbent foreign
minister is absolutely inviolable and immune. The justification for the minister having
immunity is functional, but does not require there to be an actual interference with his
function. The fact that there was a possibility that he could be arrested, and that this was
a factor he had to consider, was sufficient to make the issuing and circulating of the
warrant a breach of his immunity.

The Congo requested the Court:

1. to make a formal finding that the issue and international circulation of the
warrant, and said that this finding in itself would constitute an appropriate form
of satisfaction and would provide reparation for the consequent moral injury.
2. to find that the violations of international law underlying the issue and
circulation of the warrant preclude any state, including Belgium, from executing
it.

105

3. to require Belgium to recall and cancel the warrant and to inform the foreign
authorities to whom the warrant was circulated that Belgium renounced its
request for their co-operation in executing the unlawful warrant.

The Congo argued that the warrant was unlawful ab inititio, that it was fundamentally
flawed, and therefore could have no legal effect, and that the termination of the official
duties of Mr Yerodia in no way operated to efface the wrongful act and the injury
flowing from it, which continued to exist. The purpose of its request was reparation for
the injury caused; requiring the restoration of the situation which would in all
probability have existed if the said act had not been committed. It stated that as the
wrongful act consisted in an internal legal instrument, only the withdrawal and
cancellation of the warrant could provide appropriate reparation.

Belgium maintained that a finding by the court, that the immunity enjoyed by Mr
Yerodia as minister for foreign affairs had been violated, would in no way entail an
obligation to cancel the arrest warrant, as Mr Yerodia was no longer the Congos
minister for foreign affairs and there was no suggestion that the warrant infringed the
immunity of the Congos minister for foreign affairs at the time the case was heard.

The court said that the issue and circulation of the arrest warrant by the Belgian
authorities engaged Belgiums international responsibility. The Court considered that its
findings constituted a form of satisfaction making good the moral injury complained of
by the Congo. The court said that in this case the situation which would, in all
probability, have existed if the illegal act had not been committed could not be reestablished merely by a finding by the Court that the arrest warrant was unlawful under
international law. The warrant was still extant, and remained unlawful, notwithstanding
the fact that Mr Yerodia had ceased to be minister for foreign affairs. The Court said
that Belgium must, by means of its own choosing, cancel the warrant in question and
inform the authorities to whom it was circulated.

106

This decision of the court that the warrant should be cancelled was criticised in the joint
separate opinion of Judges Higgins, Kooijmans and Buergenthal, 146 because the
restoration of the status quo was not possible, as Mr Yerodia was no longer minister for
foreign affairs. These three judges were of the opinion that the court erred in requiring
the withdrawal of the warrant, as there was no continuing international wrong. This
argument was rejected by a majority of ten judges to six, and Belgium was ordered to
cancel the warrant.

The decision of the court relating to issuance and circulation of the warrant was by a
majority of thirteen to three, and one of the dissenting Judges was ad hoc Judge Van
Den Wyngaert, appointed by Belgium. This is a powerful statement by the court, and it
is submitted that this judgment has crystallised customary international law on this
point. Ministers for foreign affairs are inviolate and immune, and a warrant should not
be issued for the arrest of a foreign minister even if it is not intended to be executed until
he has left office. The warrant should not be issued, rather than withdrawn when
immunity is claimed.

The ICJ at paragraph 51 of the judgment said that a there is a firmly established rule of
customary international law that certain holders of high ranking office in a State, such
as the head of State, head of government and minister for foreign affairs, enjoy
immunities from the jurisdiction of other States, both civil and criminal. By using the
term such as the ICJ was not limiting the high state officials entitled to immunity to
those three offices, rather those three offices are quoted as examples of those to whom
such immunity is granted. One possible explanation for this sentence is that the function
of foreign ministers may be undertaken by other officials. For example the US Assistant
to the President for National Security Affairs is the chief adviser to the US President on
national security issues. This a position which has no direct equivalent in other states,
but the function of the post is comparable to that of a foreign minister, and therefore, on
the reasoning of the ICJ the holder of the post should be entitled to immunity ratione

146

128 ILR 119.

107

personae. Another explanation for this paragraph is that other ministers of state are
entitled to immunity and the following part of this chapter will consider this.

Other Ministers of State.

Article 21.2 of the New York Convention on Special Missions of 8 December 1969, also
implies that there are other high state officials who are entitled to immunity, as it says;

The Head of the Government, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and other persons of
high rank, when they take part in a special mission of the sending State, shall enjoy in
the receiving State or in a third State, in addition to what is granted by the present
convention, the facilities, privileges and immunities accorded by international law.

How is a court of first instance to decide if another minister of state is entitled to

immunity ratione personae. The ICJ said that immunity ratione personae is granted to
such officials to ensure the effective performance of their functions, and when the court
considered the nature of the functions exercised by foreign ministers the court attached
importance to the authority and representative character of a foreign minister, and the
fact that his actions may bind his state.

Some of these functions are specific to a foreign minister, but others are not. The foreign
minister is in charge of the governments diplomatic activities, but he may delegate the
responsibility for certain activities to other ministers. Although the foreign minister
generally acts as the representative of the government in international negotiations, and
intergovernmental meetings, he is not the only minister to do this. As governments get
larger, and international relations become more complex, different ministries become
involved in different areas. For example in the UK the Home Office takes responsibility
for negotiating matters relating to mutual assistance and extradition.

There is a presumption that the foreign minister can bind a state simply by virtue of his
office, but other ministers may bind states too, even without formal delegation of such

108

powers. The ICJ had to consider whether the statements of a minister for justice before
the UN General Assembly were binding upon the ministers state in the Case
Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo. 147 On 28 May 2002 the
Government of the Congo instituted proceedings against Rwanda in respect of a dispute
concerning massive, serious and flagrant violation of human rights and of
international humanitarian law alleged to have been committed as a result of acts of
armed aggression perpetrated by Rwanda on the territory of the Congo. The Congo
asked the ICJ to adjudge and declare that all Rwandan forces should forthwith quit the
territory of the Congo, and that Rwanda was under an obligation to procure the
immediate, unconditional withdrawal of its armed and other forces from Congolese
territory, and that Rwanda should pay the Congo compensation. Rwanda said that the
ICJ did not have jurisdiction, and that the proceedings were inadmissible.

On 3 February 2006 the ICJ gave judgment on the questions of jurisdiction and
admissibility. The Congo alleged that Rwanda had violated Articles II and III of the
Genocide Convention, and said that the ICJ had jurisdiction to hear its claim under
Article IX of that Convention. Rwanda argued that it had made a reservation to the
Genocide Convention which excluded the jurisdiction of the ICJ. The Congo contended
that Rwanda had withdrawn its reservation; and to evidence this cited a Rwandan
decret-loi of 15 February 1995, that is a domestic Rwandan law, and a statement made
by Rwandas Minister of Justice at the UN Commission on Human Rights.

The ICJ said that the adoption and publication of the Rwandan domestic law did not, as
a matter of international law, effect a withdrawal by that state of its reservation to
Article IX of the Geneva Convention. At paragraph 45 of its judgment the court
considered the legal effect of the statement made by Mrs Mukabagwiza, Minister of
Justice of Rwanda, on 17 March 2005, at the Sixty-first Session of the UN Commission
on Human Rights. In her statement Mrs Mukabagwiza said:

147

Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo. (Democratic Republic of the Congo
v Rwanda.) ICJ. ILM vol. 145 2006 562.

109

Rwanda is one of the countries that has ratified the greatest number of international
human rights instruments. In 2004 alone, our Government ratified ten of them, including
those concerning the rights of women, the preventions and repression of corruption, the
prohibition of weapons of mass destruction, and the environment. The few instruments
not yet ratified will shortly be ratified and past reservations not yet withdrawn will
shortly be withdrawn.

The court observed that there is a well established rule of international law that the head
of state, the head of government and the minister for foreign affairs are deemed to
represent the state merely by exercising their functions, including for the performance,
on behalf of the said state, of unilateral acts having the force of international
commitments. The court noted that in modern international relations, other persons
representing a state, in specific fields, may be authorized by that state to bind it by their
statements in respect of matters falling within their purview. The ICJ gave the example
of holders of technical ministerial portfolios exercising powers in their field of
competence in the area of foreign relations, and then said this was true even of certain
officials.

The court then went onto consider the specific facts of this case, and noted first that Ms
Mukabagwiza spoke before the UN Commission on Human Rights in her capacity as
minister of justice, and that she indicated that she was making her statement on behalf
of the Rwandan people. The court further noted that the questions relating to the
protection of human rights, which were the subject of that statement, fell within the
purview of a minister of justice. The ICJ said at paragraph 48 of the judgment:

It is the courts view that the possibility cannot be ruled out in principle that a Minister
of Justice may, under certain circumstances bind the State he or she represents by his or
her statements. The court continued that such a statement can create legal obligations
only if it is made in clear and specific terms.

110

On examining the content of Mrs Mukabagwizas statement, as well as the

circumstances in which it was made, the court decided that it was made in the context of
a presentation of general policy, on the promotion and protection of human rights, and
that it was not made in sufficiently specific terms in relations to the particular question
of the withdrawal of reservations. Therefore the court concluded that it had no
jurisdiction to entertain the application. The ICJ decided on the particular facts that the
statement did not bind Rwanda, but the principle that statements made by ministers may
bind their state was affirmed. Whether this, of itself, is sufficient to give a minister
immunity under customary international law is doubtful. Other ministers are not in
charge of a governments diplomatic activities, they do not have authority over
ambassadors and other diplomatic agents, and there is no presumption that other
ministers have full powers to act on behalf of their state.

A case at first instance where state immunity was accorded to a defence minister is that
of General Shaul Mofaz. 148 On 12 December 2004, an application was made to District
Judge Pratt, at Bow Street Magistrates Court for a warrant for the arrest of General
Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli defence minister, who was believed to be visiting England. The
application was made on behalf of the families and relatives affected by what was
described as The Assassination Policy of Israel or the Policy of Shooting with
Impunity. They alleged that General Mofaz, in his capacity as defence minister,
committed grave breaches of article 147 of Geneva Convention IV, contrary to section 1
of the Geneva Convention Act 1957.

Judge Pratt considered whether General Mofaz had state immunity in his capacity as
Israeli defence minister. The applicants argued that the question of immunity should not
be raised until the first hearing after the warrant had been executed. Judge Pratt did not
accept that, and he took the view that immunity was one of the issues he had to consider.
Judge Pratt accepted, following Pinochet (No. 3), that the issue was one for customary
international law, and that the Arrest Warrant case did not preclude state immunity
extending to office holders other than the head of state, head of government and minister
148

128 ILR 709.

111

for foreign affairs. As the Arrest Warrant case said that the basis for a foreign ministers
entitlement to State immunity was to enable him to effectively fulfil his function Judge
Pratt went on to consider whether such immunity could extend to a defence minister. He
said in his reasons

The function of various Ministers will vary enormously depending upon their sphere of
responsibility. I would think it very unlikely that ministerial appointments such as
Home Secretary, Employment Minister, Environment Minister, Culture Media and
Sports Minister would automatically acquire a label of state immunity. However, I do
believe that the Defence Minister may be a different matter.
Although travel will not be on the same level as that of a Foreign Minister, it is a fact
that many states maintain troops overseas and there are many United Nations missions
to visit in which military issues do play a prominent role between certain States. It
strikes me that the roles of defence and foreign policy are very much intertwined, in
particular in the Middle East.

Judge Pratt described his decision as being in somewhat unchartered waters and he
concluded that a defence minister would automatically acquire state immunity in the
same way as that pertaining to a Foreign Minister. He declined to issue the warrant for
the arrest of Shaul Mofaz. Judge Pratt found that defence ministers are entitled to
immunity ratione personae. The comment about the roles of defence and foreign policy
being particularly entwined in the Middle East cannot mean that it is only defence
ministers from areas of conflict which are entitled to state immunity. Rather, that areas,
such as the Middle East, where armed conflict is a day to day part of international
relations, highlight the role played by a defence minister, and illuminates what is
required for a defence minister to perform his role. If the defence minister of one
country is entitled to immunity ratione personae, then the defence minister of every state
is entitled to such immunity. Judge Pratt did not consider whether Shaul Mofaz was
entitled to immunity ratione materiae, and this is an area which will be considered in a
later chapter of this thesis. The applicants accepted the decision and did not appeal, and

112

therefore this decision is binding upon them. But as this is a decision of a Magistrates
Court it is not a binding precedent in English law.
The Senior District Judge considered a similar question on 8th November 2005 at Bow
Street Magistrates Court, when an application was made for a warrant for the arrest of
Bo Xilai, 149 the minister for commerce including international trade for the Peoples
Republic of China. The allegations were of conspiracy to torture in Liao Ning Province
since July 1999. When the application was made Mr Bo had been in the UK for a
number of days, performing official duties as minister for international trade. From the
date of the application he formed part of the official delegation for the State Visit of the
President of the Peoples Republic of China. Judge Workman decided that Mr Bo was
entitled to immunity as part of a special mission and this part of his decision is discussed
later in this chapter, but he also considered the position of Mr Bo as Minister for
International Trade, and said:

I have concluded his functions are equivalent to those exercised by a Minister for
Foreign Affairs and adopting the reasoning of the International Court of Justice in the
case of The Democratic Republic of Congo v Belgium. I reach the conclusion that under
the Customary International Law Rules Mr Bo has immunity from prosecution as he
would not be able to perform his functions unless he is able to travel freely.

The refusal of this warrant was not appealed, and the decision is not binding on other
courts. Any future applications will have to be decided upon their own merits. 150 This is
149

128 ILR 713.

150

For example Court of Appeal, Paris v Durbar 7 November 2008 City of Westminster Magistrates Court
(unreported) Saifee Durbar was appointed by the President of the Central African Republic as Minister
Resident in London whilst extradition proceedings against him were being heard. Mr Durbar argued that
his appointment entitled him to state immunity. Judge Evans said that he did not think anything turned on
the title, and that he had to look at what Mr Durbar actually did. Judge Evans heard evidence from Mr
Durbar and the CAR Ambassador. Mr Durbar did not assert that he had any diplomatic or business
contacts, or other dealings with the Government of the UK, rather his role was to assist the CAR in other
countries. The evidence was that Mr Durbar went to China with the Minister for Energy and Mines of the
CAR and met the Trade Minister of China, when some pre-agreement documents may have been signed.
Judge Evans was satisfied on the evidence he heard that Mr Durbar did not come within the category of
persons entitled to immunity.

113

an area of international law which is uncertain, and there is little state practice. District
Judges, and justices of the peace, sitting in Magistrates Courts, considering whether to
issue a warrant would be influenced by the decisions, particularly by that of the Senior
District Judge, but they would not be bound by the decision.

In commenting upon this case and that of Mugabe Professor Colin Warbrick wrote
There remains much room for argument about the limits of the Arrest warrant case.
The two judgements give little comfort to those who would maintain that international
law immunities should be reconsidered in the face of allegations of international
criminal conduct. 151

The field of international relations is growing, and the numbers of ministers of state and
other state officials who are responsible for some aspect of international relations are
increasing. But ministers, other than foreign ministers, do not play a role which is
primarily concerned with foreign affairs. Although some aspects of their responsibility
may have an element of international relations, it is not their first concern. They do not
represent their state at all times in the international arena. They do not need to travel
freely in the way that a foreign minister does, as any delegations will be planned in
advance with the agreement of the territory visited. A foreign minister has to be able to
react to international incidents as, and when, they develop, but this is not the case with
other ministers. It is respectfully submitted that the decisions of Bow Street Court in
these cases are not, at this time, settled international law. This has been demonstrated by
two cases in the ICJ.

In the Case Concerning Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal

Matters (Djibouti v France), 152 the ICJ was asked to declare that the Djibouti
procureur general and the Djibouti Head of National Security were immune from
the criminal jurisdiction of France. Both officials were summonsed to give
151

Immunity and International Crimes in English law ICLQ 53 (2004) 769.

152

Case Concerning Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal matters (Djibouti v France)
hhtp://www.icj-cji.org/docket/files/136/14550.pdf.

114

evidence in France as persons implicated in an offence, accused of having

pressurised witnesses in Djibouti to change or discredit evidence. The French
court was informed that the two were not authorised to give evidence. At
paragraph 185 of the judgment Djibouti abandoned its claim for immunity ratione
personae on behalf its officials. At paragraph 194 of its judgement the ICJ said
there are no grounds in international law upon which it could be said that the

officials concerned were entitled to personal immunities, not being diplomats

within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961,
and the Convention on Special Missions of 1969 not being applicable in this
case.
On 17 June 2003 The ICJ refused a request for provisional measures by the Congo in the
Case Concerning Criminal Proceedings in France (Republic of the Congo v France). 153
On 5 December 2001 Congolese nationals filed a complaint in the Paris Tribunal de
Grande Instance alleging crimes against humanity and torture allegedly committed in
the Congo against Congolese nationals by the President of the Congo Denis Sassou
Nguesso, the Minister of the Interior General Pierre Oba, Inspector General of the
Congolese Armed Forces General Norbert Dabira, and Commander of the Presidential
Guard General Blaise Adoua.

General Dabira had a house in France, and was in France on 23 May 2002, when he was
arrested and his evidence was taken by judicial police officers. On 8 July 2002 an
investigating judge took his evidence as a legally assisted witness. General Dabira was a
suspect and he was released without charge. General Dabira returned to the Congo, and
on 16 September 2002 the investigating judge issued a warrant for the immediate
appearance of General Dabira which would be executed should he return to France. The
investigating Judge sought to obtain evidence from President Nguesso through
diplomatic channels. The Congo said that the assertion of universal jurisdiction was

153

Case Concerning Certain Criminal Proceedings in France (Republic of the Congo v France). ICJ
Reports, 2003. p. 102.

115

against international law, and that the proceedings failed to respect the immunities
conferred by international law.

Provisional measures are to preserve the rights of a party; the ICJ said in this case
provisional measures could only be granted if the French proceedings entailed a risk of
irreparable prejudice to the right of the Congo. The court found that there was no such
risk as regards President Nguesso, as Head of State, or General Oba. As regards General
Dabira, the courts said that the practical effect of a provisional measure would be to
enable General Dabira to enter France without fear of any legal consequences. The
courts view was that the Congo had not demonstrated the likelihood or even the
possibility of any irreparable prejudice to the rights it claims resulting from the
procedural measures taken in relation to General Dabira. The Court said there was no
need for provisional measures.

The ICJ in this case is saying that General Dabira did not need to travel freely to be able
to perform his functions whilst the case was pending. Indications are that membership
of the small group of persons who have blanket immunity ratione personae is not being
extended. Ministers and other officials visiting other states may be granted temporary
immunity as members of a special mission. Such immunity is granted with the
knowledge of the sending state and the consent of the receiving state, and is time limited
and certain. The next part of this chapter will look at special missions and the immunity
granted to members of such missions.

Special Missions

A special mission is temporary mission sent by one state to another state. At the request
of the UN General Assembly154 the ILC worked upon the codification and progressive
development of international law relating to special missions. The Convention on

154

See GAR 1504 (XV) of 12 December 1960, GAR 1687 (XVI) of 18 December 1961, GAR 1902
(XVIII) of 18 November 1963 and GAR 2045 (XX) of 8 December 1965.

116

Special Missions was adopted by the General Assembly on 8 December 1969, 155 and it
entered into force on 21 June 1985. The legal status of the immunity of special missions
was discussed in the draft articles on Special Missions with commentaries 1967, 156
whether special missions had immunity under customary international law, or whether
they were accorded merely as a matter of courtesy. The commentary asserts:

Since the War, the view that there is a legal basis has prevailed. It is now generally
recognised that States are under an obligation to accord the facilities, privileges and
immunities in question to special missions and their members.

The underlying principle adopted by the ILC was that every special mission should be
granted everything that is essential for the regular performance of its functions, having
regard to the nature of its task.

The convention is now considered to be declaratory of customary international law

having been quoted with approval both in the Pinochet case, and in the Arrest Warrant
case as providing, useful guidance on certain aspects of the question of immunities. 157

The preamble to the Special Missions Convention recalls that special treatment has
always been accorded to special missions, and says that the convention complements the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, and the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations 1963, and contributes to the development of friendly relations
among nations, whatever their constitutional and social systems. It goes on to say that
the purpose of privileges and immunities relating to special missions is not to benefit
individuals, but to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of special missions
as missions representing the state.

155

GA Res 2530 (XXIV).

156

YBILC 1967, vol. II. p. 347 at p 358.

157

128 ILR 1 at para. 52.

117

A special mission is defined by article 1 as a temporary mission, which must represent

the state. It is sent by one state with consent to another state for the purpose of dealing
with the second state on specific questions, or of performing, in relation to that second
state, a specific task. The draft articles say that the term special mission cannot be
considered to include missions sent by political movements to establish contact with a
particular state, or missions sent by states to establish contact with a political movement.
A mission sent by the opposition party to establish contact with the government of
another state, or missions sent by a local politician, such as the Mayor of London, would
not come within the definition as they are not sent by a state.

A special mission must have a specific task, and must not have the character of a
mission responsible for maintaining general diplomatic relations between states. The
mission must be of a temporary nature, it cannot be a permanent specialised mission,
such as a trade mission.

The prior consent of the receiving state is required regarding all aspects of a special
mission. The functions of the mission are determined by mutual consent, the receiving
state has to be informed of the size and composition of the special mission, and in
particular the names and designations of the persons the sending state intends to appoint.
The foreign ministry of the receiving state has to be informed of all arrangements made
for the mission. The receiving state may decline to accept a special mission of an
unreasonable size and may, without giving reasons, decline to accept any person as a
member of the mission, or may notify the sending state that a representative of the
mission is persona non grata.

The members of a special mission are present on the territory of the receiving state, with
the consent of that state, for the purpose of the mission. Whilst they are there, article 29
of the convention provides they are inviolable, and are not liable to any form of arrest or
detention, and article 31 provides that they are immune from the jurisdiction of the
receiving state.

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Between 1983 and 1986 the West German Courts considered the question of the
immunity to be accorded to a member of a special mission in the case of Tabatabai. 158 In
1983 Dr Tabatabai was a member of the political leadership in Iran. He had previously
been the Iranian deputy prime minister, and had served as a special envoy for Iran on
various special missions to foreign states including West Germany.

Dr Tabatabai carried a diplomatic passport, and on 3 January 1983 he obtained a visa

from the West German Embassy in Tehran, for the purpose of making a business visit to
the Federal Republic. On 5 January 1983 Dr Tabatabai had a meeting in Iran with the
West German ambassador to Iran. Dr Tabatabai informed the ambassador that he was to
undertake an important confidential mission to several Western European countries,
including West Germany. Dr Tabatabai asked the ambassador to assist him in contacting
the French authorities. The ambassador was also planning to return to West Germany,
and they agreed to meet there. The ambassador agreed to defer informing the West
German Foreign Office of the mission to ensure that the important mission was kept
absolutely confidential. The ambassador informed the West German Foreign Office of
his discussions on 14 January 1983.

When Dr Tabatabai arrived in West Germany on 8 January 1983, the customs

authorities checked his luggage, and found 1716.6 grams of opium. Dr Tabatabai was
arrested and the opium confiscated. For a person to be brought before a court in criminal
proceedings in West Germany at this time, an arrest warrant had to be issued. On 9
January 1983, the District Court of Dusseldorf issued an arrest warrant and suspended
enforcement against payment of a security of DM 200,000. The security was paid, and
Dr Tabatabai was released from detention on 10 January 1983. On 17 January 1983 the
Provincial Court of Dusseldorf ordered the enforcement of the arrest warrant, and Dr
Tabatabai was taken back into custody.

The Iranian Government made representations concerning the detention. On 31 January

1983 a letter was sent to the West German Foreign Minister by the Iranian Foreign
158

80 ILR 389.

119

Minister. This letter received on 1 February 1983, stated that Dr Tabatabai had been sent
as a special envoy to conduct negotiations, on important political questions, with highranking representatives, in several Western European countries, and prior notification of
the mission had not been given because of the confidential nature of those negotiations.
Iran requested that Dr Tabatabai should be granted those privileges and exemptions
granted to special envoys pursuant to the rules of international law. The Iranian Foreign
Minister also said in the letter, that he would not make the request, if he were not
convinced that Dr Tabatabai had not taken part in any criminal activity, and that he was
the victim of persons whose intention was to thwart the success of the mission.

The West German Foreign Office accepted the clarifications contained in the letter and
agreed that Dr Tabatabai had been sent to the Federal Republic for the performance of a
special task within the meaning of the Special Missions Convention, and that he was
therefore exempt from German jurisdiction. The West German foreign office informed
the Iranian Ambassador of this decision on 3 February 1983. The foreign office then
notified the Provincial Court of Dusseldorf, before which the trial proceedings were in
progress, of its response to the letter from the Iranian foreign minister, and its view that
Dr Tabatabai was exempt from municipal jurisdiction as a special envoy.

Dr Tabatabai applied to the Provincial Court for the warrant for his arrest to be annulled,
on the basis that he was exempt from West German municipal jurisdiction, as a special
envoy. The West German courts proceeded to struggle with the question whether Dr
Tabatabai was entitled to immunity. The history of the proceedings is complicated as the
first warrant was quashed by the Superior Court, and a second warrant was issued. Dr
Tabatabai left Germany when released, but he continued to defend the proceedings.

On 9 February 1983 the Provincial Court rejected Dr Tabatabais application, and he

appealed to the Superior Provincial Court. On 22 February 1983 that court held that
under customary international law he was exempt from the jurisdiction of West
Germany and annulled the arrest warrant. On 24 February 1983, the Provincial Court
continued with the proceedings and issued a new arrest warrant. The Provincial Court

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held that Dr Tabatabai had not been in West Germany to perform a specific task, and
therefore he could not be a member of a special mission. The court accepted that under
customary international law, a special mission could be established if the agent was
already in the receiving state, but the court found that the planned mission, a meeting in
Bonn with the West German Ambassador to Iran, was no longer possible on 31 January
1983. This was the date when the West Government agreed, at the request of the Iranian
Government, to grant Dr Tabatabai the privileges and immunities of a special envoy. By
that date Dr Tabatabai had been arrested, and the ambassador had returned to Iran. The
Provincial Court said the request for recognition of the special mission was made to
protect the accused as an individual, and was granted in order to prevent the
deterioration of relations between the two countries.

Dr Tabatabai was arrested on the new warrant and kept in custody. He appealed against
the issue of the second warrant to the Superior Provincial Court and on 7 March 1983
that court allowed the appeal and annulled the warrant. That court decided he obtained
the status of a special envoy at the very latest by 3 February 1983, when the West
German foreign office granted the Iranian request that the accused be treated as a special
envoy, and therefore he ought not to have been taken into custody on 24 February. The
court said that there was no requirement that the agreement between the two states,
concerning the special mission, should include a detailed description of the specific task
to be performed. The fact that Iran had failed to disclose more than a broad outline of Dr
Tabatabais task did not mean that no special task had been agreed upon. It was
sufficient that the receiving state was satisfied with the vague detail given. The court
also said that the motives and consideration of the foreign office, in granting the request
made by Iran, were beyond the scope of the judicial review of the courts. The
governments power to conduct foreign relations included the authority to enter into
commitments under international law towards other states, as it deemed appropriate and
necessary, and this was not subject to review by the courts.

On 7 March 1983, immediately after this decision was given, Dr Tabatabai was released
from custody. On 8 March 1983 the West German foreign office withdrew the

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recognition of Dr Tabatabai as a special envoy, and told the Provincial Court that if the
proceedings against Dr Tabatabai were stayed by reason of immunity, he would be
declared persona non grata and asked to leave immediately. Dr Tabatabai did not wait
for the decision of the Provincial Court, nor did he wait to be declared persona non
grata, he left the next day.

The quashing of the warrant did not quash the proceedings, and the Provincial Court
continued with the trial. On the 10 March 1983 that court held that Dr Tabatabai was not
entitled to immunity because an agreement by the West German foreign office to the
establishment of a special mission would only bind the court if it was in conformity of
international law, and the agreement in this case was not in conformity with
international law, as the arrival of the accused in West Germany had not been notified.
The consent of the West German Ambassador to Iran to meet the accused, during his
stay in Bonn, could not establish his immunity, in the absence of an official agreement
between the two countries, concerning his status, task and immunity. Although a special
mission with corresponding immunity could be established after the representative had
entered the receiving state, the request by the Iranian Government, and its acceptance by
the Federal Government, could not constitute the establishment of such a mission in the
absence of an agreement on the function of that special mission. Neither the parties to,
nor the location or subject of, prospective negotiations had been indicated in the
exchange of notes between the two governments initiated by Iran on 31 January. The
court said that what the two states in fact sought was to grant immunity to the accused in
order to prevent him being prosecuted. Dr Tabatabai was convicted and sentenced in his
absence, to three years imprisonment.

Dr Tabatabai appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. That court allowed the appeal on
27 February 1984 on the grounds that the proceedings were barred because the Dr
Tabatabai was entitled to immunity. That court found that the two governments
concerned had concluded an agreement concerning a special mission adequately
specifying the task to be carried out. Although the Iranian Government had outlined the
tasks in its note of 31 January 1983 in only a very indeterminate manner, the foreign

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office knew that part of the mission consisted in seeking support for intended contacts
with the French authorities. This task was specific enough to constitute an agreement
with regard to the establishment of a special mission. The court used the functional
theory to justify the grant of immunity to a special envoy, the grant of immunity was not
protect the envoy as a person, rather the mission which was to be carried out by him
and, therefore his sending state.

This was not the end of the matter. On 1 April 1985, a new enquiry was instituted on the
same facts, and a new warrant issued. Dr Tabatabai appealed unsuccessfully against the
issue of the warrant to the Provincial Court and then he appealed to the Superior
Provincial Court. On the 20 March 1986 that court also dismissed the appeal saying that
the new criminal proceedings were admissible because the immunity to which the
accused had been entitled as a special envoy did not constitute a personal exemption
from prosecution, but merely a procedural bar. As such the immunity could only extend
to acts which had been performed in the exercise of his functions. The court said:

Once his official activity has come to an end there is no longer any reason for him to
enjoy the protection of immunity for those acts which were not performed in the exercise
of his official functions.

It is manifestly clear that the importation of narcotic

substances is not to be classified as one of the official functions of a special envoy.

This case illustrates the difficulties that domestic courts encounter in deciding the facts
upon which to decide questions of international law, when those facts are dependent
upon diplomatic negotiations and agreements. Whether a person is a member of a
special mission is a fact, and if the proceedings were in England, such facts come within
the category that is within the knowledge of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO), and a certificate 159 could be issued.
159

The FCO may issue conclusive certificates or statements of fact which are conclusive evidence in
English courts. This practice is accepted at common law. Section 4 of the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964
provides that such a certificate is conclusive evidence of any fact relating to whether a person is entitled to
any diplomatic privilege or immunity. Section 21 State Immunity Act 1978 provides that such a certificate
is conclusive evidence of whether a country is a state, whether any territory is a constituent territory of a
federal state, and as to the person or persons to be regarded as head or government of a state.

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A case in which such a certificate was used is R v Governor of Pentonville Prison, ex

parte Teja. 160 In this case the Divisional Court concluded that, as a representative of the
Costa Rican Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Mr Teja was not entitled to privileges
and immunities under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but that he was
possibly on a special mission. This case was shortly after the implementation of the
Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964.

Mr Teja was an Indian national, who had been a company director buying ships from
Japan. In 1966 the company was taken over by the Indian Government. Mr Teja left
India and went to the USA. India alleged that Mr Teja, as chairman of the company, had
been guilty of dishonesty. Extradition proceedings were commenced by India in the
USA and Mr Teja fled to Costa Rica which had no extradition treaty with India. Mr Teja
was engaged by the Costa Rican government, and in June 1970 he was issued with a
diplomatic passport and a letter of credence describing him as an economic adviser to
the Costa Rican government studying the possibility of developing a steel mill in Costa
Rica. Mr Teja visited a number of European countries, and during a visit to England he
was arrested and detained in custody pending his extradition to India.

An application for a writ of habeas corpus was made on Mr Tejas behalf contending
that he was entitled to diplomatic immunity, despite a certificate from the FCO stating
that he was not an accredited diplomat,. The Divisional Court dismissed the application
holding that a foreign states unilateral action in appointing a diplomatic agent did not
confer diplomatic immunity on that representative and, until the UK had accepted and
received the intended representative as a persona grata, the diplomatic agent was not
immune from the proceedings in the English courts.

Lord Parker CJ considered that Mr Teja, whilst not a diplomatic agent, could be on a
special mission. The reasoning and conclusion of the judgment on this point is not very
clear, he appears to be saying that any agent for whom immunity is claimed cannot be
160

[1971] 2 QB 274.

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sent unilaterally to a foreign country. It is only with consent that immunity can be
accorded and claimed.

As explained earlier in this chapter on 8 December 2005 the Senior District Judge
considered whether he could issue a warrant for the arrest of Minister for Commerce
including International Trade for the Peoples Republic of China, Mr Bo Xilai for
offences of conspiracy to torture in Liao Ning province in China. Judge Workman first
considered whether Mr Bo was entitled to immunity ratione personae by virtue of being
the Minister for Commerce including International Trade and decided that Mr Bo was
entitled to such immunity. Judge Workman then went on to consider whether Mr Bo
was entitled to immunity as a member of a special mission. Although Judge Workman
does not specifically refer to it in his reasons, the FCO was contacted at Judge
Workmans request and provided information about Mr Bos visit. Judge Workman
decided that Mr Bo was entitled to immunity as a member of a special mission, and said;

Although Mr Bo has been here for a number of days performing official duties as
Minister for International Trade, he today forms part of the official delegation for the
state visit of the President of the Peoples Republic of China.

As such, I am satisfied

that he is a member of a Special Mission and as such has immunity under Customary
International Law. That immunity has been embodied in the Convention on Special
Missions of the 8th December 1969 which by virtue of article 31 declares that the
representatives of the sending state in the Special Mission and the members of all its
diplomatic staff shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving
state. This Convention was adopted by Resolution 2430 of the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1969. Mr Hardy has referred me to the House of Lords judgment in
Pinochet but I am satisfied that the essence of that decision depended upon the fact that
Senator Pinochet was no longer a head of state and the decision was based upon the
fact that he was a former head of state. I am therefore satisfied that particularly by
virtue of being a member of a Special Mission Mr Bo has immunity of prosecution and I
am declining to issue a warrant. 161
161

128 ILR 713.

125

This is an example of how the question of immunity can be decided simply, if immunity
ratione personae were restricted to heads of state, heads of government, foreign
ministers and members of a special mission. To ascertain whether a person was entitled
to such immunity, an enquiry could be made of the FCO, who would provide a factual
statement as to whether a person was a head of state, head of government, foreign
minister or member of a special mission. This would prevent political embarrassment,
and all concerned would know, before any travelling arrangements were made, who is
entitled to claim immunity.

A recent case where immunity has been claimed as a member of a special mission, and a
certificate was provided by the FCO is in extradition proceedings, in the Court of
Appeal, Paris v Durbar before the City of Westminster Magistrates Court. Mr Durbar
was accused of embezzlement in France in 1995. On 16 May 2006 at the Tribunal de
Grande Instance, Paris he was convicted in his absence and sentenced to three years
imprisonment. He appealed to the Court of Appeal in Paris, and on 26 April 2007 that
appeal failed, and the sentence was confirmed. The judicial authority in France was
asking for his extradition to France. Mr Saifee asserted that he was entitled to immunity
as a member of a special mission sent by the CAR. Mr Durbar claimed he was appointed
advisor to the then President of the CAR in 1999, and that on 6 October 2000 he was reappointed as advisor to the succeeding President of CAR by decree No. 06.313 and
issued with a diplomatic passport. On 27th October 2006 he was issued with a Schengen
visa by the French embassy in CAR. This was a non-diplomatic visa for a business
journey. Mr Durbar claimed that he entered France on 30 October 2006, and that he
accompanied the President of the CAR on a special mission to Paris for meetings with
the French President and other members of the French government to discuss general
bilateral relations. This was not accepted by the requesting French judicial authority.
On 9 August 2007 Mr Durbar was issued with another Schengen visa by the French
Embassy in the CAR. This was a non-diplomatic visa for a business journey. On 21
September 2007 Mr Durbar was arrested in London on the French European arrest

126

warrant. On 4 October 2007 the FCO certified that Mr Durbar has not been notified to
or received by the FCO as a member of a diplomatic mission in the UK. 162

It was submitted that Mr Durbar was a member of a special mission and entitled to
procedural immunity in respect of the proceedings. On 26 June 2008 Judge Nicholas
Evans gave little credence to the defendants assertions, saying that he found the
immunity claim completely bogus and devoid of any merit. The defendant did not
submit any evidence in support of the contention that he was on a special mission. A
letter dated 6 February 2008 from the CAR Ministry of Foreign Affairs was given to the
court. It stated that the defendant made an official journey to France arriving in Le
Bourget airport at 0915 hours on 30 October 2006 on a Hawker 800X aircraft. The letter
was totally silent as to the purpose of the journey, it did not suggest the President of the
CAR was on the plane, it made no mention of any planned meetings, and it did not
suggest there was any special mission. The Ministry of Justice in Paris sent a letter to
the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which provided no support for the defendants
claim that he was on a special mission. The immunity claim does not appear to have
featured in any of the proceedings in France, a feature which Judge N. Evans described
as rather odd.

Judge N. Evans said in his judgment;

There is insufficient evidence before this court to conclude that the defendant has ever
been on a special mission. Mere assertion is not enough. Even if, which I do not accept,
the defendant was entitled to some form of immunity whilst he visited France in October
2006 I do not accept that provides him with continuing immunity such as to interfere
with these extradition proceedings. He does not assert that he enjoyed his claimed
immunity at the time of his offending or at his first instance trial.

162

Court of Appeal Paris v Durbar (City of Westminster Magistrates Court 16 June 2008) unreported.
Quoted in the judgment of Judge Evans.

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Judge N. Evans found that Mr Durbar was not entitled to immunity as a member of a
special mission, as he was not part of such a mission. Mr Durbar was not entitled to
immunity ratione personae. Judge Evans also found that Mr Durbar was not entitled to
immunity ratione materiae as even if Mr Durbar had ever been entitled to any form of
immunity it did not continue, as the membership of the mission, which had come to an
end, had nothing to do with the offending, which occurred before he became an adviser
to the President of the CAR. If Mr Durbar had been entitled to immunity ratione
personae then the fact that the offending was before he was appointed would have been
irrelevant.

Must be a High Official of a State.

A person claiming immunity ratione personae must represent a sovereign state. This
may seem self evident, as the immunity being claimed is state immunity, but the courts
have not always found this concept easy to apply. The immunity to which individuals
are entitled, and the immunity which a state may claim, are derived from the sovereignty
of the state, but the entitlements are not identical. One case where this distinction
between a state, and a state official, and the entitlement to state immunity caused
confusion is The Queen on the application of Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha
and the CPS. 163

Mr Alamieyeseigha was the governor and chief executive of Bayelsa State, a constituent
part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was arrested in England and charged with
three offences of receiving corrupt payments and money laundering. He was alleged to
have abused his position as governor of Bayelsa State to benefit personally from the
award of contracts with Bayelsa State. On 7 October 2005 he was released on bail with
conditions, one of which was that he was not to go within three miles of any airport or
port.

163

[2005] EWHC 2704 (Admin).

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Mr Alamieyeseigha asked the Administrative Court to quash the decision to prosecute

him on the grounds that he was entitled to sovereign immunity in his capacity as
Governor and Chief Executive of Bayelsa State, a constituent part of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. He contended that Bayelsa State had sufficient autonomy under the
Nigerian Constitution, and a sufficient range of governmental functions so as to be
entitled to state immunity, and therefore he should be afforded immunity as the head of
Bayelsa State. The CPS said that Bayelsa was merely a constituent part of the Federal
State, and not entitled to state immunity, and that as Mr Alamieyeseigha could have no
better claim to state immunity than Bayelsa State, he was therefore also not entitled to
immunity.

The FCO issued a certificate under section 21 of the State Immunity Act 1978, which
recorded, among other matters that:

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a State for the purposes of Part 1 of the Act.
Bayelsa State is a constituent territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a federal
state for the purposes of part 1 of the Act. Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha is
the Governor and Chief Executive of Bayelsa State and is not to be regarded for the
purposes of Part 1 of the Act as Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

This certificate would have been conclusive in civil proceedings, and the Administrative
Court acknowledged that the certificate had to be of decisive importance, quoting Lord
Atkin in the case of Spain v. SS Arantzazu Mendi 164 One State cannot speak with
two voices on such a matter, the judiciary saying one thing, the executive another.
Despite this the Administrative court went on to consider whether Bayelsa State was to
be regarded as a state whose governor was entitled to state immunity. The court was
influenced by the case of Mellenger v New Brunswick Development Corporation, 165
where it was held that New Brunswick, a federal state of Canada had retained its
independence and autonomy directly under the Crown, and therefore the New
164

[1939] AC 256 at p. 264.

165

2 All ER 593 (1971).

129

Brunswick Development Corporation which was an arm or alter ego of the government
of New Brunswick was entitled to claim sovereign immunity. The court was also
influenced by Lord Browne-Wilkinson in the Pinochet case when he said at page 201H,
a head of state is entitled to the same immunity as the state itself. It was common
ground between the parties that if a state is entitled to immunity, then the head of state is
also therefore entitled to immunity, and the court said that this was the effect of section
20 of the State Immunity Act 1978. The Administrative Court said the issue on this
application is therefore whether Bayelsa State is entitled to state immunity. The court
went on to decide that Bayelsa State was not entitled to claim state immunity because it
had very limited powers, and that even those powers it had were subject to the
overriding powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and therefore Mr Alamaseigha
was not entitled to claim immunity.

It is submitted that the Administrative Court came to the correct conclusion, Mr

Alamaseigha was not entitled to immunity, but the court came to the conclusions for the
wrong reasons. The submission by the CPS that Mr Alamaseigha could have no better
claim to immunity than Bayelsa State was confusing. The immunity of a sovereign state,
and the immunity afforded to a states high state officials are not the same. A state
cannot be arrested or imprisoned. A state may be liable in civil proceedings whereas a
high state official is completely immune throughout the time the official is in office. The
question the Administrative Court should have asked was not whether Bayelsa State was
entitled to claim state immunity, but rather whether it was recognised as a sovereign
state under international law. If a state is a sovereign state, then its high state officials
are entitled to state immunity ratione personae.

This case confuses the fact that actions performed on behalf of a state may be immune,
with the fact that an entity representing the state may be entitled to immunity. It is only
individuals who represent the state who can have immunity ratione personae. Asking
whether a state has immunity is to ask the wrong question. The FCO issued a certificate
stating that Bayelsa State was not a sovereign state for the purposes of civil proceedings.
The Administrative Court said that the certificate was additional and decisive evidence

130

that Bayelsa State was not entitled to state immunity, and therefore Mr Alamieyeseigha
was not so entitled. The certificate should have been conclusive in this matter from the
beginning. Whether a state is sovereign or not, is a matter of fact, but is not the kind of
fact which it is appropriate for a municipal court to decide.

The head of a constituent state of a federation travels at his own peril if there are those
who wish to prosecute him. This was demonstrated in an application on 20 August 2003
for a warrant for the arrest of the Chief Minister of Gujurat for an offence of torture. 166
In February 2002 Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat, in
India. In that capacity he formulated state government policies and made policy
decisions. He was in charge of the police and government officials of the state of
Gujarat. On 27 February 2002 fifty eight Hindus died in the Godhra train incident,
when a train was set on fire in an attack attributed to Muslims. Mass violence followed
and at least two thousand people died, and between one hundred and two hundred
thousand people were displaced. The Gujarat government said it was a spontaneous
reaction. The applicant alleged it was deliberately organised and orchestrated. It was
alleged that the Gujarat state government ordered a number of surveys by the police to
obtain detailed information on Christians and Muslims in Gujarat, and that the lists were
used to pinpoint Muslim targets. It was also said that on the evening of 27 February
2002 two meetings were held, one by senior ministers from Mr. Modis cabinet at which
a plan was drawn up and disseminated detailing methods and strategies for revenge
killings, the second later that evening convened by Modi with the Commissioner of
Police of Ahmedabad, other police officers, the Home Secretary and the Secretary for
the Home Department. At this meeting Chief Minister Modi was alleged to have said
there would be justice for Godra in the next few days, and he ordered the police not to
come in the way of the Hindu backlash. Once the violence started the state
government refused to deploy the army for twenty-four hours.

166

Application for arrest warrant for Narendra Modi (Bow Street Magistrates Court. 20 August 2003)
(unreported).

131

The application for a warrant for the arrest of Mr Modi was made because he was in
England. His visit was reported in the Times of India on 19 August 2003, as Narendra
Modi began on Sunday a whistle-stop tour through Europe to re-brand Gujarat
internationally. Bow Street Court contacted the FCO who confirmed that Mr Modi
had been granted a visa, and that he was in England to promote an event called Vibrant
Gujurat, a global investment project to promote Gujarat abroad. The event was jointly
organised by the UN Industrial Development Organisation, the Federation of Indian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Indian Government.

The Senior District Judge considered the question of immunity although it was not
raised before him. He was not of the view that Mr Modi was entitled to any immunity
and refused the application on the basis that there was no evidence before him. He said
that another application could be made, if evidence was forthcoming. No such
application was made.

Conclusion

Heads of state, heads of government, foreign ministers, diplomats and members of

special missions have immunity from prosecution before the criminal courts of other
states. They are immune because of the position they occupy. Members of special
missions are immune if accepted in advance by the receiving state. Such immunities are
granted to enable the officials to perform their role on behalf of their state. These
officials who are entitled to immunity ratione personae are easily identifiable, and there
is a coherent reason for their immunity.

There are indications that state immunity ratione personae may extend to other ministers
or other state officials if they are representative of their state, and if their functions are
such that being involved in foreign affairs is an intrinsic part of their role.

State immunity ratione personae is the immunity of the state, in that it can be waived by
the state, but it a separate entitlement to immunity from that of the state, and it is not

132

dependent upon whether the state itself is immune. Immunity ratione personae is a wide
immunity in that covers all conduct before or after an official took office. Those entitled
to it are completely immune and inviolable. What happens after they leave office, do
they continue to be immune? This continuing immunity is known as immunity ratione
materiae. Immunity which attaches to conduct and which therefore continues after a
person leaves office. It is only applicable to conduct for which the state is entitled to
claim immunity. This is the subject of the next chapter in this thesis.

133

Immunity Ratione Materiae.

State officials are mere instrumentalities in the hands of sovereign States 167

Immunity ratione materiae is that aspect of state immunity which attaches to conduct
undertaken on behalf of the state. It is also known as subject matter immunity, or
immunity for official acts. Immunity ratione materiae prevents the immunity of a state
being circumvented by taking action against the states agents or officials. This principle
has been articulated and developed in civil cases. This is an established principle of law
first articulated by Sir George Jessel MR in Twycross v Dreyfuss 168 in 1877 when he
said You cannot sue the agent in the absence of the principal. The principal is the
Peruvian Government. You cannot sue the Peruvian Government at all, and therefore
you cannot sue its agents. This sounds a perfectly reasonable statement; it has been
quoted with approval and followed in subsequent cases; but when the facts of this case
are examined they generate sympathy for the claimants, and the principle does not seem
so self-evident.

In 1870 the Peruvian Government issued bonds for the construction of railways.
Dreyfuss Brothers were agents for the Peruvian Government. Mr Twycross bought
several bonds from the agents for which he paid over 3265. On each of the bonds was
printed a statement that, as a guarantee for the fulfilment of the obligations contracted in
the bond, the government of Peru under the national faith pledged the general
revenue of the Republic, and especially the profit from the sale of guano in Europe and
America. No interest was paid after 1875, despite guano being sent to the agents, and
being sold by them. Mr Twycross thought that the agents had defrauded him. He gave
notice of the proceedings to the Peruvian Republic, and offered to make the Peruvian
Republic a defendant in the action if it wished. The Peruvian Republic made no claim to
167

Prosecutor v Tihomir Blaskic. 29 October 1997. Appeals Chamber. ICTY. Judgment on the request of
the Republic of Croatia for review of the decision of the Trial Chamber II of 18 July 1997.
http://www.un.org/icty/blaskic/appeal/decision-e/71029JT3.html. para. 38.
168

18 April 1877. Court of Appeal. Twycross and others v Dreyfus Brothers and others. [1874-80] All ER
Rep 133.

134

the guano or the sale moneys, or to any interest in them, and otherwise took no part in
the action.

Sir George Jessel explained that the municipal law of this country does not enable our
tribunals to exercise any jurisdiction over foreign governments as such, The result is
these so called bonds amount to nothing more than engagements of honour binding the
government which issues them, but they are not contracts enforceable before the
ordinary tribunals of any foreign country, or even by the ordinary tribunals of the
country which issued them without the consent of the government of that country. The
bond in question confers no right of action on the plaintiffs. The Court of Appeal
decided that to sue the agents would, as James LJ said be a monstrous ursupation of
jurisdiction to endeavour to sue a foreign government indirectly by making its agents in
this country defendants and expressed the view that it would beindirectly
endeavouring to make the foreign government responsible to the jurisdiction of the
court. The court said that the agents may have a legitimate charge or lien on the guano,
but that this was not something the court could investigate. The fact the agents relied
upon state immunity leaves the impression that they did not wish their conduct to be
scrutinised by a court. The Peruvian Republic took no part in the proceedings at all,
except to say that it made no claim as regards the guano and the proceeds of the sale.
Peru neither claimed nor waived immunity, and this was not discussed by the court. The
proceedings appear to be very unfair to Mr Twycross. He had entered into what he
believed to be a contract with agents based in London, and those agents on the face of it
were behaving dishonestly, by holding onto money due to him under the contract, and
refusing to pay him. Mr Twycross was left with no legal recourse. The fact that the
agents were entitled to claim state immunity was accepted unequivocally at that time, as
demonstrated by the fact that the representatives for the agents were not called upon to
argue by the court. The court listened to counsel for Mr Twycross and the others who
had bought bonds, and then dismissed their claim without requiring argument from the
respondents. The Court of Appeal accepted without argument that this conduct by
agents was covered by state immunity.

135

One reason why this case seems unfair to todays reader is that the subject matter is a
contract, and the conduct would not now be protected by state immunity. If Mr
Twycross were to sue today he would have a hearing, and he would be told the facts
about the guano and any money from the sale. This is because states accept that not all
state conduct is covered by state immunity. This is the restrictive doctrine of state
immunity.

The Doctrine of Restrictive Immunity. Acta Jure Imperii and Acta Jure Gestionis

Until the twentieth century it was customary international law that a state could not be
sued in the domestic courts of a foreign state. Gradually during the twentieth century
customary international law developed to the point where a state could be sued in
contract for acts which a private individual could perform; that is for acta jure gestionis,
acts of a private nature. Whereas acta jure imperii, acts which are of a governmental or
sovereign nature were immune. The changes in international society were responsible
for this limitation on immunity, which is called the restrictive doctrine. States became
involved in trade, and entered into contracts. The analogy used is of a sovereign prince
becoming a trader and sullying his hands, or descending into the market place. In
modern society government departments enter into contracts. An embassy requires
food, stationery, and other provisions and services, such as water and power. An official
visit involves people whose needs have to be catered for. Consequently states enter into
contracts for the provision of goods and services such as the hire of vehicles and renting
or purchase of accommodation. The contracts for such goods and services are acta jure
gestionis, and the state can be sued on those contracts. A second restriction on the
doctrine of immunity also developed during the latter part of the twentieth century, in
tort, largely due to the use of motor vehicles. States are liable in tort for accidents and
the like, such as those involving motor vehicles. These restrictions upon immunity for
commercial matters, and for some torts, are now part of conventional 169 and customary

169

European Convention on State Immunity (1972) The State Immunity Convention.

136

international law and have been incorporated into the law of the UK 170 and other
states. 171 These are expressed in the form that states are immune, except as provided.

A parallel development in customary international law is the personal liability of

individuals once they leave office. Those individuals who have immunity ratione
personae that is immunity conferred because of personal status, such as serving heads of
state or government are personally liable for acts of a private nature, acta jure gestionis,
when they have left office, and their immunity ratione personae ceases. An ex head of
state is personally liable for debts he incurred whilst head of state if they are such as
could be incurred by a private citizen. This was first stated in the case of Ex-King
Farouk of Egypt v Christian Dior. 172 In Spring 1952 King Farouk of Egypt ordered
some expensive clothes for his wife from the couturier Christian Dior. The clothes were
delivered in Spring 1952 to the Kings private office. On 26 July 1952 King Farouk
abdicated and all his property in Egypt was seized and confiscated. The King was left
with no money and he could not pay for the clothes. Christian Dior sued him for the
amount he owed. It was argued on King Farouks behalf that he was not liable to pay the
debt because it was incurred when he was head of state and therefore immune. The
Court of Appeal in Paris held that from the date of his abdication he was no longer
entitled to claim the immunity from the jurisdiction of the French courts to which heads
of state are entitled. 173

When he entered into the contract King Farouk had immunity ratione personae because
he was head of state and he could not be sued. When he was no longer head of state he
lost the immunity that accompanied his status, and could be sued for acts of a private

170

State Immunity Act 1978.

171

USA Foreign States Immunity Act 1976 ILM 15 (1976) 1388, Canada State Immunity Act 1982 ILM
21 (1982) 798, Australia Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 ILM 25 (1986) 715.
172

France, Court of Appeal of Paris. 11 April 1957. 24 ILR 228.

173

This decision was followed by France in the Tribunal de Grande Instance of the Seine on 12 June 1963
in a further case against the former King and Queen of Egypt. They were sued by Societe Jean Desses for
non payment of 2,478,500 old francs plus interest for womens clothing purchased for Queen Narriman
between 17 May 1952 and 1 July 1952. The court held that the immunity from jurisdiction which the
former King of Egypt enjoyed had disappeared. 65 ILR 37.

137

nature. If the contract had been an official matter he would have immunity ratione
materiae, in which case the state would have been responsible for the debt.

A state is responsible for the actions of its officials, and a state may still be liable even if
the state official went beyond his authorisation, or acted outside his responsibility. 174 In
civil proceedings a state is liable for the actions of its officials which are acta jure
gestionis, acts such as a private person could perform, whether or not the state expressly
authorised such actions. A state has immunity in respect of conduct performed by state
officials if the conduct is an exercise of sovereign or governmental authority, acta jure
imperii, unless there is a specific exception such as torts involving the presence of motor
vehicles on the road. State officials have immunity ratione materiae, immunity because
they are acting on behalf of the state.

The justification for this immunity is that the conduct itself carries the immunity, and
the officials are not individually responsible for what they do. They are the agents or
servants of the state and do what the state requires of them. They do their duty, and are
therefore not responsible. The state is responsible, and to make the official responsible,
when the state is immune, would be to circumvent that immunity. Conversely it is the
duty of the state to protect its officials who are acting in the interests of the state. This
model of the responsibility of state officials portrays the state as an entity which is
bigger than the individuals who make it up. On the international plane the state is
responsible, but individuals are not. This justification does not fit easily in relation to
criminal proceedings, as criminal conduct is committed by individuals, and criminal
responsibility is that of the individual who committed the criminal conduct. To say that
the conduct was committed in the exercise of duty would be mitigation, not a defence in
criminal courts.

174
Oppenheims International Law. Footnote 17 at p. 545. ILC Draft Articles on Responsibilities of States
for Internationally Wrongful Acts 2001 articles 4 and 7 with commentaries annexed to GAR 56/83 12
December 2001. YBILC 2001, vol. II (Part two).

138

Immunity for acta jure imperii applies to individuals.

The principle articulated in Twycross v Dreyfuss that state agents cannot be sued if the
state itself cannot be sued, continues to apply to acta jure imperii. It is perceived to be
unfair, and there have been a number of attempts to overturn this principle, but it has
been consistently upheld in a number of jurisdictions in recent years, even for the most
serious of allegations. These cases will now be considered to see the rational for the
decisions and to identify what actions are considered official and carry with them
immunity in civil jurisdictions.
In the Church of Scientology case 175 the West German Federal Supreme Court decided
on 26 September 1978 that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police was immune
from proceedings in West Germany. New Scotland Yard made a report to the West
German police alleging offences of dishonesty by the Church of Scientology against its
members. The Church sought an injunction to restrain the head of New Scotland Yard
from making the allegations. The Supreme Court considered the Agreement on Mutual
Assistance in Criminal Matters 1961 made between the Federal Republic of Germany
and the UK and said that Scotland Yard, and consequently its head, was acting as the
expressly appointed agent of the British state for the performance of obligations under
the treaty, and that the acts of such agents are state conduct and cannot be attributed as
private activities to the person authorised to perform them. The court said: Any attempt
to subject state conduct to German jurisdiction by targeting the foreign agent
performing the act would undermine the absolute immunity of sovereign states in
respect of sovereign activity.

On 20 September 1990 the US District Court of Columbia considered this question in

the case of Herbage v Meese and others. 176 Mr. Alex Herbage, a British Citizen, was
extradited from the UK to the USA in December 1986, charged with offences of fraud
and deception. In August 1987 he pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud and was
175
176

65 ILR 193
[1990] ILR 101

139

sentenced in total to fifteen years imprisonment. He preserved the right to challenge the
courts jurisdiction and appealed. His appeal was refused. He sued alleging that US and
UK officials conspired to deprive him of due process under the constitution. He alleged
the original request for his extradition was false, that perjured evidence was given at the
extradition hearing, and that his specialty protection was breached. He wanted to sue
Douglas Hurd, the Home Secretary, Sir Thomas Hetherington, the Director of Public
Prosecutions(DPP), Detective Superintendent Roger Hoddinott of Hampshire
Constabulary, and Christopher Wilson-Smith and John Spokes both barristers who
appeared for the DPP in the English court proceedings.

The British defendants argued that they were entitled to immunity as officials of a
foreign state. The US District Court decided that the FSIA was enacted to codify
sovereign immunity in the United States, and that that Act is the sole basis for
obtaining jurisdiction. 177 The FSIA does not discuss the liability or role of natural
persons, whether governmental officials or private citizens. Mr. Herbage asserted that he
was not suing a foreign sovereign, but suing the British defendants, solely, in their
individual capacity. The court found that the actions complained of were ones that the
British officials could have taken only in their official capacities, they were acting as
law enforcement officers, and that the logical approach was to find that immunity under
the FSIA covered officials for a government does not act but through its agents. The
court went on to say that the standard for determining whether immunity is warranted
does not depend on the identity of the person or entity, so much as the nature of the act
for which the person or entity is claiming immunity.

Mr Herbage also argued that the British defendants could not have immunity because
they were acting illegally. The court found that no matter how serious the allegations,
as the British defendants were government officials, and their actions were sovereign or
governmental in nature, the court had no jurisdiction. The case against the American
defendants was dismissed for lack of evidence. The United States court would not
177

Argentine Republic v Amerada Hess Shipping Corp., 488 U.S. 428, 109 S. Ct. 683, 688, 102 L.Ed.2d
818 (1989).

140

inquire into the actions of the defendants once the court decided they were UK officials
carrying out governmental activities.

A similar submission was considered in Canada in the Ontario Court of Appeals in Jaffe
v Miller and Others. 178 On 17 June 1993 that court held that functionaries of a sovereign
state were entitled to immunity to the extent that the state itself was granted immunity.
Mr. Jaffe was involved in litigation in Florida regarding mortgages. He alleged that
there was a conspiracy in Florida to extort a settlement in that case. Mr Jaffe said that
false charges were laid in Florida, and that he was induced to return to Florida from
Toronto in order to respond to a subpoena in the civil matter, and that he was then
arrested on the criminal charge, about which he did not know.

Mr. Jaffe was released on a bail bond and returned to Toronto. There were then two
unsuccessful applications made to extradite Mr. Jaffe to Florida. The judicial authorities
in Florida instructed two bail bondsmen to abduct Mr Jaffe in Toronto. This was done
and he was returned to Florida and was imprisoned on 24 September 1981. He was
convicted on 11 February 1982 of the criminal charge and sentenced to 135 years
imprisonment. On 2 September 1983 he successfully appealed, and on 11 October 1983
he was released from prison and allowed to return to Toronto. Mr Jaffe sued for
damages in tort for malicious prosecution and conspiracy to kidnap, and false
imprisonment. The defendants who claimed state immunity were the Attorney General
of the State of Florida, the Florida State Attorney, an Assistant State Attorney, an
investigator for the office of the State Attorney, and a Florida State lawyer. The
defendants, who claimed state immunity, all occupied offices created under the Florida
State constitution or by statute.

The Ontario Court of Appeal considered the Canadian State Immunity Act 1982, which
was passed to implement the restrictive doctrine of immunity as it had evolved in
international customary law into Canadian domestic law. The court considered the
purpose of the immunity, and said that immunity must apply to state officials otherwise
178

[1994] ILR 446.

141

it could be avoided by suing the functionaries of a state, and this would render the State
Immunity Act ineffective. The court found that the defendants were functionaries of the
State of Florida, and that, when acting within the scope of their duties, they were entitled
to state immunity. It is the United States of America which is entitled to state immunity,
and therefore employees, and functionaries of the United States who are entitled to
immunity when acting within the scope of their duties. Officials of an internal division
of a state can only have immunity if their conduct is official, in that it is of a sovereign
nature. The Ontario Court of Appeal did not analyse the relationship between central
and state government, and accepted that as functionaries, the officials who were sued
were entitled to immunity. The officials were all involved in law enforcement which is a
sovereign activity.

The English courts and the European Court of Human Rights considered whether
individuals could be sued for official conduct in the case of Al-Adsani v Government of
Kuwait and Others. Mr. Al-Adsani had dual nationality, being both a British national
and a Kuwaiti citizen. At the time of the Gulf war he was a member of the Kuwait
airforce, and after Kuwait was invaded by Iraq he remained in Kuwait as a member of
the resistance movement. He came into possession of embarrassing sexual videotapes
belonging to Sheikh Al-Sabah, a man of influence in Kuwait, who was related to the
Emir of Kuwait. The contents of the tapes became common knowledge causing great
offence to the Sheikh, and the Sheikh blamed Mr. Al-Adsani for stealing the tapes and
other valuables from his house.

Mr. Al-Adsani alleged that on 2 May 1991, after the Iraqis were expelled from Kuwait,
he was kidnapped by the Sheikh and two others, taken to the Kuwait State Security
prison where he was falsely imprisoned and beaten by security guards, to make him sign
a false confession, and when he signed on 5 May 1991 he was released. He asserted that
the security guards were acting as the servants or agents of the State of Kuwait, and that
their treatment of him amounted to torture. Mr Al-Adsani said that he was again
abducted at gunpoint by the Sheikh and the two others on 7 May 1991. He said he was
taken in a government car to the Emir of Kuwaits brothers palace, where he was

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tortured and seriously burned. He was taken to hospital in Kuwait, and then on 17 May
1991 he was flown to England, and spent six weeks in hospital being treated for burns
covering twenty five percent of his body. He alleged that he was threatened after his
return to England and that this aggravated his post-traumatic stress disorder.

He tried to sue the State of Kuwait, the Sheikh, and the two others, in the English courts,
for damages. The proceedings have a complicated history, and although he tried to issue
proceedings against the Government of Kuwait for a decade, he was not allowed to do
so. The facts as narrated are as asserted by Mr. Al-Adsani, and were disputed by
Kuwait.
Mr. Al-Adsani appealed to the Court of Appeal 179, contending that a state was entitled to
immunity only in respect of acts which were not contrary to international law, and that
since torture was a violation of a rule of jus cogens, the Government of Kuwait was not
entitled to immunity. The Government of Kuwait did not accept that the alleged conduct
by the security guards, if it occurred, was committed by them as its servants or agents,
and it asserted that it was entitled to immunity. The Court of Appeal found that the State
Immunity Act 1978 bestowed immunity upon sovereign states for acts committed
outside the jurisdiction, and that as Mr. Al-Adsani had not established on the balance of
probabilities that the Kuwaiti Government was responsible for the threats made in
England, there was no case to answer on that point. On 27 November 1976 Mr. AlAdsani was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords, and he also failed to obtain
compensation from the Government of Kuwait by diplomatic channels. He took his case
to the European Court of Human Rights 180 claiming that, by according Kuwait immunity
the UK had violated his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR).

The European Court of Human Rights found that there was no breach of article 3 of the
ECHR as the alleged torture did not take place in the UK, and as the UK authorities did
179

107 ILR 536.

180

(2001) 34 EHRR 273.

143

not have any causal connection with what was alleged, the UK was not under a duty to
provide a civil remedy to Mr Al-Adsani in respect of torture allegedly carried out by the
Kuwaiti authorities.

The European court found that the grant of sovereign immunity to a state in civil
proceedings pursued the legitimate aim of complying with international law to promote
comity and good relations between states; that the passing of the State Immunity Act
1978 was to incorporate in English law the rules of international law relating to state
immunity; and that the application of the provisions of that Act to uphold Kuwaits
claim to immunity was a justified restriction on the applicants access to the court.
Another English case is Propend Finance Pty and Others v Sing and Others. 181 This
litigation related to conduct in England, the forum state, and the actions of law
enforcement officers. Allegations of contempt of court were made against Australian
officials in the UK. Contempt proceedings are quasi-criminal as the possible penalties
are fines and imprisonment which are imposed on individuals; but as the proceedings
were heard in the civil court the State Immunity Act 1978 applies.

On the 27 August 1993 the Australian Attorney-General requested assistance from the
UK government in a criminal investigation into alleged tax evasion in Australia by a
group of companies including Propend Finance Property Ltd. The Australian authorities
requested the search of the offices of solicitors and accountants to recover documents it
was believed would be of assistance in the investigation.

On 26 October 1993 Detective Constable Fryer made a successful application at the

Central Criminal Court for search warrants. Detective Constable Fryer was accompanied
by Superintendent Sing of the Australian Federal Police Force, who was an accredited
diplomat at the Australian High Commission, his title being First Secretary (Police
Liaison). The role of liaison officer was stated to be to represent the interests of the
Australian Federal Police on matters of law enforcement, in particular, to receive and
181

Court of Appeal (Civil Division) 17 April 1997. The Times 2 May 1997. (Transcript: Smith Bernal).

144

distribute crime intelligence at post and to facilitate provision of crime intelligence to

Australian police forces.

The warrants were executed on 27 October 1993 and documents were seized. On 29
October 1993 the Secretary of State authorised the Australian High Commission to
transmit the evidence directly to the authorities in Australia, and Superintendent Sing
took possession of the documents, and took them to the Australian High Commission.

The solicitors and those being investigated in Australia took judicial review
proceedings, requesting that the warrants be quashed. On 29 October 1993 they made an
application for an injunction to prevent the removal of the seized documents from
England, and to prevent their use in the criminal investigation in Australia, until the
legality of the issuance of the warrants and the consequent seizure of the documents had
been decided. Superintendent Sing attended the application represented by counsel and
he gave an undertaking to the Divisional Court that until 5pm on 5 November 1993 the
documents seized on 27 October 1993 or copies thereof would not be removed from the
jurisdiction of the court or from the Australian High Commission in London, and in
particular, Superintendent Sing agreed that copies of the documents would not be faxed
anywhere, and that there would be compliance with the tenor and spirit of the
undertaking. On 1 November 1993, which was the first working day after he gave the
undertaking, the Superintendent faxed extracts from the seized documents to Australia,
but this did not come to the attention of the parties until later.

On 13 December 1993 a consent order was made in the Divisional Court that the
documents should be sealed, removed from the High Commission, and not used in any
way until the final determination of the proceedings. On the 17 March 1994 the decision
to issue the warrants, and the decision to authorise the direct transmission of the
documents, were quashed by the Divisional Court, 182 and the government of Australia
agreed that the documents should not be disclosed, and should be destroyed.

182

R v CCC, ex parte Propend Finance Property Ltd and Another. [1996] 2 Cr App R 26.

145

It was not until the end of 1994 that it came to the attention of those who were the
subject of investigation that the documents had been faxed to Australia, copied and
distributed there. In a letter dated 31 October 1994 the Attorney General of Australia
admitted that the fax had been sent on 1 November 1993. Propend and others took
proceedings against Superintendent Sing and the Commissioner of the Australian
Federal Police Force for contempt of court. They alleged that Superintendent Sing was
in breach of the undertaking made on 29 October 1993 and that the Commissioner was
vicariously liable for the actions of the Superintendent.

The Divisional Court found that the Superintendent was immune as he was an
accredited diplomat and had been acting in that capacity, but found that the
Commissioner was not immune. The Divisional Court had heard evidence about the
status of the Australian Federal Police in Australia, and concluded that the police
occupied a similar position to the police in the UK, being holders of an independent
office under the Crown, fulfilling public duties of maintenance and enforcement of the
law. The court found that the references to the government in section 14(1) were to the
executive branch of the government, and rejected as apparently bizarre the
conclusion accepted by Professor Crawford, the expert for the Commissioner, that every
member of the Australian Federal Police was part of the executive government of
Australia. The court said this would lead to the result that every bailiff, every tipstaff,
many local authority officials, and other who enjoy or are burdened with public power
under Act of Parliament are, likewise, members of the executive government which
result the court considered to be absurd.
Both parties appealed, and on the 17 April 1997 the Court of Appeal 183 found that both
the Superintendent and the Commissioner were immune, the Superintendent having both
diplomatic and state immunity, whilst the Commissioner had state immunity, and the
proceedings against him were misconceived.

183

Propend Finance Pty and Others v Sing and Others. The Times 2 May 1997, (Transcript: Smith
Bernal).

146

Propend and the others submitted that once Superintendent Sing left office he was no
longer entitled to diplomatic immunity, because he had not performed the relevant acts
in the exercise of his functions as a member of the mission. They said that when he gave
the undertaking on 29 October 1993 and broke it a few days later he was acting as an
officer of the Australian Federal Police, and in no other capacity. They said he had two
roles, that of a diplomat responsible for liaison between the governments of Australia
and the UK police forces in relation to criminal investigations and matters of mutual
concern, and secondly as an officer of the Australian Federal Police discharging police
duties, and that in giving the undertaking and breaking it a few days later the
Superintendent was acting as a police officer.

The Court of Appeal found that the actions of the Superintendent were performed in the
exercise of his functions as a member of the mission. The Australian government had an
interest in the satisfactory operation of the Commonwealth scheme for mutual
assistance, the stated purpose of which is to increase the level and scope of assistance
rendered between Commonwealth governments in criminal matters. In co-operating as
he did in the application made by DC Fryer the Superintendent was exercising his
functions as the High Commissions Police Liaison Officer.

The court did not directly consider what it was the Superintendent did, the assisting in
the application for the search warrants is not the action complained of here, rather the
giving of the undertaking, and then breaking that undertaking. Although the court does
not say so in as many words, the decision means that those actions must also be part of
the functions of a diplomat, who is a Police Liaison Officer. Is it really in the interests of
mutual assistance for an official to give an undertaking to a foreign court knowing that
he is going to break it, and then for him to send evidence to his own state for use in that
state, knowing that it is alleged to have been obtained illegally.

The Court of Appeal then went on to consider the case against the Commissioner, which
was put on the basis that the person holding that office was vicariously liable for the
actions of the Superintendent. The court said that if it were necessary it would have

147

dismissed the proceedings against the Commissioner on the ground that they palpably
lacked any conceivable merit the Commissioner not being a party to the making of the
undertaking, but that as state immunity applied that was unnecessary. The court found
that both the Commissioner and Superintendent Sing were entitled to state immunity
within section 14(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978.

The Court of Appeal thought the Divisional Court had become confused by the concept
of the separation of powers within a state, and who is a state official for the purposes of
state immunity. The Court of Appeal said that although there is an understandable
reluctance to characterise the activities of either police or judges as governmental, both
police and judicial functions are sovereign activities for the purposes of state immunity.

These cases are a continuous line of authority that state immunity cannot be
circumvented by suing individual officials instead of the state. The question is a
troublesome one, particularly when state immunity prevents the responsibility of
individuals for torture from being litigated. There is a perception that state immunity
protects individuals from liability, and the victims of torture continue to try to use the
courts to obtain redress for ill treatment. In 2006 in Jones v Ministry of the Interior 184
the House of Lords unanimously confirmed that if a state is immune in civil proceedings
then the officials of the state are also immune, even when the allegation is torture, and
jus cogens.

In this case two actions which raised the same point were joined together. Mr Jones was
injured in a bomb blast outside a Riyadh book store on 15 March 2001, and hospitalised
for a day. He was arrested, and held in solitary confinement, for sixty seven days. He
alleged that he was systematically tortured during that time. He wanted to sue for
damages for assault and battery, trespass to the person, torture and unlawful
imprisonment. Mr Jones said that following his release and return to England he
suffered post traumatic stress disorder, and depression, necessitating treatment, and was
unable to work. Mr Jones issued High Court proceedings against the Kingdom of Saudi
184

[2005] QB 699.

148

Arabia and Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Aziz, who was described as a servant or agent of
the Kingdom.

The second claim was made by Sandy Mitchell and Leslie Walker, both British citizens
and William Sampson, a Canadian citizen, against four Saudi Arabian individuals,
Ibrahim Al-Dali, a Major in the Saudi Arabian police force, Khalid Al-Saleh, a
lieutenant in the Saudi Arabian police force, Mohamed al Said, a Colonel in the Minister
of Interior and Deputy Governor of the Al Hair prison, and Prince Naif, head of the
Ministry of the Interior with responsibility for the matters of domestic security and
domestic and foreign intelligence including the police service and the prison service.
The claim was for assault and negligence as regards the Colonel al Said and Prince Naif
as they were said to be responsible for detainees within the criminal justice system in the
Kingdom.

All of the claimants alleged severe, systematic and injurious torture, and exhibited
medical reports substantiating their claims. Saudi Arabia denied the allegations. In the
Court of Appeal, the claimants contended that state immunity was incompatible with
article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court of Appeal found
that Saudi Arabia was immune, but allowed the appeal against refusal to serve the
individual defendants on the basis that it can no longer be appropriate to give blanket
effect to a foreign states claim to state immunity ratione materiae in respect of a state
official alleged to have committed acts of systematic torture. 185 Saudi Arabia and the
claimants both appealed to the House of Lords.

The House of Lords were unanimous in their decision that state immunity applied. Lord
Bingham gave a judgment with which all the judges agreed. Lord Bingham noted that
neither the State Immunity Act 1978 nor the 1972 European Convention expressly
provide for the case where proceedings are brought against the servants or agents,
officials or functionaries of a foreign state in respect of acts done by them as such in the
foreign state. He then cited a number of cases including those referred to earlier in this
185

Jones v The Ministry of the Interior. [2005] Q.B. 699. Lord Justice Mance at para. 92.

149

part of this chapter, saying that the authorities showed that the foreign state is entitled to
claim immunity for its servants and he considered article 2(1)(b)(iv) of the State
Immunity Convention in which State is defined to mean representatives of the State
acting in that capacity, and also article 6(2)(b) of the Convention which provides A
proceeding before a court of a State shall be considered to have been instituted against
another State if that other state (b) is not named as a party to the proceeding but the
proceeding in effect seeks to affect the property, rights, interests or activities of that
other state. He said at paragraph 12 of the judgment that a state may claim immunity
for any act for which it is, in international law, responsible, save where an established
exception applies.

Lord Bingham at paragraph 13 of his judgment said that taking the pleadings at face
value certain conclusions were inescapable.

1. That all the individual defendants were at the material times acting or purporting
to act as servants or agents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
2. That their acts were accordingly attributable to Saudi Arabia.
3. That no distinction is to be made between the claim against Saudi Arabia and the
claim against the personal defendants; and
4. That none of these claims falls within any of the exceptions specified in the 1978
Act.

and that on a straightforward application of the 1978 Act, it would follow that the Saudi
Arabias claim to immunity for itself and its servants or agents should succeed, as this
allegations were not a specified exception, and therefore the general rule of immunity
prevailed.

Lord Bingham considered the case of Al-Adsani in which the European Court of Human
Rights held that the grant of sovereign immunity to a state in civil proceedings pursued
the legitimate aim of complying with international law to promote comity and good
relations between states through the respect of another states sovereignty.

150

Lord Bingham said four arguments were compelling, first, in the light of the Arrest
Warrant decision; state immunity does override a prohibition on crimes against
humanity, another international crime having the status of jus cogens. Secondly the
Torture Convention does not provide for universal civil jurisdiction. Thirdly the State
Immunity Convention provides no exception from immunity where civil claims are
made for torture, and fourthly there was no evidence that states have recognised or given
effect to an international law obligation to exercise universal jurisdiction over claims
arising from alleged breaches of peremptory norms of international law. He said that as
the rule on immunity was well-understood and established, and no relevant exception
was generally accepted, the rule prevailed. It followed that part 1 of the 1978 Act was
not shown to be disproportionate as inconsistent with a peremptory norm of
international law, and its application did not infringe the claimants convention rights.

In the Court of Appeal Mance LJ had ignored the description of Colonel Abdul Aziz as
a servant or agent and the Master of the Rolls considered this description irrelevant
and arguably embarrassing. Lord Bingham said there was no principled reason for this
departure as A state can only act through servants and agents; their official acts are
acts of the State; and the states immunity in respect of them is fundamental to the
principle of immunity. Lord Hoffman was also of the opinion that both the Kingdom
and the state officials were protected by state immunity. At paragraph 68 of the
judgment he said quoting Leggatt LJ in Propend state immunity affords individual
employees or officers of a foreign state protection under the same cloak as protects the
state itself.

This approach means that the official is immune only if the state is immune, and this
rationale means that the immunity continues to apply to officials after they have left
office. The fact that the officials actions are attributable to the state for the purposes of
state responsibility is linked to the question of whether the conduct is official for the
purposes of the law of state immunity. A state may claim immunity for any act for

151

which it is in international law responsible unless an established exception to immunity

applies.

These cases demonstrate that neither a state, nor state officials can be held civilly liable
before the courts of foreign states even for very serious criminal offences such as
kidnapping and perverting the course of justice, or for breaches of peremptory norms
such as torture, if such conduct is acta jure imperii. The state is immune, and that
immunity cannot be circumvented by pursuing the state officials. The courts in the US,
Canada and the UK all agree that it is the state that is responsible for official actions,
and an individual cannot be held to be individually responsible in civil proceedings.

The case of Jones v. the Ministry of the Interior highlighted the difference between civil
and criminal cases. In civil cases there can be only one liability, and one entitlement for
compensation, and therefore if the state is immune, the responsible officials must also be
immune. The same is not true of criminal proceedings. The fact that a state is civilly
responsible does not relieve an individual of criminal responsibility which had been
recognised in international law since the affirmation of the Nuremberg principles by the
UN General assembly in 1946. 186

Some officials who have immunity ratione personae will continue to have immunity
ratione materiae after they leave office in respect of official conduct. That is, they will
have continuing immunity attaching to conduct they performed whilst they held office
and were entitled to immunity ratione personae. The next part of this chapter will look at
who has continuing immunity after leaving office.

Continuing Immunity.

As shown in the previous chapter there are a limited number of state officials who have
immunity ratione personae, that is immunity whilst they hold the position which carries
with it immunity. These officials who enjoy immunity because of their position within a
186

GAR 95(I)

152

society retire from office sooner or later, and what is their position then. When these
officials have left office, do they have continuing immunity from prosecution for
offences in foreign states? Do ex-diplomats and ex-state officials have continuing
immunity from prosecution for criminal offences before the domestic courts of foreign
states, in respect of crimes committed whilst they were in office? Can they travel freely
safe from the threat of prosecution?

Article 39.2 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 says that
diplomatic privileges and immunity normally cease at the moment the diplomat leaves
the country, but that with respect to acts performed in the exercise of his functions as a
member of the mission immunity continues to subsist.

Consular officials and employees are a group of officials who have immunity only for
their official conduct, by article 43 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
they are not amenable to the jurisdiction of the receiving state in respect of acts
performed in the exercise of consular functions. They are state officials with limited
immunity ratione personae. They have immunity because they are consular officials but
only in respect of their official actions. Their status as consular officials does not carry
with it immunity for all of their actions, but because they are recognised consular
officials their official conduct carries with it immunity. If a person who was not a
consular official performed the actions of a consular official his actions would not carry
immunity. By article 43.2 of the Convention on Special Missions the immunity of
members of special missions continues for acts performed in the exercise of the
members functions.

What about ex-sovereigns, ex-heads of state and other ex-foreign ministers, do they
have continuing immunity? The position of a foreign minister, and by analogy that of
the head of government and that of the head of state was considered by the ICJ, in the
Arrest Warrant Case. 187 In considering the question of immunity from jurisdiction, the
ICJ emphasised that that immunity did not mean impunity in respect of any crimes,
187

128 ILR 1.

153

which such a minister may have committed, no matter how serious. The court said in
paragraph 60 of the judgement that immunity from criminal jurisdiction and individual
criminal responsibility are separate concepts. Jurisdictional immunity is procedural in
nature, whereas criminal responsibility is a question of substantive law. Jurisdictional
immunity may bar prosecution for a certain period or for certain offences but it does not
exonerate the person to whom it applies from all criminal responsibility.

In paragraph 61 the ICJ outlined four situations in which an incumbent or former foreign
minister would not enjoy immunity, and the third exception was once the person ceased
to hold office a court of a foreign state could prosecute him for acts committed before or
after he took office, and for acts committed during his time in office in a private
capacity. 188 This is defining the immunity by what it does not include, as opposed to
what it does cover. This exclusionary description must mean that the continuing
immunity is for actions performed during the time that office is held, for actions that are
part of his official functions in whatever office is held. That a person entitled to
immunity ratione personae can only be prosecuted for illegal private actions performed
when in office, after they have left office.

What the ICJ did not consider was the position of Mr Yerodia at the time the court gave
judgment, when he was no longer in office. The warrant was cancelled because the
issuance of it was a breach of the immunity owed to Belgium, because Mr Yerodia was
foreign minister when it was issued. If a second warrant had been issued after Mr
Yerodia had left office would Mr Yerodia have been able to claim state immunity? The
answer is no, unless he could show that the offence was committed during his period of
office, and was not in a private capacity. The allegation was of grave breaches of the
Geneva Conventions. Immunity and international crimes are considered in a later
chapter in this thesis.

188
The other exceptions are that there is no immunity in the ministers own country; there is no immunity
if the state which they represent decides to waive that immunity; and here is no immunity before certain
international tribunals.

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As explained in an earlier chapter, section 20(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978 is
confusing as it says that the Diplomatic Privileges Act applies to a sovereign or other
head of state as it applies to the head of a diplomatic mission subject to any necessary
modifications. The position of a head of state is different from that of a head of a
diplomatic mission. In particular the head of a diplomatic mission is accepted by the
receiving state. He may be recalled or refused, and he does not represent his state at all
times. The House of Lords considered the section in Pinochet (No 3) and decided that,
as a former head of state, Pinochet enjoyed immunity ratione materiae in relation to acts
done by him as head of state as part of his official functions as head of state. The House
of Lords found by six to one that Pinochet was not entitled to continuing immunity as a
former head of state for offences of torture, but by five to two that he was entitled to
continuing immunity for offences of murder and conspiracy to murder committed on the
territory of Spain. The allegations the House of Lords had to consider when deciding
Pinochets immunity will be looked at further later in this chapter. In summary the
following persons are said to have continuing immunity for official acts:

1. Diplomats have continuing immunity with respect to acts performed in the

exercise of functions as a member of the diplomatic mission.
2. Consular officials have continuing immunity in respect of acts performed in the
exercise of consular functions.
3. Members of special missions have continuing immunity in respect of acts
performed in the exercise of his functions as a member of the mission.
4. An ex-head of state has continuing immunity in respect of acts performed by him
in the exercise of his functions as head of state
5. An ex-head of government, or other minister entitled to immunity ratione
personae, such as a minister for foreign affairs, has continuing immunity in
respect of acts performed in the exercise of his functions as head of government
or minister.

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What Conduct is Official and carries with it Immunity?

In civil cases continuing immunity ratione materiae is granted to former high state
officials, who originally had immunity ratione personae. It is granted for conduct
performed in the exercise of their functions, in other words for acta jure imperii. What
kind of conduct does this encompass? One of the earliest cases is Hatch v Baez, a case
heard in the United States in 1876. 189 Buenaventura Baez, the defendant-respondent, was
President of the Dominican Republic four times, between 1849 and 1874. He was
opposed to the Dominican Republic being ruled by Spain, and in 1870 he attempted to
have the country annexed by the United States, but the United States senate refused to
ratify a treaty of annexation. Baez lost the Presidency. He went to the United States of
America where he was granted asylum. He was living in New York when he was
arrested, in an action against him by the plaintiff-appellant, for injuries sustained at the
hands of the defendant in Santo Domingo. The facts of the allegation against Baez are
not very clear from the judgement, which says:

The wrongs and injuries of which the plaintiff complains were inflicted upon him by
the government of St. Domingo, while he was residing in that country, and was in all
respects subject to its laws. They consist of acts done by the defendant in his official
capacity of president of that republic.

The question for the court was whether Baez was subject to the jurisdiction of the court
for those acts. The counsel for the plaintiff argued that as a matter of general principle,
all persons, of whatever rank or condition, whether in or out of office, are liable to be
sued for acts done by them in violation of the law. Gilbert, J. whilst accepting the truth
and universality of that principle, said that it did not establish the jurisdiction of the
court to take cognisance of the official acts of foreign governments, as it was an
established rule of international law, that the courts of one country cannot judge the acts
of another country, done within its own territory.

189

7 Hun 596 (1876)

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It was also argued on behalf of the plaintiff that Baez no longer had immunity because
he was no longer president of the Dominican Republic. This argument was rejected on
the basis that the immunity continued as:

The acts of the defendant for which he is sued were done by him in the exercise of that
part of the sovereignty of St Domingo which belongs to the executive department of that
governmentThe fact that the defendant has ceased to be president of St Domingo
does not destroy his immunity. That springs from the capacity in which the acts were
done, and protects the individual who did them, because they emanated from a foreign
and friendly government.

This is a case involving actions done by a head of state, in his own state, who is sued in
a foreign state after he has left office. He is present during the proceedings, and the
courts of the foreign state decided that, as a former head of state, he had continuing
immunity ratione materiae because the actions of which he was accused were an
exercise of sovereignty. His immunity is the immunity of the state.

Is the law the same for criminal prosecutions? Not all official acts carry immunity for
individuals against criminal prosecution. International tribunals such as the ICTY, the
ICTR and the ICC have jurisdiction to prosecute offences of war crimes, crimes against
humanity and torture. In Pinochet (No 3) the House of Lords said that there is no
continuing immunity for conduct which amounts to official torture. The extent if any
of continuing immunity for international crimes will be considered later in this thesis.
The next part of this chapter will look at the ordinary crimes that Pinochet was accused
of having committed, and what the courts decided in respect of his immunity for those
offences.

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Pinochet, An Ex-Head of State, Had Continuing Immunity for What Conduct?

Pinochet was alleged to be the instigator and primary player in a conspiracy to commit
widespread and systematic torture and murder in order to obtain and maintain control of
the government of Chile. If Chile, where the conspiracy was based, had been requesting
his extradition then there would have been no difficulty about his being extradited. The
conduct alleged would have been extradition offences, as the conduct occurred mainly
in Chile, and he would not have been entitled to immunity as Chile, the state entitled to
assert immunity would have been requesting his extradition. But Chile was not asking
for his extradition, Spain was. Therefore there were two questions:

1. Was the alleged conduct an extradition offence?

2. Was Pinochet entitled to state immunity?

The House of Lords in Pinochet (No.3) decided to answer the question, what if any of
alleged conduct was an extradition crime, first, for if none of the conduct was an
extradition crime, then the question of immunity would not arise.

The original charge in the first provisional warrant dated 16 October 1998 was that
between the 11th September 1973 and the 31st December 1983 within the jurisdiction of
the Fifth Central Magistrates Court of the National Court of Madrid did murder Spanish
Citizens in Chile within the jurisdiction of the Government of Spain. This warrant was
quashed by the Divisional Court as the murder of Spanish citizens in Chile was not an
extradition offence. The second provisional warrant issued on 22 October 1998 alleged
offences of:

Torture between 1 January 1988 and December 1992

Conspiracy to torture between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 1992

Hostage-taking and conspiracy to take hostages between 1 January 1982 and 31

January 1992 and

Conspiracy to murder between January 1976 and December 1992.

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Before the question whether Pinochet could be extradited was considered for a second
time by the House of Lords, the formal request for extradition signed in Madrid on 3
November 1988 was received by the British Government. The request was considered
by the Secretary of State who issued an authority to proceed, under section 7(4)
Extradition Act 1989, on 9 December 1998. If the Secretary of State had decided not to
issue his authority to proceed, then the extradition proceedings could not have
continued. The authority to proceed specified which offences the defendant could be
extradited for, and did not specify the offence of genocide. If it had the conduct alleged
would not have been an extradition crime as at that time genocide in England was not an
extraterritorial offence.

On 10 December 1998 the Spanish indictment was preferred in Madrid, and on 24

December 1998 further particulars were drafted and sent to the Secretary of State in
accordance with Article 13 of the European Convention on Extradition. The House of
Lords was considering whether to quash the second provisional warrant, but events had
moved on with the provision of the request and further information from Spain and the
issuance of the authority to proceed. The House of Lords decided that the Spanish
judicial authorities were entitled to supplement the information which was originally
provided in order to define more clearly the charges which were the subject of the
request, and that the House could have regard to all of the material which was then
available. There were complex and difficult legal questions regarding whether the
conduct alleged amounted to extradition crimes, as double criminality was required, and
extra-territoriality and retrospectivity had to be considered. Most of the alleged conduct
took place in Chile in or about 1973. Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act which
made official torture an extraterritorial crime under English law came into force on 29
September 1989, and section 4(1) of the Suppression of Terrorism Act 1978 which gave
extraterritorial jurisdiction for the offence of murder in a convention country came into
force on 21 August 1978. 190
190

S.I. 1978 No. 1063 giving force to the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism of 27
January 1977.

159

The information from Spain alleged that Pinochet was party to a conspiracy to commit
the crimes of murder, torture and hostage-taking, and that this conspiracy was formed
before the coup. He was said to have agreed with other members of the military that
they would take over the government and subdue all opposition by kidnap and torture.
The purpose of the campaign of torture was not just to inflict pain; it was to terrify
potential opposition. Some of those who were tortured were to be released to warn
others and some of them were to be killed. The plan was to be executed in Chile and
several other countries outside Chile.

The information said the conspiracy was put into effect, and victims were abducted,
tortured and murdered in Chile, and then in other countries in South America, in the
United States and in Europe. Many of the acts evidencing the conspiracy were said to
have been committed in Chile before 11 September 1973, the date of the coup. Some
people were tortured at a naval base in August 1973. Large numbers of persons were
abducted, tortured and murdered on 11 September 1973 in the course of the coup, before
the junta took control and Pinochet was appointed its President. These acts continued
during a period of repression following the coup. The conspiracy was said to have
continued for several years thereafter, but to have declined in intensity during the decade
before Pinochet retired as head of state on 11 March 1990. The acts committed in other
countries outside Chile were said to be evidence both of the primary conspiracies and a
variety of sub-conspiracies within those states.

Draft charges were prepared in order to translate the broad accusations into terms of
English law and were summarised by Lord Hope as:

Charges 1, 2 and 5. Conspiracy to torture between 1 January 1972 and 10

September 1973 and between 1 August 1973 and 1 January 1990.

Charge 3. Conspiracy to take hostages between 1 August 1973 and 1 January

1990

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Charge 4. Conspiracy to torture in furtherance of which murder was committed

in various countries including Italy, France, Spain and Portugal between 1
January 1972 and 1 January 1990.

Charges 6 and 8 (there is no charge 7). Torture between 1 August 1973 and 8
August 1973 and on 11 September 1973.

Charges 9 and 12. Conspiracy to murder in Spain between 1 January 1975 and
31 December 1976 and in Italy on 6 October 1975.

Charges 10 and 11. Attempted murder in Italy on 6 October 1975.

Charges 13 to 29 and 31 to 32. Torture on various occasions between 11

September 1973 and May 1977.

Charge 30. Torture on 24 June 1989.

Lord Hope, at page 231H to page 232B of the judgment, analysed the allegations and he
said that charge 4 alleged that in furtherance of the agreement about four thousand
persons of many nationalities were murdered in Chile and in various other countries
outside Chile. Two other charges, charges 9 and 12, alleged conspiracy to murder, in
one case of a man in Spain, and in the other of two people in Italy. Charge 9 stated that
Pinochet agreed in Spain with others who were in Spain, Chile and France that the
proposed victim would be murdered in Spain. Charge12 did not say that anything was
done in Spain in furtherance of the alleged conspiracy to murder in Italy. There was no
suggestion in charges 9 and 12 that the proposed victims were to be tortured. Two
further charges, charges 10 and 11 alleged the conspiracy to murder and attempted
murder of the two people in Italy, and again there was no suggestion that they were to be
tortured before they were murdered.

Lord Hope examined the conduct, he considered double criminality and extra
territoriality, and he said that the conduct must have been punishable in the UK when it
took place. Upon his analysis:

161

1. The offences of hostage taking were not made out on the facts alleged.
2. The only offences of murder and conspiracy to murder which could be
extradition crimes were those which took place on the territory of the requesting
state, as the alleged conduct did not constitute extraterritorial offences.
3. Official torture could not be an extraterritorial extradition offence until 29
September 1988 when section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 came into
force.

Charge 9 alleged a conspiracy between 1 January 1975 and 31 December 1976 in Spain
to murder someone in Spain. As the conduct was alleged to have occurred on the
territory of the requesting state, Lord Hope said it was an offence for which Pinochet
could, unless protected by immunity, be extradited to Spain. In charge 4 the alleged
conduct was that Pinochet was a party to a conspiracy to murder, in furtherance of
which about four thousand people were murdered in Chile, and in various countries
outside Chile, including Spain. The only conduct alleged in charge 4 for which Pinochet
could be extradited, was that part of it which alleged that he was a party to a conspiracy
in Spain, to commit murder in Spain.

The conclusion of Lord Hopes analysis at page 240C to E was that, the only charges
which allege extradition crimes for which Pinochet could be extradited to Spain, if he
had no immunity, were:

1. those charges of conspiracy to torture in charge 2, of torture and conspiracy to

torture in charge 4, and of torture in charge 30 which, irrespective of where the
conduct occurred, became extra-territorial offences as from 29 September 1988
under section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1998 and under the common law
as to extra territorial conspiracies
2. the conspiracy in Spain to murder in Spain which is alleged in charge 9;
3. Such conspiracies in Spain to commit murder in Spain, and such conspiracies in
Spain prior to 29 September 1988 to commit acts of torture in Spain as can be
shown to form part of the allegations in charge 4.
162

In short the only extradition crimes the conduct disclosed were offences of official
torture after section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 came into force, and other
offences which actually took place on the territory of Spain, the requesting State. The
other Judges all agreed with Lord Hopes analysis of what alleged conduct constituted
extradition crimes, and the immunity due to Pinochet was considered in relation to this
alleged conduct.

Here there are two very different questions to be answered regarding immunity. First is
there immunity for an ex-head of state for alleged official torture and conspiracy to
torture? The Torture Convention was intended to prevent and punish torture wherever it
occurred. Torture is an international crime, a crime of international concern and the
question of state immunity and international crimes is considered later in this thesis. But
the question of continuing immunity for the ordinary crimes in Spain of murder and
conspiracy to murder is different. This is an allegation on the forum state, the
jurisdiction that is being asserted is territorial, and as Lord Millett observed during
argument on 4 February 1999, quoted at the beginning of this thesis, the most
important exercise of sovereignty must be the maintenance of law and order in your own
state. That must override anything except ratione personae must it not?

As regards the ordinary crimes of murder and conspiracy to murder, the Law Lords in
Pinochet (No 3) decided that Pinochet was immune. In their analysis of the law relating
to immunity six of the seven judges started from the premise that, as an ex-head of state,
Pinochet was immune for all actions which were governmental, no matter where they
occurred, and then considered whether there was an exception to this rule for an
accusation of official torture.

Lord Browne-Wilkinson dealt with the question of the immunity relating to murder and
conspiracy to murder in Spain very shortly saying that a former head of state enjoys
immunity ratione materiae in relation to acts done by him as head of state as part of his
official functions as head of state. Even though it is not part of the functions of the head

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of state to commit crime, actions which are criminal under the local law can still have
been done officially and therefore give rise to immunity ratione materiae. As to the
charges of murder and conspiracy to murder, he said at page 205 H no-one has
advanced any reason why the ordinary rules of immunity should not apply and Senator
Pinochet is entitled to such immunity.

Lord Hutton and Lord Saville both agreed with Lord Browne-Wilkinson. Lord Saville at
page 265G to 266A added that in general, under customary international law, a former
head of state enjoys immunity from criminal proceedings in other countries in respect of
what he did in his official capacity as head of state, and as the relevant allegations
against Pinochet concerned not his private activities, but what he was said to have done
in his official capacity, when he was head of state in Chile, Pinochet was immune. The
only possible exception in the circumstances of the case related to torture, which he then
went onto consider.

Lord Goff at page 224F said that Pinochet was entitled to immunity ratione materiae for
all the alleged offences, as they were all performed in the exercise of his functions as
head of state. At page 210 he quoted Sir Arthur Watts Hague Lectures at page 56 with
approval and said the critical question was whether the conduct was engaged in under
colour of or in ostensible exercise of the head of states authority. He said the
distinction was between governmental acts, which are functions of the head of state, and
private acts, which are not, and the mere fact that the conduct is criminal does not of
itself exclude the immunity, otherwise there would be little point in the immunity from
criminal process; and this is so even where the crime is of a serious character.

Lord Hope at page 241G-H also quoted the same passage from Watts with approval, but
drew a different conclusion holding at page 248G that Pinochet had immunity ratione
materiae from prosecution for all conspiracies in Spain to murder in Spain. He agreed
that the test was whether they were private acts on the one hand, or governmental acts
done in the exercise of his authority as head of state on the other. Lord Hope was also
concerned about the criminality of what was alleged, as it is not one of the functions of a

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head of state to commit crimes, but he said the fact that acts done for the state involve
conduct which is criminal does not remove immunity, as the whole purpose of the
residual immunity ratione materiae is to protect a former head of state against
allegations of such conduct after he has left office, and to protect his governmental
actions from any further analysis. At page 242D-E Lord Hope said there were only two
exceptions recognised by customary international law:

1. Criminal acts which the head of state did under the colour of his authority as
head of state but which were in reality for his own pleasure or benefit. He agreed
with the two examples of such conduct given by Lord Steyn in the Divisional
Court, the head of state who kills his gardener in a fit of rage, or who orders
victims to be tortured so that he may observe them in agony, and said they were
plainly in this category and outside the scope of immunity.
2. Acts the prohibition of which has acquired the status under international law of
jus cogens, and he went on to consider whether Pinochet had immunity for
matters involving torture.

Lord Phillips said although immunity ratione materiae was claimed on the ground that
the alleged offences were in fact conduct by Pinochet as part his official functions when
he was head of state, Pinochet was not entitled to such immunity because Pinochet was
accused, not merely of having abused his powers as head of state by committing torture,
but of subduing political opposition by a campaign of abduction, torture and murder that
extended beyond the boundaries of Chile. Lord Phillips said at page 290C:

When considering what is alleged, I do not believe that it is correct to attempt to

analyse individual elements of this campaign and to identify some as being criminal
under international law and others as not constituting international crimes. If Senator
Pinochet behaved as Spain alleged, then the entirety of his conduct was a violation of
the norms of international law. He can have no immunity against prosecution for any
crime that formed part of that campaign.

165

Therefore Lord Phillips found that Pinochet was not immune in relation to any of the
alleged conduct, including the murder in Spain and the conspiracy in Spain to murder in
Spain as it was all part of a widespread campaign which was a violation of the norms of
international law. If the allegations of murder and conspiracy to murder had been
isolated incidents, then presumably Pinochet would have had immunity. Lord Phillips
like the other Judges did not consider the effect of crimes committed on the forum state.

The only dissenting voice was Lord Millett at page 277C who said:

I finally turn to the pleas of immunity ratione materiae in relation to the remaining
allegations of torture, conspiracy to torture and conspiracy to murder. I can deal with
the charges of conspiracy to murder quite shortly. The offences are alleged to have
taken place in the requesting state. The plea of immunity ratione materiae is not
available in respect of an offence committed in the forum state, whether this be England
or Spain.

He does not explain why he says that immunity ratione materiae is not available in
respect of an offence committed in the forum state. It would be usual in a case where
immunity is raised that the alleged offence occurred in the forum state, rather than a
third state. One of the complexities in the Pinochet case was the element of
extraterritoriality. Earlier in his judgment Lord Millett discusses immunity ratione
materiae and he implies that such immunity is only available for conduct in the home
state. He says at page 269HGiven its scope and rationale, it is closely similar to and
may be indistinguishable from aspects of the Anglo-American Act of State doctrine.
This doctrine is a rule of domestic law which holds the national courts are not competent
to adjudicate upon the lawfulness of the sovereign acts of a foreign state in its own
territory. Later at page 270G he says The immunity is available whether the acts in
question are illegal or unconstitutional or otherwise unauthorised under the internal
law of the state, since the whole purpose of state immunity is to prevent the legality of
such acts from being adjudicated upon in the municipal courts of a foreign state. A

166

sovereign state has the exclusive right to determine what is and is not illegal or
unconstitutional under its own domestic law. Although it may be inferred that Lord
Millet considers that immunity ratione materiae only applies to conduct in the home
state, it is not made clear.

Therefore all of the Judges in Pinochet (No 3), apart from Lord Millett are agreed that
Pinochet, as an ex-head of state would have immunity from prosecution in Spain for
offences of murder in Spain and conspiracy to murder in Spain, even though the
offences were committed on Spanish territory, if those offences were committed as part
of his public authority as head of state. This was accepted without argument or analysis.
This is understandable as all parties were focussing on the question of torture allegedly
committed in Chile. Later in this chapter this thesis will consider whether this is correct,
but first there is another matter in the Pinochet (No 3) judgment relating to all state
officials to consider.

Are Other Officials Entitled to Immunity Ratione Materiae? Does Conduct

Carry Immunity?

As this chapter has explained officials who had immunity ratione personae, may
continue to have immunity ratione materiae for conduct which can be described as
official. This continuing immunity is not time limited. Does immunity ratione materiae
also apply to officials of the state who are not entitled to immunity ratione personae? Is
an ordinary official immune from prosecution if they commit a crime on official
business? If the purpose of immunity ratione materiae is to protect the state, then
logically it should apply to all state officials carrying out state affairs.

All seven judges in Pinochet (No 3) were agreed that all state officials, even minor
officials, have continuing immunity from prosecution, immunity ratione materiae, for
acts performed in the exercise of their official functions; that is for acta jure imperii.
They were agreed that such immunity is enjoyed by state officials for all official
conduct, except for Lord Phillips who thought that there was an exception in the case of

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criminal jurisdiction in relation to international crimes, and presumably Lord Millett in

relations to crimes on the forum state, although he did not say so.

Lord Browne-Wilkinson at 202E said that an ambassador, like any other official of the
state enjoys immunity in relation to his official acts done while he was an official. Lord
Goff at 220D said that state immunity ratione materiae operates to protect even minor
officials from arrest and prosecution in foreign countries in respect of acts done in the
exercise of their functions. Lord Millet at 269D-E said that it was common ground that
the protection afforded by immunity ratione materiae applies whatever the rank of the
office holder and protects even subordinate public officials from the jurisdiction of
foreign national courts in respect of governmental or official acts. Lord Hutton and Lord
Saville agreed with Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Lord Hope said that the sovereign or
governmental acts of one state are not matters upon which the courts of other states will
adjudicate; and Lord Phillips at 280E-F agreed with the submission of Pinochet and
Chile that no distinction could be made between a head of state, a former head of state, a
state official or a former state official in respect of official acts performed under colour
of their office, and immunity attached to all official acts imputable or attributable to the
state.

The House of Lords is saying that all state officials regardless of their status cannot be
prosecuted in a foreign state for their actions if those actions are attributable to the state.
There was no examination of state practice before coming to this conclusion. The House
of Lords accepted that all officials and former officials enjoy immunity in respect of
their official acts, and rejected the argument put forward by of Professor Greenwood on
4 February 1999 which is quoted in the introduction to this thesis without analysis. This
statement bears further consideration.

This is not the only case where the assertion that all officials are immune for official
conduct been accepted. Another example where this assertion was accepted without a

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full analysis was in the case of Blaskic 191 before the Appeal Chamber of the ICTY
where that court considered the individual liability of individuals, in the context of
whether the Tribunal had the power to issue binding orders to state officials.

On 15 January 1997 the ICTY issued a subpoena duces tecum to the Republic of Croatia
and its defence minister, Mr Susak in the case of the Prosecutor v Tihomir Blaskic. A
subpoena duces tecum, or witness summons, is an enforceable order to attend the court
to give evidence, and to produce evidential documents. 192 The court was ordering Mr
Susak personally to attend the court, and produce documents. Croatia challenged the
legal power and authority of the ICTY to issue such a compulsory order to a state, and a
high government official of that state. On 18 July 1997 Trial Chamber II of the ICTY
upheld the issuance of the order. Croatia appealed and on 29 October 1997 the Appeals
Chamber gave its judgment.

The judgment does not say what documents Mr Susak was asked to produce, or what
evidence he was asked to give to the tribunal. The part of the judgment which is of
particular relevance to this thesis is the analysis the tribunal undertakes in giving its
decision regarding issuing binding orders to individuals. The Appeals Chamber
considered the questions whether the ICTY is empowered to issue binding orders to
state officials, whether the tribunal can subpoena state officials, and whether it can
direct binding orders to state officials. This thesis will look at the analysis undertaken by
the ICTY, and will then look at the cited cases in more depth.

At paragraph 38 of the judgment the Appeals Chamber dismissed the possibility of the
ICTY addressing subpoenas to state officials acting in their official capacity, saying that
such officials are mere instruments of a state, and their official position can only be
191

Prosecutor v Tihomir Blaskic. 29 October 1997. Appeals Chamber. ICTY. Judgment on the request of
the Republic of Croatia for review of the decision of the Trial Chamber II of 18 July 1997.
http://www.un.org/icty/blaskic/appeal/decision-e/71029JT3.html.
192

This is to be distinguished from a summons not associated with measures of constraint. An invitation
which a head of state can freely accept or decline respects immunity. ICJ in the Case Concerning Certain
Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v France) 4 June 2008 see footnote 54.
para. 171.

169

attributed to the state. They cannot be the subject of sanctions, or penalties, for conduct
that is not private, but undertaken on behalf of a state. State officials cannot suffer the
consequences of wrongful acts which are not attributable to them personally, but to the
state on whose behalf they act, the court said such officials enjoy what is called
functional immunity. The Appeals Chamber said This is a well-established rule of
customary international law going back to the eighteen and nineteenth centuries
restated many times since.

At this point in the judgment there is a footnote which refers to two examples, the
Governor Collot case in 1797 and the McLeod case in 1837. The footnote says the
Governor Collot case was a civil case brought against Mr Collot, the Governor of the
French island of Guadeloupe. The US Attorney-General wrote: I am inclined to think,
if the seizure of the vessel is admitted to have been an official act, done by the defendant
by virtue, or under colour, of the powers vested in him as governor, that it will of itself
be a sufficient answer to the plaintiffs action; that the defendant ought not to answer in
our courts for any mere irregularity in the exercise f his powers; and the extent of his
authority can with propriety or convenience, be determined only by the constituted
authorities of his own nation. 193

The ICTY then says The famous McLeod case should also be mentioned. The facts
are stated, in the footnote, as being on the occasion of the Canadian rebellion of 1837
against the British authorities, Canada being at the time under British sovereignty, rebels
were assisted by American citizens who several times crossed the Niagara, the border
between Canada and the United States, on the ship Caroline, to provide the insurgents
with men and ammunitions. A party of British troops headed by Captain McLeod were
then sent to attack the ship. They boarded it in the United States port of Fort Sclosser,
killed a number of men and set the ship on fire. A few years later, in 1840, Captain
McLeod was arrested in Lewiston, which is New York territory, on charges of murder
and arson. An exchange of diplomatic notes between the two governments ensued. The
official position of the USA, which had already been set out in similar terms by Great
193

J.B.Mooore, A Digest of International Law, 1906, vol II, p. 23.

170

Britain in 1838, with regard to the possible trial of another member of the British team
that attacked the Caroline, was clearly enunciated by the US Secretary of State Webster
who wrote:

That an individual forming part of a public force, and acting under the authority of his
government, is not to be held answerable, as a private trespasser or malefactor, is a
principle of public law sanctioned by the usages of all civilised nations, and which the
Government of the US has no inclination to dispute[W]hether the process be criminal
or civil, the fact of having acted under public authority, and in obedience of the orders
of lawful superiors must be regarded as a valid defence; otherwise individuals would be
holden responsible for injuries resulting from the acts of Government, and even from the
operations of public war.194

The Appeals Chamber then continued saying that more recently France adopted a
position based on that rule in the Rainbow Warrior case. Again there is a footnote which
states that when the two French agents who had sunk the Rainbow warrior in New
Zealand were arrested by local police, France stated that their imprisonment in New
Zealand was not justified taking into account in particular the fact that they acted
under military orders and that France [was] ready to give an apology and to pay
compensation to New Zealand for the damage suffered. The Appeals Chamber said
that the rule is also clearly set out by the Supreme Court of Israel in the Eichmann case.
Again there is a footnote which says that the court in the Eichmann Case stated among
other things that The theory of Act of State means that the act performed by a person
as an organ of the State whether he was head of State or a responsible official acting
on the Governments orders must be regarded as an act of the State alone. It follows
that only the latter bears responsibility therefore, and it also follows that another State
has no right to punish the person who committed the act, save with the consent of the
State whose mission he performed. Were it not so, the first State would be interfering in
the internal affairs of the second, which is contrary to the conception of the equality of

194

British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 29, p. 1139.

171

States based on their sovereignty.

195

The footnote then states that it should be noted

that after this passage the Court expressed reservations about this Act of State doctrine,
but that arguably, these reservations were set out for the main purpose of further
justifying the proposition that the doctrine did not apply to war crimes and crimes
against humanity.

At paragraph 39 of its judgment the Appeals Chamber considered what it said was a
distinct but connected question; that is whether the ICTY can direct binding orders to
state officials? That is could the tribunal direct an order which was binding upon a state
to a particular individual within the state. This is said to be the corollary of the right of a
state to demand functional immunity from foreign jurisdiction for its officials. The
Appeals Chamber decided that a state cannot prevent the prosecutor from seeking the
assistance of a particular state official, but this does not mean that the particular state
official has an international obligation to provide assistance. This obligation is only
upon the state.

The Appeals Chamber explained that any international body, such as the ICTY, must
take into account the basic structure of the international community which primarily
consists of sovereign States; each jealous of its own sovereign attributes and
prerogatives, each insisting on its right to equality and demanding full respect, by all
other States for its domestic jurisdiction. The Appeal Chamber continued at paragraph
41 that a well established rule of customary international law, based on the sovereign
equality of states, is that each State is entitled to claim that acts or transactions
performed by one of its organs in its official capacity be attributed to the State, so that
the individual organ may not be held accountable for these acts or transactions, with
two exceptions.

1. Those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide cannot
invoke immunity from national or international jurisdiction, even if they
perpetrated such crimes while acting in their official capacity.
195

36 ILR 5 at 308-309.

172

2. Other classes of persons although acting as state organs, may be held personally
accountable for their wrongdoing. The Appeal Chamber does not explain what it
means by other classes of person but gives the example of spies, as defined as
defined in article 29 of the Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of
War on Land, annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 1907.

It is respectfully submitted that the ICTY was too sweeping in its generalisation. The
analysis earlier in this chapter demonstrates that as regards civil jurisdiction, if a state is
immune then an official is also immune. As regards prosecutions for extraterritorial
international crimes against peremptory norms the position is not as simple as expressed
by the Tribunal. The ICTY decided that, as a well established rule of customary
international law, officials have functional immunity, and that as such they cannot be
penalised for conduct undertaken on behalf of their state even if the state itself is not
immune. The cases referred to in the judgment bear looking at in more depth to see
whether the conclusion is merited.

The Collot is a civil case from 1797, over 200 years ago. Civil liability is different to
that in criminal cases. In civil cases the immunity is that of the state, whereas criminal
liability is individual. Is issuing a witness summons is a criminal court exercising its
criminal jurisdiction, or is it a civil matter? This was not considered by the ICTY. It is
submitted that the tribunal is a criminal court, exercising a criminal jurisdiction, if a
person refuses to attend a warrant may be issued for his arrest, and the penalties for
refusing to attend are criminal penalties, and therefore this is a criminal jurisdiction.
The McLeod 196 case as an example of state practice is confusing. The United States
Department of State said one thing, the New York State officials did another, and the
national government had no control over the federal officials. It is an old case from
1837, over one hundred and seventy years ago, and international law has developed
since that time. The restrictive doctrine has been accepted, statutes and conventions have
196

The facts and the quotes regarding this case are taken from the excellent article The Caroline and
McLeod Cases by R.Y. Jennings. (1938) 32 AJIL 82.

173

been agreed, and the law relating to international crimes and individual responsibility
has been formulated. The facts of this case were oversimplified in the Blaskic Subpeona
Duces Tecum judgment in the ICTY.

In 1837, when Canada was a British Colony, there was a rebellion, which was defeated.
The rebels had support in the USA and some of them sought refuge there. The rebels
raised a force of about one thousand armed men, who were mainly U S citizens, and
other sympathetic Americans provided them with supplies, including arms and
ammunition.

On 13 December 1837 an armed group of rebels invaded and took possession of Navy
Island, which was British territory. From there they attacked both British territory in
Canada, and British boats passing the island. There was constant communication
between American territory and Navy Island, and regular reinforcements of both men
and supplies. On 29 December 1837 a boat, the Caroline, came down the river from
Buffalo in the United States, and delivered men and packages containing Stores of
War at Navy Island and then she made two trips between Fort Schlosse and Navy
island transporting a Six-pounder, which was a kind of cannon, and other war like
stores.

Colonel McNab, commanding the British forces assembled across the river at
Chippewa, decided that the destruction of the Caroline would prevent further
reinforcements and supplies from reaching the island, and would deprive the rebels of
their means of access to the mainland of Canada. An expedition, led by Captain Drew,
was sent on the night of the 29 December 1837 to carry out the plan.

According to the master of the Caroline there were ten crew and officers, and twentythree US citizens spending the night on board the boat. At about midnight seventy or
eighty armed men attacked Immediately after the Caroline fell into the hands of the
armed force who boarded her, she was set on fire, cut loose from the dock, was towed
into the current of the river, there abandoned, and soon after descended the Niagara

174

falls. At first twelve people were thought to be missing feared dead, but later it was
established that two people lost their lives; Amos Durfee, whose body was found on the
quay had been shot in the head, and a cabin boy known as, little Billy, who was shot
while attempting to leave the boat. No one was killed by the boat going over the falls.

The correspondence, which followed between the American and British authorities
regarding responsibility for the loss of the Caroline, led to the much-quoted Webster
doctrine of self-defence.

The destruction of the Caroline led to very strong feeling in America, and at first there
was fear that there may be an armed retaliation. On 23 August 1838 a man called Mr.
Christie was arrested and judicially examined, or questioned, on a charge of having
been concerned, with other British Subjects, in the attack upon the Caroline. There is a
report, 197 i.e. an advice on the law, of Mr. Dodson, the Queens Advocate 198 dated 31
October 1838 relative to the persecution to which British Subjects, suspected of being
concerned in the destruction of the Steam Boat Caroline are exposed, if they venture to
land on American Territory, referring particularly to the case of Mr. Christie. Mr.
Dodson drafted a despatch of 6 November 1838 saying:

the attack upon the Caroline was a publick act of persons in Her Majestys Service,
obeying the order of their superior authorities, and according to the usages of
nations, 199 that proceeding can only be the subject of discussion between the Two
Governments, but cannot be made the ground of proceedings in the United States
against the individuals who, upon that occasion, were acting in obedience to the
authorities appointed by their Government. 200

197

The functions of Law Officers to the Crown included that of acting as legal advisers to the Government
departments. Requests for advice were made in the form of drafts prepared by the secretary of the
Minister at the head of the department concerned. The replies of the Law Officers are called reports.

198

See the Law Offices Reports, Vols. F.O. 83. 2207-2209.

199

Usages of Nations is an archaic term for customary international law.

200

Public Record Office, F.O.5. 321.

175

This despatch was sent by the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston to Mr. Fox the British
Minister in Washington.

Alexander McLeod, a Canadian Deputy Sheriff from Niagara, while in the state of New
York, boasted of taking part in the destruction of the Caroline. He was arrested on 12
November 1840 at Lewiston, on charges of murder and arson. On 18 November 1840 he
was committed in custody for trial. On the 19 November 1840 Alexander MacLeod
wrote to the Canadian authorities, stating that he had not taken part in the attack on the
Caroline, and asking for their intervention on his behalf. On 13 December 1840 Mr. Fox
wrote to Mr. Forsyth, the American Secretary of State about the MacLeod case asserting
that the United States national courts did not have jurisdiction to try individuals for
involvement in the Caroline incident. Mr Forsyth replied that:

The jurisdiction of the several states which constitute the Union, is, within its
appropriate sphere, perfectly independent of the Federal Government. The offence with
which Mr. McLeod is charged was committed within the territory and against the laws
and citizens of the State of New York, and is one that comes clearly within the
competency of her tribunals. It does not, therefore, present an occasion where, under
the constitution and laws of the Union, the interposition called for would be proper, or
for which a warrant can be found in the powers with which the Federal Executive is
invested; nor would the circumstances to which you have referred, or the reasons you
have urged, justify the exertion of such a power if it existed. 201

In March 1841, there was a change of administration at Washington, and Mr. Fox
immediately wrote to Mr. Webster, who had replaced Mr. Forsyth, demanding the
release of Alexander McLeod, arguing that:

With the particulars of the internal compact which may exist between the several states
that compose the Union, foreign powers have nothing to do; the relations of foreign
201

Report on the Commission of Claims, under the Convention of 1853, compiled by Edmund Hornby,
the British Commissioner (London, 1856), at p. 430.

176

Powers are with the aggregate Union; that Union is to them represented by the Federal
Government; and of that Union the Federal Government is to them the only organ.
Therefore, when a foreign Power has redress to demand for a wrong done to it by any
State of the Union, it is to the Federal Government, and not to the separate State, that
such power must look for redress of that wrong. And such foreign Power cannot admit
the plea that the separate State is an independent body over which the Federal
Government has no control. It is obvious that such a doctrine, if admitted, would at once
go to a dissolution of the Union as far as its relations with foreign Powers are
concerned; and that foreign Powers, in such case, instead of accrediting diplomatic
agents to the Federal Government, would send such agents not to that government, but
to the government of each separate state. 202

Mr. Webster wrote to the US Attorney-General, sending a copy to Mr. Fox, stating:

That an individual forming part of a public force, and acting under the authority of his
Government, is not to be held answerable, as a private trespasser or malefactor, is a
principle of public law sanctioned by the usages of all civilized nations, and which the
Government of the United States has no inclination to dispute. But whether the process
be criminal or civil, the fact of having acted under public authority, and in obedience to
the orders of lawful superiors must be regarded as a valid defence; otherwise,
individuals would be holden responsible for injuries resulting form the acts of
Government, and even from the operations of public war. 203

The British and American governments were not agreed about what should happen, and
had different views on the process. The British position was that McLeod should not be
tried, not that he should be acquitted. Whereas the position of the American government
was that he should be released by judicial process.

202

Note of March 12, 1841, British & Foreign State papers, Vol. 29, p. 1126.

203

British and Foreign State Papers vol 29, p 1139.

177

The Supreme Court of New York refused leave to enter the nolle prosequi, and rejected
an application for a writ of habeas corpus. It was proposed that there should be an
appeal to the Federal Court, but Alexander McLeod demanded a trial, as he wanted no
further delay. At the trial there was no evidence to show that he had been present at the
destruction of the Caroline, and he was acquitted in October 1841, having been held in
custody for almost a year.

The attack, which involved British forces entering the territory of the United States, and
attacking the ship without concern for civilians or property, would now be described as
an armed attack, and part of an international armed conflict. The death of little Billy, the
cabin boy who was trying to leave the boat, would be wilful killing, as would probably
be that of Amos Durfee, and therefore grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. The
destruction of the ship would probably also be a grave breach, as it was extensive
destruction, and difficult therefore to justify as military necessity. It is not here being
argued that the British soldiers involved in the expedition to destroy the Caroline should
have been prosecuted. What is being suggested is that the facts of this case and the law
applicable thereto are time specific. Customary international law changes to reflect the
needs of the international community. It is only if state practice and opinio juris show
that states continue to hold to the same tenets, that the law in the mid nineteenth century
can be quoted as the law now. The international community, and the consensus
regarding international law, has changed so fundamentally since those events, that the
agreement of the British and American governments as to the state of the law at that
time, indicates what the law was understood to be at that time, but further investigation
is required before it can be stated to be the law now.

The third case which the Appeal chamber of the ICTY referred to in the Blaskic
Subpeona Duces Teccum case, as supporting the proposition that state officials cannot
be made individually responsible for their actions which are attributable to the state, is
the Rainbow Warrior case. The ICTY reported France as saying their imprisonment was
not justified. That is correct, but the state practice to be noted from this case is much
more complicated than that. New Zealand never accepted that the French agents were

178

not individually responsible; neither did the UN Secretary General. France did not assert
that the French agents should not be prosecuted. France only asserted that they should
not be punished in arbitration proceedings before The UN Secretary General, after they
had been convicted and sentenced. Taken at its highest Frances position was that the
French agents should not be punished, not that they were not responsible, and not that
they should not be prosecuted.
The Rainbow Warrior case 204 involved French agents committing very serious criminal
offences, on New Zealand territory. A boat was blown up, without warning, using
explosives, and a person was killed.

For many years before 1985, the French Government organised underground nuclear
tests on the atoll of Mururoa, in French Polynesia. France argued that these tests were
essential for the modernisation of its defence, and that scientific teams had established
that the tests had no real effect on the environment. This was not accepted by many
other states and international organisations. In July 1985 205 the French Government
intended to stage more tests. Greenpeace, an international organisation concerned with
conservation and environmental matters, which advocates direct action announced that it
would attempt to disrupt the tests by sailing vessels into the test area. The flagship of
Greenpeace, the Rainbow Warrior, arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, on 7 July 1985.

Rainbow Warrior had a crew of thirteen, including its captain, approximately ten of
whom slept on board. The ship was open to the public during much of its stay in
Auckland. On the evening of the 10 July 1985 a birthday party was held on the boat, and
by 11.50 p.m. there were twelve people remaining.

Some time previously French agents had attached two high explosive devices to the hull
of the vessel, and the explosives detonated, without warning, shortly before midnight.
204

74 ILR 241.

205
The facts as here set out are taken from the judgment of the Chief Justice of New Zealand, Davison
C.J. 74 ILR 241 at p 245, and the web page of the Auckland City Police Department www.aucklandcity
police.govt.nz/history/warrior.htm.

179

The explosions caused a hole eight feet by six feet to the ship below the waterline and
the ship sank quickly. One member of the crew, Fernando Pereira, a national of the
Netherlands, was drowned.

The operation was pre-planned and carried out by agents of the Directorate General of
External Security (DGSE), part of the French Ministry of Defence. The Government of
France subsequently admitted responsibility. The Director-General of the DGSE was
dismissed and the Minister of Defence resigned.

On 22 June 1985 two of the DGSE agents involved in the operation, Major Alain
Mafart, and Captain Dominique Prieur had arrived in New Zealand by plane. They
travelled on forged Swiss passports under false identities. 206 They played an essential
role in the conspiracy, providing equipment for those who placed the explosives, and
aiding the bombers to escape after the operation. Major Mafart and Captain Prieur were
arrested on 15 July and kept in custody. They pleaded guilty to manslaughter and
causing wilful damage by explosions. The New Zealand Solicitor-General agreed to
accept these pleas and not to proceed with the charges of murder. The DSGE agents did
not argue before the New Zealand court that they were entitled to immunity because
they were acting on behalf of their state. France did not intervene on their behalf to
claim immunity. Both agents were sentenced to substantial periods of imprisonment. 207

The actions of the French agents were in violation of New Zealand sovereignty and of
the UN Charter, which New Zealand said was neither accidental or technical, as
International law and New Zealands sovereignty were violated deliberately and
contemptuously. 208 France accepted this, in a letter of the 8 August 1985 from the
President of the French Republic to the Prime Minister of New Zealand it was admitted
206

The Swiss Government lodged a formal protest with the French Government over the use of forged
Swiss passports by the French agents. The Swiss also demanded further explanation and called on the
French Government to prevent a repetition. The Times, Thursday, Aug 29, 1985; pg. 4; issue 62229; col
G.
207

R v Mafart and Prieur 74 ILR 241.

208

Letter dated 8 August 1985 from the President of the French Republic to the Prime Minister of New
Zealand.

180

that the incident was, a criminal attack committed on your territory and which cannot
for any reason be excused. 209

New Zealand requested restitution from France, but the two states could not reach an
agreement. The French said that no settlement was possible without the release of Major
Mafart and Captain Prieur who had been acting under orders, whereas the New Zealand
government did not consider that this exempted the agents from personal responsibility
for their criminal acts. The New Zealand government said Major Mafart and Captain
Prieur could only be released to the French if they would be kept in custody to serve the
remainder of their sentences.

On 19 June 1986 the two states agreed to refer all outstanding disputes between them
regarding the Rainbow Warrior affair to the UN Secretary General, whose ruling they
agreed to accept as binding. 210 The Secretary General ordered that the prisoners should
be transferred to French military custody, and that they should be incarcerated for three
years. France breached the agreement and on 30 April 1990 the arbitration tribunal
declared that France had committed a violation of its international obligations towards
New Zealand. 211

The Rainbow warrior case does not support the proposition that state officials have
immunity from prosecution for criminal offences. It is state practice which demonstrates
that state officials have individual criminal liability for offences which they commit on
the territory of another state, at the behest of their state and whilst on duty. This is
shown by the fact that:

1. France did not intervene in the trial to assert immunity.

209

Communique of 22 September 1985 by Prime Minister of France. Annex A to the memorandum of the
Government of New Zealand to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
210

74 ILR 256.

211

82 ILR 499.

181

2. New Zealand asserted jurisdiction and prosecuted, sentenced and imprisoned.

The fact that they were acting as state agents was considered to be mitigation of
sentence.
3. The UN Secretary General rejected the submission that the French officials were
not individually responsible.
4. The International Tribunal declared that France was in breach of its obligations
towards New Zealand in not keeping the officers in custody as required.

Not only did New Zealand prosecute, it demonstrated opinio juris in declaring that it had
the right to prosecute. This view was reinforced by the UN Secretary General who
accepted that New Zealand had the right to prosecute and punish the French officers.
The UN Secretary General is an international person whose actions are of international
significance, and in this instance his assertions in this arbitration are evidence of
customary international law.

The final case in the footnote in the Blaskic case is that of Eichmann who was tried in
Israel, accused of crimes against humanity during World War II. Eichmann argued that
the crimes were committed within the framework of the anti-Jewish decrees of the Nazi
regime, and that he was acting in accordance with law, and that by the Act of State
doctrine the court was precluded from looking behind those laws. The Act of State
doctrine is that there are certain actions taken by a state, in its own territory, which a
foreign court is not capable of adjudicating upon, and this includes foreign legislation.
The Eichmann case decided that this doctrine was limited when applied to international
crimes, as these were acts against the law of nations, for which there is individual
responsibility. This has been followed in English courts, and there is a residual power
which is to be exercised with caution and the greatest circumspection to disregard a
foreign law provision when to do otherwise would be an affront to basic principles of
justice and fairness. 212

212

Oppenheimer v Cattermole. HL [1976] AC 249. Kuwait Airways v Iraqi Airways Co. [2002] UKHL
19. Lord Nicholls at paragraph 18.

182

On further reading, these cases cited by the ICTY in the Blaskic case, to support the
proposition that functional immunity for all State officials is a well established rule of
customary international law, do not support that proposition in criminal prosecutions.
This proposition was accepted in the Pinochet case without full argument. To return to
the transcript of the argument before the House of Lords in those proceedings records
that on Tuesday 4 February 1999, and the passage quoted at the beginning of this thesis;

Professor Greenwood said What they (Senator Pinochet and Chile) have invited your
Lordships to do is to take as a starting-point in the analysis that all officials and former
officials enjoy immunity in respect of their official acts .My Lords, we submit that that
starting-point is wrong.

In his speech Professor Greenwood refers to a case in Cyprus concerning two Mossad
agents. They were arrested at 4.00 a.m. on 7 November 1998 in a small fishing village in
the south of the island. The two men posed as teachers on holiday, and they were
traveling on Israeli passports under the false names of Udi Hargov and Igal Damary.
The authorities in Cyprus believed they were spying on a site where Cyprus was
planning to install Russian made S-300 missiles said to be targeted at Turkey. The two
men were arrested and remanded in custody after being found with electronic
equipment, recording police conversations with a sophisticated scanner.

Turkey and Cyprus are traditional enemies. In 1974 Turkey invaded northern Cyprus
dividing the island, and in 1988 Turkey had 35,000 troops in stationed there. Cyprus
was planning to deploy anti-aircraft missiles aimed at the Turkish sector, and the
Turkish government threatened to destroy these the moment they were in place. Israel
had an agreement of military co-operation with Turkey, and shared Turkish concerns
about the S-300 missiles, as the Israelis were worried that the missiles and their radar
would be able to target Israeli jets passing over the eastern part of the Mediterranean.

Cyprus initially said that there was no evidence that the men were working for Israel,
but voiced suspicions that they were freelancing for Turkey. The Israeli press tried to

183

make light of the matter by seizing on comments made by a restaurateur in the fishing
village, who suspected the men were spies because they had hidden away, and did not
visit his establishment, renowned for its fish. But the case was reported as being viewed
seriously by both governments. 213

On 15 November 1998 The Sunday Times reported that Israel was involved in
determined, but unsuccessful, attempts to have the two men freed. Amiram Levine, the
deputy head of Mossad, traveled secretly to Cyprus, accompanied by an Israeli lawyer,
in an attempt to strike a deal. Amiram Levine was reported as admitting to senior
Cypriot security and state officials that the two were Mossad agents. But he insisted they
were on a "routine mission" in co-operation with other secret services, saying it had
nothing to do with Cyprus or Turkey. The Israeli President Ezer Weizman also sent Arie
Shomer, the general director of his office, to Cyprus to apologise to Glafcos Clerides,
the Cypriot president. 214

On 25 November 1998 The Times reported that Udi Hargov and Igal Damary had been
charged the previous Friday, with illegal possession of wireless equipment for
espionage, and conspiracy to commit a crime, and they were remanded in custody to
stand trial on 8 December. The Times also stated that the Israeli daily newspaper,
Haaretz reported that the Mossad operations chief, known publicly only as Y resigned,
and Before it was determined who was responsible for the foul up, Y took ministerial
responsibility upon himself for it.

The two agents claimed they were merely innocent tourists, but Cyprus accused them of
operating with a "specific intelligence institute whose headquarters is in Tel Aviv", that
is Mossad. Police on the island also said the two were spying on behalf of Turkey,
which had a defence pact with Israel. The Israeli Government did not acknowledge

213

10 November 1998, The Times, p.10.

214

15 November 1998, The Sunday Times, News, p.25.

184

publicly that the two were Mossad agents, saying only that they did not spy on behalf of
Turkey and were not trying to hurt Cypriot interests. 215
The court in Cyprus refused a request by Israel for release on bail, pending trial, 216 and
on 1 February 1999 a court in Larnaca Cyprus sentenced the two Israeli intelligence
agents to three years imprisonment for approaching a prohibited military zone.
Espionage charges were reported as dropped in a plea-bargain deal, 217 in other words the
two men pleaded guilty. They were also jailed for six months concurrently for
possessing radio scanning equipment without a license. It was reported that the sentence
was imposed despite pressure from Israel for their release.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, said Israel would do everything to
bring them home "in accordance with the laws of Cyprus. This is the quotation which
Professor Greenwood was referring to in his speech before the House of Lords.
The men's lawyers had said they were not spying on Cyprus at the time of their arrest in
November, but were on the island as lookouts, during a secret meeting of informants,
who had collected intelligence about international terrorists plotting attacks in Israel. It
was reported that Israel's President Weizman, as well as Mr Netanyahu, had attempted
to convince the Cypriot authorities that the men were not acting against Cyprus on
behalf of Turkey.

However, Judge George Aresti in the Larnaca court, said that the defence had not been
prepared to offer any evidence to support that explanation, and that although charges of
espionage and conspiracy, which carried a maximum ten-year jail term, had been
withdrawn, the court could not ignore the fact that the two men had approached a
military area "at a time when a very serious military operation was under way", and that
operation was the unloading of important military equipment under conditions of
strictest secrecy. He also referred to the vulnerable political situation on Cyprus, he said
215

25 November 1998, The Times, p.17.

216

21 November 1998, The Times, p. 17.

217

2 February 1999, the Times, p. 13.

185

that gathering information linked to the military and security of the state "endangers the
very existence of our country."

On 12 August 1999, after a recommendation for clemency by the Attorney-General, the

two agents were pardoned by President Clerides of Cyprus. They had served only five
months of their sentence. A government statement said that Mr. Clerides's decision was
"based on the national interest of Cyprus. The continuing detention of the two men
would no longer serve the national interest." Ehud Barak, the Israeli Prime Minister,
quickly issued a brief statement thanking the Cypriot President for pardoning the two
men. 218

The two Israelis were arrested during a period of rising military tension, just before
international pressure forced the Greek Cypriots to abandon plans to deploy
sophisticated Russian made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. Turkey had threatened to
destroy the missiles, raising fears the missiles could trigger armed conflict between
Greece and Turkey. The Israeli Government did not deny the two men were Mossad
agents, but insisted they were not acting against Cyprus on behalf of Turkey. Shimon
Peres the former prime minister, said on a visit to Cyprus they were attempting to
prevent an attack on Israel by Muslim terrorists. 219

These agents were clearly acting on behalf of their state, and they continued to do so
throughout their arrest and trial, by trying to minimize the embarrassment to their
government. They refused to co-operate with the Cypriot authorities, they denied any
involvement in spying, and then avoided a trial by pleading guilty.

As Professor Greenwood said to the House of Lords at no time did the Israeli
government assert that the agents were entitled to immunity. Israel made a number of
confusing assertions on behalf of the two men; that they were not guilty of the conduct

218

13 August 1999, The Times, p. 19.

219

16 January 1999, The Times, Times Magazine p.12.

186

alleged against them, that they were not acting against Cyprus, and then made sustained
attempts to get them released by diplomatic means.

What is striking is that no-one involved; not the Israeli government, nor the Cypriot
government, not the men themselves, or their defence lawyers suggested that they were
entitled to immunity; and neither did any of the political commentators. The fact that
their conduct was clearly being performed on behalf of a state and therefore could carry
with it immunity from prosecution does not seem to have crossed anyones mind, or if it
did it was dismissed as patently incorrect. Israel did not deny that the men were its
agents, and accepted that their activities were against Cypriot law.

The Cypriot courts treated the men as ordinary criminals, and did not find the fact that
they were acting on behalf of their national state as mitigation. The fact that they were
endangering Cyprus was an aggravating feature of their offence. But the Cypriot
government did not treat them as ordinary criminals; the men were pardoned and
released after serving only five months imprisonment, even though they were sentenced
to a much longer term.

The other case referred to by Professor Greenwood in the House of Lords on 4 February
1999 is that of The Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand which has been already
mentioned. 220 As explained this was one of the cases cited by the Appeals Chamber of
the ICTY in the case of Blaskic as support for the proposition that functional immunity
continues after leaving office, but on reading the case it does not support that
proposition. This case is an important example of state practice. The operation was preplanned and carried out by agents of the DGSE. The government of France initially
denied having any involvement in or knowledge of the attack, but it subsequently
admitted responsibility. The New Zealand authorities knew that the French were
responsible from the time of the explosion, 221 but the French tried to cover this up with
220

74 ILR 241.

221

On 22 July 1985 David Lange New Zealands Prime Minister said he knew who bombed the Rainbow
warrior and why they did it. But he said that his knowledge was different from having the proof to make
immediate arrests or bring the matter to court. He said those involved were not New Zealanders. He

187

an official enquiry by M Bernard Tricot, former Chief of Staff to President de Gaulle.

His report was given on 26 August 1985 and it admitted that five members of the French
secret service were in New Zealand and that three of these who were highly trained in
combat diversion were on the yacht, Ouvea, which was chartered after authorisation
from an officer high up in the presidential administration. The report said that French
secret service agents were in New Zealand to observe and infiltrate the Greenpeace
boats and their crews. M Tricot said There is one thing I am really sure of, that is,
there was no government directive, even veiled in someway.

New Zealands Prime Minister Mr David Lange rejected the report saying, It is so
transparent it could not be called a whitewash and declared There is no doubt
whatever that it was a very heavily funded operation. The fact is that we had operators
of French Government intelligence agencies in New Zealand for some time and
spending at a conspicuous level. The French Government is, of course, involved. 222

The New Zealand police wished to interview and arrest the French agents involved, but
France did not allow this. The three crew members were made available to M Tricot for
his enquiry, but they had not been available for questioning by New Zealand police in
Paris, even though they were wanted on murder charges. Mr Lange complained That is
an incredible state of affairs to exist between two originally friendly countries. 223
International arrest warrants, were issued for the arrest of four French nationals
suspected of involvement in the bombing, three crew members of the Ouvea and for a
woman who allegedly infiltrated the Greenpeace environmental group in order to
prepare for the attack. 224

described the bombings as well, funded, meticulously planned, external in that New Zealand was the
venue for the attack, rather than the target. The article in The Times on 23 July then refers to links with a
ketch chartered by a French crew. The Times, Tuesday, Jul 23, 1985; pg.. 9. Issue 62197; col G.
222

The Times, Tuesday, Aug 27, 1985, pg. 1; Issue 622227; col B.

223

The Times, Tuesday, Aug 27, 1985,; pg. 1; Issue 622227; col B.

224

The Times, Friday, Aug 16, pg. 1; Issue 62218; col F.

188

The Tricot report gave the true identities of the agents arrested in New Zealand, and by
9 September 1985 it was public knowledge that France accepted that they were its
agents. A note from the French Foreign Ministry to the New Zealand Embassy in Paris
issued the previous weekend called for all the guarantees of international law to be
applied to the agents. Commenting on Frances demand that its embassy officials be
granted visiting rights, Mr David Lange pointed out that since their arrest eight weeks
before no-one from the embassy had made any attempt to visit, although visits were
allowed. The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister of New Zealand, Mr Geoffrey
Palmer said New Zealands prisons met all the international rules on the treatment of
prisoners, and that conditions compared favourably with those anywhere in the world,
including France. Mr Lange said The suggestion by the French Government that New
Zealand is somehow not meeting those standards is preposterous, presumptuous and
arrogant. 225

On 22 September 1985 Monsieur Laurent Fabius, the French Prime Minister made an
announcement that French secret agents acting under orders carried out the attack. He
went out of his way to stress that the truth was hidden from M. Tricot. M. Fabius
seemed to go back on his promise made in July to the New Zealand government that any
French citizen found guilty of criminal acts in the affair could be brought to trial in
France, when he suggested that those who carried out that attack should not be
prosecuted. The following is an extract from the official translation of M Fabiuss
announcement:

Agents of the DGSE sank this boat. They acted on orders. The people who merely
carried out the act must, of course, be exempted from blame, as it would be
unacceptable to expose members of the military who only obeyed orders. 226

The next day Mr Lange was reported as taking strong exception to M. Fabiuss
statement that as the agents had been acting under orders it would be wrong to blame
225

The Times, Monday Sep 09, 1985; pg. 4; Issue 62238; col F.

226

The Times, Sep 23, 1985; pg. 1; Issue 62250; col B.

189

them for the attack, he said that such statements were provocative and inflammatory
and not a defence. Mr Lange said it implied that the agents in hiding in France and
wanted by the New Zealand police would not be made available. He said the two agents
held in New Zealand would go on trial on charges of murder, arson and conspiracy as
scheduled on 4 November 1985. 227

This is a claim by the French Government, not of immunity, but of being morally
blameless; France is asserting that its agents should not be held responsible because they
were acting under orders. This excuse was accepted in France, Le Figaro and Le
Quotidien were of the view that the agents should not have to face trial because they
were officers who had simply acted under orders, and an opinion poll indicated that the
majority of the French public agreed with that view. 228 The New Zealand Government
did not agree with that the French agents were blameless, and neither did the Australian
government which demanded a full apology from France on 23 September 1985. The
acting foreign minister, Gareth Evans said The Australian Government expects the
French government to act within the bounds of international law and civilised conduct
and to take account of world and regional opinion. Mr Evans continued that Australia
remained appalled at the action and he said Recalling Prime Minister Fabiuss
previous call for the perpetrators of the crime to be brought to justice, Australia looked
forward to that occurring without delay or qualification. 229

Charles Hernu the French defence minister resigned on Friday 20 September, and
Admiral Pierre Lacoste, the Director-General of the DGSE was also dismissed on that
day.

On 4 November 1985 Major Alain Mafart, and Captain Dominique Prieur, pleaded
guilty to manslaughter and causing wilful damage by explosions thereby avoiding a trial

227

The Times, Tues Sep 24 1985 pg. 6.

228

The Times, Tues Nov 05, 1985.

229

The Times, Tues Sep 24 1985 pg. 6.

190

on charges of murder. 230 They accepted they played an essential role in the conspiracy
by aiding those who placed the explosives. The plea of guilty curtailed the trial which
had been scheduled to last two weeks, and the expected details of the activities of the
French secret services in New Zealand were not forthcoming. The two defendants were
remanded in custody for sentence at the New Zealand High Court on 23rd. November
1985. There were suggestions in the press that the guilty pleas were as the result of a
deal between the French and New Zealand government. 231

Judge Davidson C.J. in passing sentence was of the opinion that the fact they were
acting on behalf of France was an aggravating rather than a mitigating feature. He said
that the offences were terrorist acts, and the fact that they were committed by French
officers, acting under orders, in what they perceived to be the best interests of the
French state, did not alter their terrorist character. It was all the more reprehensible that
the operation should have been carried out by the agents of a foreign state on the
territory of an ally. The sentences had to serve as a deterrent to anyone contemplating
similar terrorist attacks in New Zealand and should reflect the sense of public outrage,
and condemnation of the type of offences committed. Both defendants were sentenced
to ten years imprisonment for manslaughter, and seven years imprisonment, to be served
concurrently, for wilful damage.

No-one argued that the two agents could not be arrested or prosecuted as they were
entitled to the benefit of state immunity; this was not suggested by the agents
themselves, or by their defence lawyers, or by France. It was also not suggested by any
commentators. The two agents pleaded guilty and thereby prevented further
embarrassment to France. France thereafter continued to negotiate their release. On the
day they were sentenced M. Paul Quiles, the French defence minister said that the
French government would seek the early return of the agents, and La Monde was
quoting sources close to the defence that the agents would be home in time for

230

The Times, Monday, Nov 04, 1985; pg. 1; Issue 62286, col G.

231

The Times, Tuesday, Nov 05, 1985, pg. 9; issue 62287, col A.

191

Christmas. 232 Repatriation talks were held between New Zealand and France, but
agreement could not be reached 233 and in 1986 the matter was referred to the UN
Secretary General for arbitration.

The actions of the French agents were in violation of New Zealand sovereignty and of
the UN Charter, which New Zealand said was neither accidental or technical, as
international law and New Zealands sovereignty were violated deliberately and
contemptuously. 234 France accepted this, in a letter of the 8 August 1985 from the
President of the French Republic to the Prime Minister of New Zealand it was admitted
that the incident was a criminal attack committed on your territory and which cannot
for any reason be excused. 235

New Zealand was seeking restitution for the international wrong in the form of an
apology and compensation. There was also concern for the family of the victim of the
deceased, this was not strictly a matter for New Zealand as he was not a New Zealand
national, and similarly there was concern that Greenpeace should be adequately
compensated for the loss of the Rainbow Warrior. There were negotiations between the
two states about these matters. The French government accepted that the attack carried
out against the Rainbow Warrior was in violation of international law, as the territorial
sovereignty of New Zealand had been violated, and that New Zealand had a right to
compensation for harm which it had directly suffered in the attack. But the negotiations
foundered on the question of the two imprisoned agents. The French position was that
no settlement was possible without the release of Major Mafart and Captain Prieur who
had been acting under orders, as those who simply carried out the deed must obviously
be exonerated since it would not be acceptable to expose these military men who merely

232

The Times, Saturday, Nov 23, 1985, pg. 7; Issue 62303 col A.

233

The Times, Tuesday, Dec 17, 1985, pg. 7; Issue 62323; col A.

234

Letter dated 8 August 1985 from the President of the French Republic to the Prime Minister of New
Zealand.
235

Communiqu of 22 September 1985 by Prime Minister of France. Annex A to the memorandum of the
Government of New Zealand to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

192

obeyed orders. 236 Whereas the New Zealand government did not consider that they
were exempt from personal responsibility for their criminal acts, and would only release
them to the French authorities if they would be kept in custody to serve the remainder of
their sentences.

On 19 June 1986 the two states agreed to refer all outstanding disputes between them
regarding the Rainbow Warrior affair to the UN Secretary General, whose ruling they
agreed to accept as binding. 237

In his ruling the UN Secretary General summarised the positions of the two states:

The French Government seeks the immediate return of the two officers. It underlines
that their imprisonment in New Zealand is not justified, taking into account in
particular the fact that they acted under military orders and that France is ready to give
an apology and to pay compensation to New Zealand for the damage suffered.
The New Zealand position is that the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior involved not only
a serious breach of international law, but also the commission of a serious crime in New
Zealand for which the two officers received a lengthy sentence from a New Zealand
court. New Zealand is ready to explore the possibility of the sentences being served
outside New Zealand, but the New Zealand position is that there should be no release to
freedom, that any transfer should be to custody, and that there should be a means of
verifying that.

France wished to repatriate its people, whereas New Zealand refused to do so without
adequate assurances that they would serve their sentences.

The Secretary General ordered that the government of New Zealand should transfer
Major Mafart and Captain Prieur to the French military authorities, and that immediately
thereafter they should be transferred to a French military facility on an isolated island
236

Communiqu from the French Prime Minister dated 22 September 1985.

237

74 ILR 256.

193

outside Europe for a period of three years, and that they should be prevented from
leaving the island for any reason, except with the mutual consent of the two
governments. They should be isolated during their assignment on the island from
persons other than military or associated personnel, and immediate family and friends,
and they should be prohibited from any contact with the press or other media. On 25
July 1986 Major Mafart and Captain Prieur were transferred to the island of Hao in
French Polynesia.

France breached the agreement by transferring Major Mafart for medical treatment, and
transferring Captain Prieur because she was pregnant, and her father died. On 30 April
1990 there was an international arbitration regarding the breach of the Secretary
Generals ruling. The tribunal declared that France had committed a violation of its
international obligations towards New Zealand. 238

When they were arrested the agents initially denied the offences, but they subsequently
accepted that they were culpable, and pleaded guilty, thereby saving France from further
humiliation and embarrassment. At the time of the arrests France denied that they were
its agents, but within a few weeks France accepted that the act was committed by its
agents. Thereafter France made sustained attempts to get its agents returned, and
eventually breached the agreement imposed by Secretary General to return them home.
France clearly was, as Professor Greenwood said, extremely aggrieved at the
imprisonment of its agents, and considered that it had a great responsibility towards
them. France did all it could to repatriate them, but it never claimed that they were
entitled to state immunity. In the negotiations leading up to the arbitration France argued
that they should be exonerated as they merely obeyed orders, and that their
imprisonment was not justified. This was not accepted by the UN Secretary General.

The two agents and their defence lawyers did not argue before the New Zealand court
that because they were acting on behalf of their state they were entitled to immunity, nor

238

82 ILR 499.

194

was this ever claimed on their behalf by the French state. France apologized and paid
compensation.

The argument made by France to the UN Secretary General that the agents should not be
punished because they were acting under military orders and France had made
reparation by apologizing and paying compensation is quite different to any of the
justifications for state immunity applying to individuals. The justification of obeying
superior orders is one that is not accepted by modern international law, and was not so
accepted at the time of the Nuremberg trials. A person has to be responsible for their
own actions, if a plea of I was only doing what I was told could be an excuse for
heinous crimes, then murder, torture, genocide, and war crimes would carry no
individual liability unless a person was acting outside their orders. Much of modern
international criminal law would become meaningless.

State immunity is justified on two grounds:

1. That all states are equal, and for one state to judge the sovereign actions of
another state, would be an unacceptable interference by that state, in the affairs
of the other state.
2. That state immunity is necessary to enable a states officials to perform their
functions.

Neither of these justifications can apply here. France is interfering in the internal affairs
of New Zealand by blowing up a boat in New Zealand territorial water, France cannot
therefore claim that its agents actions should not be subject to scrutiny. France could
claim that the political decisions taken in France are subject to state immunity, but the
egregious criminal actions of the French agents on New Zealand territory cannot be said
to be an internal matter for France.

The justification that state immunity is necessary to enable the French agents to perform
their function does not stand up to scrutiny either. The French agents entered New

195

Zealand clandestinely with the intention of being part of a conspiracy to cause

explosions. Causing explosions on the territory of a friendly ally, an action which has no
regard for human life, is a gross breach of the sovereignty of that ally. Causing
explosions on the territory of other states is not a legitimate function of state officials.

These two cases are very different. The Cyprus case relates only to collecting
information, albeit in a covert way, whereas the Rainbow Warrior case involves
bombings and murder; very serious crimes of violence. But the cases have features
which are similar, the agents are disguised, their identity and the purpose of their visit
are not disclosed to the foreign state. The reason for this is self evident, if they disclosed
who they were, and why they were on the territory of the foreign state, they would be
excluded. The foreign state would not consent to their presence on its territory.

Both cases evince responses from the states and agents involved which are very similar.
At the beginning the agents deny being who they are, and assert that they are they
innocent, and their state does not acknowledge their actions. When the evidence is
overwhelming, the agents plead guilty thereby protecting their state from further
embarrassment, whilst the state accepts responsibility for the actions of the agents. Both
the responsible states and the agents try to minimise what has happened, and the state
makes sustained and ultimately successful efforts to get their people returned. No-one
involved asserts that state immunity applies, and the responsible states do not assert that
their agents are entitled to immunity from prosecution as an aspect of state immunity,
even though a successful plea of immunity would prevent the potential embarrassment
of any trial.

These two cases share common characteristics, most overwhelmingly the fact that noone involved has considered that immunity from criminal prosecution may apply to
people who are quite clearly state actors. In both cases:

1. The state officials were not entitled to immunity ratione personae.

196

2. Their conduct was undertaken on behalf of their state, and was official, in that it
was requested of them by other state officials.
3. Their conduct took place on the territory of the forum state.
4. Under the application of the ordinary principles of state responsibility the state
would be held responsible for the actions of their officials.

These two cases are instances of state practice where state immunity is not accorded to
state officials undertaking official business. As explained earlier in this thesis customary
international law is created by state practice which is a general practice accepted as
law.

There are three associated questions regarding state immunity ratione materiae:

1. Do state officials other than high state officials, diplomats and consuls have
immunity for official conduct?
2. What conduct carries continuing immunity, and does it apply to all former
officials?
3. Are officials, other than those entitled to immunity ratione personae, entitled to
immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct on the forum state?

The next part of this thesis will look at other instances of state practice to endeavour to
provide answers to these questions. Diplomats and consuls have continuing immunity
for official conduct, and looking at prosecutions involving diplomats and consuls may
assist in understanding what conduct carries continuing immunity.

Diplomats and Consuls: Performance of Duties.

There are not many cases where diplomats and consuls are accused of criminal offences.
There is a duty upon both diplomats and consuls to abide by the laws of the receiving
state, and most consuls and diplomats do so. But there are a small number of cases

197

involving diplomats and consuls which throw some light on what conduct is performed
in the exercise of functions.
In 1977 in the Hesse v Prefect of Trieste 239 the Italian courts had to consider this
regarding a consul who had not paid his parking fines. Mr. Hesse was the Honorary
Consul of the Republic of Cameroons in Trieste Italy, and he had a number of unpaid
fines for parking offences. The Prefect of Trieste wanted to enforce the payment of the
fines, and Mr. Hesse appealed against this to the Pretore (Examining Magistrate)
claiming that under articles 43 and 58 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1963 he was immune from the jurisdiction of the administrative and judicial authorities
of Italy. The Pretore dismissed the appeal stating that the Prefects injunctions were
administrative and not judicial acts and that the Consul could not therefore invoke
immunity from jurisdiction. Mr. Hesse then appealed to the Court of Cassation. The
appeal was dismissed. The Court of Cassation held that consular immunity covered not
only consular functions but also activities, which, although not constituting the
performance of such functions, were nevertheless closely linked and instrumental to
such functions. The court said that it was wrong to state that as a matter of principle,
consular immunity could never extend to the driving and parking of a car. Nevertheless
in this case the appellant had not proved the instrumental nexus between his parking in a
no parking area and the performance of his consular duties. The court said that consular
immunity extended to cover actions carried out by in the exercise of consular functions,
and also actions which although not in themselves of an official nature were
instrumentally connected with the accomplishment of official acts.

In this case the court decided that Mr. Hesse was not entitled to immunity and had to
pay the fines. This decision recognises that activities, although not constituting part of
the performance of official functions, but which are closely linked and instrumental to
such functions may be immune.

239

[1977] 77 ILR 610 Italy, Court of Cassation (Joint Session) 10 November 1977.

198

New Zealand also had to consider what actions could be performed in the exercise of
functions in 1977, in a much more serious matter in L v The Crown. 240 L. was the ViceConsul of a Pacific Island country employed at the Consulate-General in Auckland. On
18 April 1977, during business hours, a citizen of his country came to the ConsulateGeneral offices to re-new her passport. L, as Vice-Consul interviewed her, this was
within his Consular functions, as one of the functions of a consul is to issue passports,
and travel documents. 241 The woman alleged that during the interview L. indecently
assaulted her, and L was charged, in New Zealand, with indecent assault.

L. applied to the court for an order seeking his discharge on the ground that he was
immune from prosecution as a consular officer, as what he did was performed by him in
the exercise of his consular functions within the meaning of article 43(1) Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations 1963.

The application was dismissed and L. was ordered to stand trial. The New Zealand
Supreme Court found that the basis of consular privileges and immunities is a functional
necessity and not for the benefit of individuals. The court noted it is to ensure the
efficient performance of functions on behalf of respective states, and found therefore
the immunity of a consular officer from prosecution was not a personal immunity, but
an immunity for the benefit of the sending state. Such immunity was limited to acts that
properly occurred in the course of the exercise of consular duties. The court found that,
an indecent assault, committed by a consular officer on consulate premises, was not an
act performed in the exercise of a consular function. The fact that the consular officers
introduction to the complainant would not have been made had he not held consular
office, did not transform his action into one performed in the exercise of a consular
function. The court said, Such an act is as unconnected with the duty to be performed
by the consular officer as an act of murder. It is not one required of him in the exercise
of his functions, and L was therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the New Zealand
courts and stood trial.
240

[1977] 68 ILR 175 Supreme Court, Auckland, New Zealand. 12 September 1977.

241

Article 5(d) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963.

199

The immunity of a consular officer from prosecution, is not a personal immunity, it is an

immunity for the benefit of the sending state. It is an immunity which is limited to acts
which properly occur in the course of consular duties. The issuing of the passport is a
consular duty, the indecent assault is not. The indecent assault was not closely linked to,
nor instrumental to the issuing of a passport.

A case which is confusing in its reasoning is that of the Former Syrian Ambassador to
the German Democratic Republic. 242 This is a prosecution in Germany, after reunification in 1990, of the former Syrian ambassador to East Germany for failing to
prevent a terrorist attack in West Berlin, which at that time was part of West Germany.
In 1983 there was a bomb attack at an arts centre in West Berlin. One person was killed
and more than twenty seriously injured. The East German Syrian ambassador was
implicated. He allegedly failed to prevent the terrorist group which carried out the attack
from removing explosives from the Syrian Embassy, where they had been allowed to
store them in accordance with specific instructions, from Syria, to its ambassador to do
everything possible to assist the group. It was not known how the explosives reached
West Berlin, although a Syrian embassy official had refused, after consultation with the
ambassador, a request from the terrorists to transport them there in an embassy bag. The
terrorists were allowed to leave the embassy with the explosives, and the attack occurred
a few hours later.

In July 1994 a District Court in Berlin issued a warrant for the arrest of the former
ambassador, charging him with being an accessory to murder, and with causing of an
explosion. The former ambassador challenged the warrant. The warrant was upheld by
the Berlin Court of Appeal, on the basis that immunity was not a bar to the proceedings,
even though at the relevant time, the accused had been accredited as the ambassador of
Syria in East Germany.

242

ILR 115 595.

200

The former ambassador then lodged a constitutional complaint. He argued that the Court
of Appeal had been wrong in holding that, at the relevant time, he was only exempted
from the criminal jurisdiction of East Germany, but not from that of the Federal
Republic, that is reunified Germany. He said the Court of Appeal was wrong to hold that
diplomatic immunity did not have erga omnes effect.
On 10 June 1997 in a judgment which has been criticised 243 the Federal Constitutional
Court held that courts of the Federal Republic had criminal jurisdiction, because the acts
which the complainant was accused of assisting had been committed within West
Berlin, and their effects were also felt there, and that the former ambassador was not
immune. The court accepted that the former ambassador had acted in the exercise of
his functions as a member of the mission within the meaning of the Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations 1961, and that by art 39(2) his diplomatic immunity continued
to subsist even after his functions came to an end. But the court found that there was no
rule of customary international law whereby that continuing immunity is binding on
third states, and that there was no rule of customary international law which required the
Federal Republic of Germany to recognise that a diplomat formerly accredited to the
German Democratic Republic was entitled to continuing immunity under article 39(2)
by operation of the rules of state succession.

It is submitted that the reasoning in this case is incorrect; the Federal Republic of
Germany takes over the international obligations of the German Democratic Republic.
The ambassador was either entitled to continuing immunity for actions in the exercise of
his functions of the mission, or not. If he was entitled to immunity that obligation was
binding on the re-unified Germany. The difficult question is why did the court consider
that this conduct was within the exercise of his functions as a member of the mission? It
may be because he was accused of failing to prevent the attack. To have informed upon
his fellow citizens who were undertaking his states policy would have undermining his
own state. But they were going to bomb a public building. Such activity cannot be a
legitimate state activity. In any event the former ambassador was not granted immunity.
243

See e.g. Fassenbender 92 AJIL 74 (1998).

201

A more recent case, regarding a former diplomat and terrorist actions, which points to
such conduct not being in the exercise of his functions as a member of the mission, is
that of the former Iranian ambassador to Argentina, Hadi Soleimanpour. On 18 July
1994 in Buenos Aires in Argentina, a Renault van full of explosives crashed into a
Jewish Community Centre. The bomb destroyed the building, eighty-five people were
killed and two hundred injured. Hadi Soleimanpor, who was then Iranian ambassador to
Argentina, was accused of planning the attack. It was alleged he provided information to
co-conspirators about how the attack should be carried out, and the place and timing of
the bomb. The allegation was that the Iranian government were responsible for the
bombing, and that Mr. Soleimanpour was acting on the instructions of his government.
On 20 March 2003 the New York Times reported that Abdolghassem Mesbahi, a high
ranking Iranian intelligence official who defected to Germany in 1996, implicated Mr
Soleimanpour in carrying out the bombing, and that it was on the orders of, and financed
by the Iranian government. A warrant for Mr Soleimanpours arrest was issued in
Argentina, by Judge Galeano, for offences of conspiracy to murder. Judge Galeano said
there was evidence that Mr Soleimanpour harboured the bombers, and gave them
logistical support.

Argentina and the UK are parties to a bi-lateral extradition treaty signed in 1894. The
treaty provides that a prima facie case has to be made out before a person can be
extradited, and for the issue of a provisional warrant in cases of urgency, before the
evidence is received.

Mr Soleimanpour came to England to study at Durham University. Argentina requested

the UK to arrest Mr Soleimanpour for extradition. On 21 August 2003 District Judge
Pratt issued a provisional warrant for the arrest of Mr Soleimanpour. Judge Pratt was
aware that Mr. Soleimanpour had been the Iranian ambassador to Argentina at the time
of the bombing, but took the view that the allegation was such that it could not be within
the exercise of the functions of an ambassador. Mr. Soleimanpour was arrested on the

202

warrant on 21 August 2003 and brought before Bow Street Magistrates Court, and
refused bail.

Under the terms of the treaty Argentina had two months in which to provide the
extradition request. The request was received, and on 12 November 2003 the Secretary
of State cancelled the provisional arrest warrant, as he was not satisfied that the prima
facie evidential test had been satisfied. He declined to cancel the request on the basis of
continuing diplomatic immunity despite being requested to do so by Mr Soleimanpours
lawyers.

This case caused a diplomatic incident. The arrest and failure to grant bail was reported
to have angered the Iranian government. Iranian officials were reported as saying that
they regarded Mr. Soleimanpours detention as politically motivated, and President
Khatami, the Iranian leader, warned that Britain should expect serious consequences if
Mr, Soleimanpour remained in custody. 244 "I hope the British Government revises its
policies on this issue...because of the results it could have on relations between the two
countries," Abdollah Ramazanzadeh, an Iranian spokesman, said adding that all options,
including the expulsion of British diplomats, remained open. 245 On 2 September 2003
Morteza Sarmadi the Iranian Ambassador in London was recalled to Iran. 246 The High
Court granted bail to Mr. Soleimanpour on 2 September 2003. This was reported to have
averted a potentially explosive diplomatic row between Iran and Britain. 247 When Mr.
Soleimanpour was discharged the Iranian foreign ministry said that Tehran was
satisfied, and that "The decision shows that the accusations against Iran were baseless
and politically motivated." 248

244

03 August 2003, The Times, p. 20.

245

08 August 2003, The Times, p. 17.

246

03 September 2003, The Times, p. 14.

247

3 September 2003. The Times, p. 4.

248

14 November 2003, The Times, p. 15.

203

This case caused serious political repercussions, but at no time did Iran claim that their
agent was entitled to state immunity. Iran did not say that Argentina should not have
issued a warrant, nor did they claim that the UK should not have arrested Mr.
Soleimanpour. The complaint from the Iranian government was that Mr. Soleimanpour
should have been released on bail. The Iranian government did not claim that Mr.
Soleimanpour was entitled to diplomatic immunity, but his defence lawyers did so. The
Secretary if State did not accept this argument did not cancel the provisional warrant on
this ground. The warrant was cancelled because the Secretary of State was not satisfied
that the prima facie evidential test required for extradition to Argentina had been
satisfied.

These cases show that immunity does not apply to criminal conduct committed by a
person who had immunity ratione personae unless the conduct was performed as part of
an official function or was closely linked and instrumental thereto. This is true of the
most minor such as non payment of parking tickets, as well as serious criminal offences
such as sexual assaults, and also politically motivated terrorist offences. It is not part of
the functions of diplomats and consuls to commit crimes, and they do not have
continuing immunity for crimes unless committed in the exercise of their legitimate
functions. Violence is not a legitimate function for a diplomat. Serving diplomats may
not be prosecuted but they can be expelled. When they have left office they can be
prosecuted for offences that were not performed as part of a legitimate official function.
The prosecuting state does not ask the home state to extradite ex-diplomats, but those
accused of serious crimes travel at their peril.

The Waiver of Immunity.

Immunity is for the state to claim or waive, not for an individual. If an officials state
chooses to waive his immunity, he cannot then claim immunity himself. The cases
where states have waived the immunity of officials throw light on the kind of conduct
which states do not consider it appropriate to protect.

204

The New Zealand Court of Appeal in October 2004 considered waiver in the case of R v
X. 249 where a diplomat was charged with indecent assault on a nanny living and working
in his home. He entered the nannys bedroom at night and masturbated to ejaculation.
The nanny pretended to be asleep, and after X left the room, she discovered that she had
semen in her hair. She cut off some of her hair and placed it in a plastic bag. She
complained to the police and gave them the sample. The police laid charges against X.
X's home government waived immunity from prosecution. In the District Court X
argued that the semen sample was inadmissible. X's counsel relied upon art 29 of the
Vienna Convention, which states that ''the person of a diplomatic agent shall be
inviolable''. X's application was dismissed. The Judge ruled that ''the person of the
diplomatic agent'' did not include bodily fluids which have been discarded by that
person. X appealed to the Court of Appeal which dismissed his appeal, finding that the
semen sample was admissible. There had been no breach of article 29, in that the
receiving state had done nothing directly, or through its agents, to detain or arrest or
constrain X in order to obtain the sample. Since X's semen had been abandoned or
discarded by him, the subsequent actions of the police and courts with regard to the
semen sample could not have breached article 29. The court also held that the waiver of
immunity by X's home government extended to all steps which were reasonably
incidental to the prosecution of X, including leading evidence of the sample. The state
employing X did not consider indecent assault in his own home was the kind of conduct
it wished to protect from scrutiny.

In January 1997 the President Shevardnadze of the Republic of Georgia waived the
immunity of Deputy Ambassador to the United States Gueorgui Makharadze. Mr
Makharadze was speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol when he crashed
causing the death a sixteen year old girl and injured four others. Mr Makharadze
surrendered to the police, he expressed remorse, and pleaded guilty, and was sentenced
to seven to twenty-one years imprisonment. 250

249

CA 299/04, [2005] 2 NZLR 121; 2004 NZLR LEXIS 56, 18 October 2004.

250

New York Times. January 11 1997, February 21 1997, October 9 1997, December 20 1997.

205

Colombia waived immunity for the trial for murder of Jairo Soto-Mendoza, a special
forces soldier and military attache at the Colombian Embassy in London. Senor SotoMendoza was accused of the murder of Damian Broom, a petty criminal who had
mugged his son Valencia. Senor Soto-Mendoza was entitled to immunity from
prosecution, but Colombia decided to waive it after Tony Blair raised the case with
Alvaro Uribe, the country's President. Senor Soto-Mendoza was found not guilty at the
Central Criminal Court on 22 July 2003. 251

In each these cases the alleged criminality was very serious, and the diplomat was
clearly in breach of his duty to abide by the law of the receiving state. The alleged
conduct has nothing to do with state business, and the alleged conduct did not threaten
state interests.

States Requesting Immunity.

When a state does not assert the right to immunity after the event, but requests that
immunity be granted before an activity is undertaken, it indicates that there is no
immunity under international law. Such a situation where a state did not assert immunity
was when George Bush, the US President made a state visit to the UK, in November
2003, during a time of heightened security risks. There had been terrorist attacks in New
York on 11 September 2001, and Bali in October 2002 and during the visit there was to
be an anti-war demonstration at which one hundred thousand people were expected to
march on Londons streets. The terrorist threat level in Britain was raised to the secondhighest level, after intelligence warned of an al-Qaeda plot. It was in this climate, that
the United States Security Services were reported to be concerned, that Islamic terrorists
might take advantage of the disorder to stage an attack.

The United States secret service insisted that Mr Bushs personal safety was its
responsibility, and they made a number of requests which were refused; such as that
bullet proof windows be installed in Buckingham Palace, that a helicopter gunship
251

23 July 2003, The Times, p. 7.

206

should hover above Buckingham Palace at all times, and that there should be a complete
exclusion zone for anti-war protests. The American authorities also wanted to bring two
hundred and fifty armed officers with Mr Bush, and requested that any agent who used a
gun be granted immunity from prosecution. This request for immunity was refused, and
Whitehall officials were reported as insisting that US agents must follow the law and
can use arms only if there is an imminent or direct threat to life 252

Here both the British and American authorities accept that the United States had to ask
for immunity, and that the UK is entitled to say no. The press do not question this; rather
there was anger in the British press at perceived American arrogance in contemplating
the use of guns on British streets, and in asking for immunity. An agent who is a
member of a team protecting his President from harm on an official visit to a foreign
state must be an official agent acting in his official capacity. If state immunity attaches
to all official state acts, then there should be no need for the American to request
immunity.

This is an example of state practice where state officials do not have immunity in a
second state unless that state has consented, both to the presence of the agents of the
foreign state, and to those agents having immunity for their actions. Mere consent to the
presence of state officials for state purposes does not confer immunity.

Prosecutions for Serious Crimes Committed by State Agents.

Terrorism.

In the Lockerbie case state officials were prosecuted as state agents undertaking
terrorism on behalf of their state. 253 Two members of the Libyan Intelligence Service
were prosecuted for offences of terrorism, which were described in the charges as
committed on behalf of the state of Libya. On 21 December 1988 Pan Am Flight 103
252

12 November 2003, The Times, p. 1. 17 November 2003, The Times, p. 4.

253

The facts of this case are taken from the University of Glasgow trial briefing site at www.ltb.org.uk.

207

was en route from Heathrow airport London to John F Kennedy airport New York,
when it exploded in mid-air and falling wreckage destroyed three houses in the village
of Lockerbie in Scotland. Two hundred and seventy people were killed; two hundred
and forty three passengers, sixteen crew, and eleven residents of Lockerbie. The
investigation established that a semtex-type plastic explosive bomb contained in a
Toshiba radio-cassette player, amongst clothes in a Samsonite suitcase, had been
detonated automatically and caused the explosion in the left side of the forward hold of
the plane. The suitcase had been carried by Pan-Am unaccompanied and transferred
onto the flight.

On 13 November 1991 warrants were issued by a Scottish Sheriff for the arrest of two
Libyans, Abdelbasset al-Megrahi and Ali Fhimah, on charges of conspiracy to murder,
murder and breaches of the Aircraft Security Act 1982. The Petition (the document
requesting the warrants) outlined charges which were alleged to be committed by Mr alMegrahi and Mr Fhimah as members of the Libyan Intelligence Services. These charges
remained substantially the same in the two indictments in the eventual trial. 254 The
charges alleged that the conspiracy to blow up the aircraft, and the actions performed in
furtherance of that conspiracy, were Libyan State policy and officially sanctioned. The
indictment alleged that the two defendants committed the crimes as members of the
Libyan Intelligence Services, and that the conspiracy was to further the purposes of the
Libyan Intelligence Services by criminal means. These are official actions performed by
state officials in the execution of state policy.

Libya refused to surrender the suspects, but the reason it gave for doing so, was not that
the allegations involved state actions, but that that it had no extradition treaty with either
the UK, or the USA, and that Libyan law prohibited the extradition of its own nationals.
Libya could have claimed that neither the British or American courts had jurisdiction, on
the basis that the allegations were regarding actions of state officials, on official state

254
In the second indictment only Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was alleged to be a member of the
Libyan intelligence services, but it was still alleged that they both were acting in furtherance of the
purposes of the Libyan Intelligence Services. See www.ltb.org.uk.chargesindictment2.cfm.

208

business, without conceding the truth of the allegations, and without the evidence being
considered, but did not do so.

Instead Libya said that it would consider trying the men itself under the provisions of
the Montreal Convention. The Libyan authorities arrested the two accused and placed
them under house arrest, and appointed a Supreme Court Judge as examining magistrate
to consider the evidence and prepare the case against them. When the British and US
authorities declined to assist this investigation, Libya filed a case with the ICJ for a
declaration that Libya was entitled to try the accused in Libya, and that the UK and the
USA were in breach of their obligations under the Montreal Convention in insisting
upon trial elsewhere. 255 At no stage in these proceedings before the ICJ did Libya assert
that the UK and the USA did not have jurisdiction to try the allegations because of state
immunity.

The UN Security Council said it was Deeply concerned over the results of
investigations, which implicate officials of the Libyan Government and recalled the
statement made on 30 December 1988 by the President of the Security Council on behalf
of the members of the Council strongly condemning the destruction of Pan Am fight 103
and calling on all State to assist in the apprehension and prosecution of those
responsible for this criminal act. 256 The Security Council did not consider that the fact
the agents were acting on behalf of their state absolved them from responsibility, on the
contrary it urged that the perpetrators be prosecuted.
After the intervention of the Security Council, 257 the imposition of sanctions, and years
of negotiations, a Scottish Court was convened in The Netherlands. 258 On 5 April 1999
255

Case Concerning Questions of Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal Convention
Arising from the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya v United Kingdom) 1992 General
List No. 88 filed 3 March 1992. On 10 September 2003 the case was removed from the list at the joint
request of the parties.
256

Security Council Resolution 731 of 21 January 1992.

257

Security Council Resolution 731 of 21 January 1992 strongly deplored the government of Libyas lack
of co-operation in the matter and urged Libya to respond to British and American requests contained in
their statements of 27 November 1991. Security Council Resolution 748 of 31 March 1992 found that
failure to comply with the request was a threat to international peace and security, and acting under

209

Mr al-Megrahi and Mr Fhima surrendered to the Netherlands authorities, and on the 3

May 2000 the trial started in the High Court of Justiciary sitting in the Netherlands.
During the trial neither of the defendants raised as a defence that the actions alleged
were the actions of the Libyan state, and that they were therefore entitled to be
acquitted. Libya did not claim state immunity on behalf of its agents, and the defendants
did not raise it for themselves. On 31 January 2001 the court convicted Mr al-Megrahi
of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Mr Fhima was found not guilty and
released.

The Lockerbie case is a clear example of state agents accused of committing crimes on
the orders of their state, and being held liable as individuals for the criminal conduct.
This is state practice by the UK which prosecuted, the USA which supported the
prosecutions, all the states on the Security Council, and Libya which did not claim
immunity.

A second example of a state agent being prosecuted for terrorist offences is Nezar
Hindawi. He was convicted on 24 October 1986 at the Central Criminal Court of
attempting to destroy an Israeli airliner and sentenced to forty five years imprisonment.
On April 17 April 1986 he planted a bomb in the luggage of his pregnant girlfriend,
Anne-Marie Murphy. During the trial it was stated that Mr. Hindawi had acted under
instructions from the Syrian intelligence service, had traveled to London under a false
name on a Syrian diplomatic passport, and had received the active co-operation and
encouragement of Syrian embassy staff, including the ambassador. The UK claimed
that there was conclusive evidence that the Syrian government was directly involved in
planning the incident, and on 24 October 1986 diplomatic relations with Syria were
severed. 259 The English authorities prosecuted, and the Syrian authorities did not claim
immunity.
chapter VII of the United Nations Charter required Libya to renounce terrorism, and comply with the
requests, that is surrender the suspects for trial within fifteen days or face the imposition of sanctions.
258

The idea of trial in a neutral venue was proposed initially by Professor Robert Black of Edinburgh
University. See From Lockerbie to Zeist. www.thelockerbietrial.com/from_lockerbie _to _zeist.htm.
259

Keesings. Israel. November 1986.

210

Terrorism by Disguised Members of Armed Forces.

The Privy Council has held in two cases in 1968 and 1969 that members of armed forces
engaged in sabotage who do not abide by the Geneva Conventions are not protected by
the conventions as combatants. Both cases are appeals from the Federal Court of
Malaysia. In Osman Bin Haji Mohamed Ali and Others 260 the appellants appealed
against their convictions for murder. On 10 March 1965 there was an explosion at a
bank in Singapore which killed three people. The appellants had been dressed in civilian
clothes when they placed the explosives and lit them, and when they were arrested.
There was confession and identification evidence. The appellants claimed they were
members of the Indonesian armed forces and entitled to prisoner of war status, as there
was an armed conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia. The court found that if they
were members of the Indonesian armed forces, they were not entitled to be treated on
capture as prisoners of war under the Convention as they were dressed as civilians and
therefore forfeited their combatant status.
In the Public Prosecutor and Oie Hee Koo and others 261 the twelve accused were
members of an armed force of paratroopers under the command of the Indonesian Air
Force, captured in Malaysia. They were arrested carrying firearms, ammunition and
military equipment. They had Malay identity cards. The court held that were not entitled
to be treated as combatants because the Geneva Conventions do not extend the
protection given to nationals of the detaining power nor to persons who, although not
nationals, owed a duty of allegiance to that power.

In both of these cases the allegations were that the appellants were acting as state agents,
members of the armed forces, but there was no suggestion by anyone involved in either
Malaysia or England that they were entitled to claim state immunity.

260

[1969] 1 AC 430.

261

[1968] AC 829.

211

Assassination.

There are a number of cases where state agents have carried out assassinations in foreign
states. These are serious crimes performed by state agents on behalf of their state.

On 9 July 1978 Colonel al Nayef, a former Iraqi Prime Minister was fatally shot in
London. Two Iraqis citizens, Salem Ahmad Hassan and Ammadi Rahman al-Shukri
were accused of the murder. On 28 February 1979 at the Central Criminal Court Mr.
Hassan, who was accused of firing the shot, pleaded guilty. Mr. al-Shukri pleaded not
guilty. Mr. al-Shukri was alleged to be a senior officer of the Iraqi intelligence service,
and the prosecution said that he accompanied Mr. Hassan to London from Baghdad, and
had identified Colonel al Nayef to Mr. Hassan by shaking hands with him in the foyer of
the Hotel Continental, immediately before the assassination. Mr. Hassan was sentenced
to life imprisonment. Mr. al-Shukri was acquitted. 262 Here the UK asserted the right to
prosecute, and neither the defendants nor Iraq claimed they were entitled to immunity
because the allegation was that they were acting on behalf of their state.

On 25 September 1997 Mr Meshaal, a Hamas leader, was attacked outside his office in
Amman, Jordan by men who were later identified as Mossad agents. They sprayed
poison in his ear. Two of the men were detained, after a struggle, and taken to the police
station. They were traveling on Canadian passports using false names. They declined the
help of the Canadian Embassy and were soon identified as Israeli agents employed by
Mossad. Other agents took refuge in the Israeli embassy. The attempted assassination
was ordered by Binyamin Netanyahu. King Hussain of Jordan was said to be
infuriated. 263 On 1 October 1997 Israel released Sheikh Yassin, who was described as

262

Keesings. February 1980. Iraq. Two British business men, Mr. Frank French, an engineer working for
an American oil company in Iraq, and Mr. Christopher Sparkes, a senior representative of the George
Wimpey construction company were arrested in Iraq in 1978 following the expulsion from Britain of 11
Iraqis in connection with the killing of Colonel al Nayef, and other violent attacks on Arabs in London.
They were tried in April and May 1979. Mr. French was sentenced to six months imprisonment for
leading a bible study group to cover up for subversive activities. M. Sparkes was sentenced to life
imprisonment for economic espionage.
263

05 October 1997, The Sunday Times, News p. 20.

212

Israels most prominent Palestinian prisoner and the spiritual founder of Hamas. He was
pardoned and flown to Amman in a helicopter sent by King Hussein of Jordan. He was
greeted by the Monarch on his arrival. His release was reported as being part of a deal to
try to secure the freedom of the two Mossad agents. 264 On 4 October 1997 Binyamin
Netanyahu admitted that there had been an "operational failure," but said the attack had
been essential. The attack led to the withdrawal of Canada's ambassador from Tel
Aviv. 265 Politicians in Ottawa called for sanctions against Israel. On 6 October 1997,
Israels parliament was recalled for an emergency debate on the assassination attempt
ordered by Binyamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians called for his resignation. 266

On 7 October 1997 the two Israeli agents were returned to Israel as part of a swap
negotiated with King Hussain of Jordan. Twenty more Palestinian and Jordanian
prisoners were released, and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was allowed to return to Gaza. It
was reported that Israel would free fifty more Arab prisoners within a fortnight.
Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the undercover fight against terrorism would
continue in every country where anti-Israeli terrorists sought sanctuary. "This is a battle
without compromise. It is a not a battle of words. It is a battle of deeds," he said "this
bloody war cannot possibly be fought with only successes ... there are bound to be
failures." 267 On 11 October 1997 King Hussain ordered the expulsion of the entire
intelligence mission from the Israeli Embassy in Amman. 268

On 10 October 1997 the Canadian foreign minister, announced to the Canadian

parliament in Ottawa that he had received a full apology from the Israeli foreign
minister regarding the use of forged Canadian passports by Mossad in Jordan. The

264

02 October 1997, The Times, p. 17.

265

05 October 1997, The Sunday Times, News p. 20.

266

06 October 1997, The Times, p. 15.

267

07 October 1997, The Times, p. 13.

268

11 October 1997, The Times, p. 17.

213

Israeli foreign minister promised "that the use of forged Canadian passports by Israel
would never happen again. 269

This is an example of an attempted assassination by state agents on foreign territory,

where the foreign state prosecuted. Jordan prosecuted the Israeli agents, the Israeli
authorities made strenuous efforts to ensure the return of their agents, but they never
claimed immunity.

Georgi Markov was assassinated in London in September 1978. Mr. Markov was a
celebrated writer in Bulgaria who defected to the West. He lived in England and worked
for the BBC World Service, and his broadcasts apparently angered Bulgarias President
Todor Zhikov. On 7 September 1978 he was stabbed in the thigh by a man with an
umbrella on Waterloo Bridge. He died three days later, and an autopsy discovered a tiny
pellet in his thigh filled with the poison ricin. At that time the Bulgarian government
said the allegation that Bulgaria was responsible for the murder was groundless and it
protested at slanders and fabrications. The Bulgarian news agency said the
allegations were ill intended propaganda against our country and that they strongly
smell of a campaign schemed in advance by interested circles against the Peoples
Republic of Bulgaria so as to discredit and denigrate her. 270

The metropolitan police reviewed the case regularly. In 1991 Oleg Kalugin, a former
Soviet Intelligence Service (KGB) general, said that Todor Zhikov ordered the killing,
and that the Bulgarians asked the Soviet Union for assistance. The KGB defector Oleg
Gordievsky said the KGB provided the poisoned umbrella, and Bulgaria the assassin. In
1991 after Todor Zhikov was removed from power, the metropolitan police provided
information to Bulgarian police. 271 In June 2008 it was reported that English and
Bulgarian police were working together on the case, reviewing documents and
questioning witnesses, including two former top-secret police officers. We are fully
269

11 October 1997, The Times, p. 17.

270

The Times, Thursday, Oct 05, 1978; pg. 2; Issue 60424; col E.

271

09 June 1991, The Sunday Times.

214

cooperating with our colleagues and are having a 100 per cent exchange of information
on both sides - something we lacked in the past, Mr Tsvetanov the Bulgarian
investigator told Dnevnik. 272

The British authorities investigated, and continue to investigate this matter. The
Bulgarians have never said that the agent who murdered Georgi Markov is entitled to
immunity because he was acting on the order of the state; rather in 1978 the Bulgarian
government denied responsibility for this crime, although Bulgaria now accepts that it
was responsible.

On 23 November 2006 Alexander Litvinenko, died in a London hospital of acute

radiation poisoning. 273 On 1 November 2006 Mr Litvinenko met Andrey Lugovoy at the
Millennium Hotel in Mayfair; he was poisoned by tea laced with the radioactive isotope
polonium-210. Mr Litvenenko was shown on British television dying a result of
radiation sickness. Mr Litvinenko directly accused Vladimir Putin of being responsible
for his being poisoned.

Mr Litvinenko was a British citizen, having been granted asylum. He had formerly been
a Russian KGB and FSB officer, and he was an outspoken critic of Russia. He alleged
that the al-Qaeda number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was trained by the FSB in Dagestan
in the years before the 9/11 attacks, and he denounced the war in Chechnya as a crime,
calling for Russian troops to be withdrawn. He was poisoned days after meeting Mario
Scaramella, an Italian academic, in Piccadilly where it is said that he received
documents claiming to name the killers of Anna Politkovskaya, an outspoken Russian
journalist and critic of the Putin regime.

On 22 May 2007 the DPP announced that he had decided to prosecute Andrei Lugovoy,
a former KGB officer with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko. He said "I have today
concluded that the evidence sent to us by the police is sufficient to charge Andrey
272

The Times June 20, 2008.

273

The following facts and statements are taken from the report in The Times Online, May 22, 2007.

215

Lugovoy with the murder of Mr Litvinenko by deliberate poisoning. I have further

concluded that a prosecution of this case would clearly be in the public interest. In those
circumstances, I have instructed CPS lawyers to take immediate steps to seek the early
extradition of Andrey Lugovoy from Russia to the United Kingdom, so that he may be
charged with murder - and be brought swiftly before a court in London to be prosecuted
for this extraordinarily grave crime." A warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr
Lugovoy, and the Russian ambassador was summoned to the FCO to be told that the UK
expected his Government's full co-operation in the extradition. Marina Gridneva, a
spokeswoman for the Russian prosecutor's office, said: "In accordance with Russian
law, citizens of Russia cannot be turned over to foreign states."

The official spokesman for the UK Prime Minister, said the legal process should take its
course, and added: "Nobody should be under any doubt as to the seriousness with which
we are taking this case. Murder is murder and therefore it is very serious and the nature
of this murder also is very serious. Russia refused to extradite Mr Lugovoy, and on 16
July 2007 the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband made a statement to the House
of Commons 274 explaining that Britain was to expel four diplomats from the Russian
Embassy in London. He told MPs Russia was an important ally, and the situation was
one that Britain had "not sought and does not welcome". But he said it was necessary to
send a "clear and proportionate signal" to Russia, about the seriousness with which
Britain regarded the matter. 275 He went on to add that if Mr Lugovoy were to travel then
he could be arrested and extradited to Britain. He also said that the crime was against a
British citizen in London, and that therefore the appropriate venue for the trial is
London.

The Russia Foreign Ministry chief spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said: "London's
position is immoral. Moreover, in London they should clearly realise that such

274

BBC News Online 16 July 2007.

275

http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007
029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1183544695364.

216

provocative actions masterminded by the British authorities will not be left without an
answer and cannot but entail the most serious consequences.

After the four Russian diplomats were expelled by Britain, four British diplomats were
expelled from Russia, 276 and the granting of visas was suspended by both countries. On
22 July 2007 it was reported that the murder of Alexander Litvinenko was undeniably
state-sponsored terrorism on Moscows part. That is the view of the highest levels of
British government. 277

The matter was viewed very seriously by both governments, there were tit for tat
expulsions of diplomats, and high level diplomatic exchanges, but no-one suggested that
Mr Lugovoy could claim state immunity as an agent of the Russian state. A warrant was
issued for his arrest in England, and his extradition requested. The DPP and the Foreign
Secretary were both involved in the decision making, and neither thought state
immunity could apply. Russia was very aggrieved by the request, and refused
extradition, but only on the grounds that Russia does not extradite its own citizens.
Russia never asserted that Mr Lugovoy was entitled to state immunity. The British
government stated that one of its concerns was the maintenance of law and order on its
own territory, and maintained that a trial for the murder of a British citizen on British
territory should take place in London. State immunity was never considered to be a
possible bar to prosecution by any of the government officials concerned.

Kidnapping.

276

Times Online July 19, 2007.

277

Times Online. July 22, 2007.

217

Kidnapping by foreign agents, on the territory of foreign states, is another crime for
which state immunity is not claimed. One such case is that of Mohammed Yusufu. 278 On
5 July 1984 anti-terrorist police officers rescued Umaru Dikko from a crate in the hold
of a Nigeria Airways Boeing 707 at Stansted Airport. Mr Dikko, a former Nigerian
Transport Minister, was accused of stealing millions of dollars from the Nigerian State.
He had been kidnapped in West London and drugged. The crate was accompanied by
several Nigerian diplomats, and was labelled To the Ministry of External Affairs,
Federal Republic of Nigeria, Lagos. Mr Yusufu was arrested trying to leave the
country, and was one of four men charged with the kidnapping. The Nigerian High
Commissioner left the UK, and other Nigerian diplomatic staff were asked to leave
England including a Nigerian attach, who acted as courier for the crates. 279 Mr Yusufu
was committed for trial on 23 August 1984 by Lambeth Magistrates Court, his
argument that he was entitled to diplomatic immunity having failed. He applied for
habeas corpus to the Divisional Court. Mr Dikko said that he was a diplomat at the
Nigerian High Commission, but that the High Commissioner had not formally presented
his credentials. There was no notification to the FCO of Mr Yusufus presence in the
UK, and there was no approval by the British government of him as a diplomat. Mr
Yusufu explained the circumstances in which he entered the country and claimed to be a
diplomat. The court did not believe him as his account differed from that given on his
application for a UK entry certificate.

The court found that Mr Yusufu was not entitled to diplomatic immunity, as it is
necessary for there to have been notification, before someone can be approved as
diplomat. A sufficient period of time must be allowed for proper consideration to be
given to the question as to whether or not the receiving state will accept a person as a
diplomat. In his judgment Watkins LJ approved quoted with approval Parker LJ in the
case of R v The Governor of Pentonville Prison, ex parte Teja 280 where he said

278

R v Lambeth Justices, ex parte Yusufu. [1985] Crim LR 510, The Times 20 February 1985,
C0/168/85, (Transcript:Marten Walsh Cherer).
279

Friday, Jul 13, 1984; pg. 1; Issue 61882; col F.

280

[1971] 2 QB 274 at 282.

218

As I see it, it is fundamental to the claiming of immunity by reason of being a

diplomatic agent that that diplomatic agent should have been in some form accepted or
received by this country.

On 12 February 1985 at the Central Criminal Court Mr Yusufu pleaded guilty to

kidnapping, and administering a noxious substance, and he was sentenced to twelve
years imprisonment. 281 That court was told that the kidnapping was instigated and paid
for by the Nigerian High Commissioner. 282

Nigeria was implicated in this offence. Mr Yusufu was travelling on a Nigerian

diplomatic passport. On 10 May 1984 the Nigerian Minister for External Affairs applied
for a diplomatic entry certificate for Mr Yusufu to travel to the UK, and on 27 June 1984
the Nigerian High Commissioner applied for a diplomatic visa to the USA to enable him
to leave the UK. Nigeria did not claim that Mr Yusufu was entitled to state immunity.
The accredited Nigerian diplomats implicated in the matter were allowed to leave the
UK, or they were expelled. The UK accepted that the diplomats were entitled to
diplomatic immunity, but did not accord Mr Yusufu state immunity.

A recent allegation of kidnapping by state agents occurred in Italy. On 6 February 2005

The Times reported that Italian police were investigating allegations that American
intelligence agents kidnapped an Islamic militant in Milan and transported him to Egypt,
where he was tortured. Abu Omar, an Egyptian dissident with alleged links to Al-Qaeda,
disappeared in Milan on 16 February 2003. The Italian police said Abu Omar was flown
via US airbases to Egypt. When he was kidnapped Abu Omar was being investigated by
the Italian authorities as a terrorist suspect. Italy said his abduction was a serious
violation of Italian sovereignty and that investigations in Italy into his involvement in
terrorism had been disrupted. Abu Omar was released in February 2007.

281

The Times, Wednesday, Feb 13, 1985; pg. 3; Issue 62061; col A.

282

The Times, Tuesday, Feb 12, 1985; pg. 3; Issue 62060; col A.

219

In June 2005 prosecutors in Milan issued warrants for the arrest of nineteen agents
allegedly involved in the kidnap, and on 1 October 2005 The Times reported that three
further arrest warrants were issued for CIA agents accused of the illegal abduction.
The prosecutor said the three further CIA agents sought included a female US diplomat
who had been in charge of the operation and participated in it personally. Italian
newspapers named her as Betnie Medero, who arrived in Italy in August 2001 as a
second secretary at the US Embassy. The reports said she was working in Mexico in
2005. All twenty-two agents were said to have left Italy, and the prosecutor said that he
was seeking their extradition. In October 2005 The Times reported that the US Embassy
in Rome would not comment about the case.

On Tuesday 29 November 2005 an Italian Judge ruled that Robert Lady, who was
described as a former agent and United States diplomatic consul was not entitled to
immunity. The judge said that although Robert Lady relinquished all immunity when he
left post in August 2004, the protection given to consular officials is always within the
limits of international law. Furthermore, within these limits, naturally, is the principle
of the sovereignty of the host state that cannot allow on its territory the use of force by a
foreign State that outside every control of the political and judicial authorities. 283 The
report does not say who made the application for immunity for Mr Lady. Later reports
say that lawyers appointed by the state for the accused were without instructions.

On 23 December 2005 European arrest warrants were issued for the arrest of the twentytwo agents alleged to be working for the CIA. 284 This was said to be a reaction to the
fact the Justice Minister was stalling on asking for the extradition of the agents. Both
Silvio Berlusconi, when Prime Minister and his successor Romano Prodi both refused to
make extradition requests to the USA. 285

283

Jurist. Tuesday, November 29, 2005. Italian judge denies immunity claim of CIA agent accused in
kidnapping plot.
284

The Daily Telegraph. December 24, 2005.

285

Jurist. Friday March 16, 2007. Italy government urges cancellation of indictments against intelligence
officers .

220

On 16 February 2007 286 Judge Caterina Interlandi issued an indictment against 25

Americans including one US Air Force Colonel and five Italians, and on 17 February
they were ordered to stand trial for the kidnapping and torture of Abu Omar. Sean
McCormack, of the US State Department spokesman, said: Its a judicial matter in
Italy. Any view about possible prosecutions or extraditions would remain a matter for
internal dialogue, he added. But on the 28 February 2007 John Bellinger, Legal
Adviser to the US Secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice, said in Brussels We have not
gotten that extradition request from Italy. If we got an extradition request from Italy, we
would not extradite US officials to Italy. 287

The Italian authorities are implicated in the kidnapping as the Italian defendants include
Nicolo Pollari, the head of Sismi, Italys military intelligence service. The Times
reported on 17 February 2007 that at the preliminary hearings Mr. Pollari denied that
Italian intelligence played any role in the kidnapping. But on 16 March 2007 lawyers for
Italy asked the Italian Constitutional Court to cancel all the indictments, on the grounds
that prosecutors exceeded their authority by using evidence that was protected by state
secrets privilege. 288 On 19 April 2007 the Italian Constitutional Court ruled that the
Italian government could seek to quash the indictments. On 18 June 2007 the trial was
suspended pending the decision of the Constitutional Court. On March 19 2008 Judge
Oscar Magi ordered that the trial resume even though there is no ruling from the
Constitutional Court saying that the continuation of the trial would not harm the defence
in any way. 289

The reports of this trial are confusing and it is difficult as yet to draw any clear
conclusions as to state practice. All the reports are agreed that Abu Omar was the victim
of what is known as extraordinary rendition, and that United States agents were
involved. But whether this was with or without the knowledge of some Italian
286

The Times. February 17, 2007.

287

Financial Times February 28 2007, and March 1, 2007.

288

Jurist, Friday March 16, 2007. Italy government urges cancellation of indictments against intelligence
officers.
289

Jurist. Wednesday, March 19 2008. Italy judge orders CIA rendition trial to resume.

221

authorities is not clear. The reluctance of the Italian Prime Ministers to request
extradition could be explained by political pressures, rather than by legalities. The very
strong assertion by John Bellinger that extradition would not be granted by the United
States implies that the United States believes that its agents were acting legally, but it
could also just be political pressure, an indication that there is no point in asking for
extradition. The Italian judges are asserting a right to prosecute those who are agents of
the United States, but the Italian state is trying to quash the indictments. An application
was made on behalf of Robert Lady that he was immune from the proceedings, but this
seems to have been on the basis of consular immunity, and it is unclear who made the
application. It is difficult to see how kidnapping could be a function of a consul, but the
report also refers to Mr Lady being an agent of the United States, so it maybe the
application was made on the basis of state immunity. In any event the Italian court
refused the application, on the basis that the concept of sovereignty means that a state,
cannot allow a foreign state, to use force on its territory, without its consent. This
principle is in line with the state practice of other states.

Prosecution for Passport Offences.

In March 2004 two Israeli citizens Urie Zoshe Kelman and Eli Cara were arrested in
New Zealand when they went to collect a false New Zealand passport. The passport had
been applied for in the name of a cerebral palsy sufferer who had never applied for a
passport. The two were charged with offences including participating in an organised
crime group. They initially denied the allegations, but in July 2004 both men pleaded
guilty to one charged of attempting to obtain a New Zealand passport by fraud, and on
15 July 2004 they were each sentenced to six months imprisonment. The men both
denied working for Mossad, but this was not accepted by the New Zealand government.
Helen Clark, the New Zealand Prime Minister, said that the action of the men and those
of the Israeli Government had "seriously strained relations" with New Zealand and that
"The New Zealand Government views the act carried out by the Israeli intelligence
agents as not only utterly unacceptable but also a breach of New Zealand sovereignty

222

and international law. 290 As a result of the case New Zealand imposed diplomatic
sanctions against Israel; high-level government visits to Israel were suspended and
Israeli officials wishing to travel to New Zealand were required to apply for visas. The
approval for a new Israeli ambassador to New Zealand was delayed, and it was indicated
that any request by President Katsav of Israel to visit New Zealand later in 2004 would
be refused. 291 The question of state immunity was never raised.

Prosecutions for Trespassing.

Another area of activity where state officials are arrested and prosecuted is for entering
the territory of another state illegally. Such allegations are often associated with
allegations of spying.

On 21 June 2004 eight British marines were detained by Iran for illegally straying into
its waters. The eight were part of a training team of twenty-eight Royal Navy personnel,
who had been instructing Iraqi police in river patrol and coastal defence procedures.
British authorities denied they had strayed into Iranian territory, the defence secretary,
Geoff Hoon, said that the crews were forcibly escorted into Iranian waters. 292

Ali Reza Afshar, a senior member of the Iranian armed forces, told Iran's ISNA student
news agency that the eight marines were being interrogated separately. The men were
held for three days during which they were paraded on Iranian TV before being
released.

A second case involving the same waters was on 23 March 2007 when fifteen British
sailors and Royal Marines, including one woman, were seized at gunpoint by Iranian
military off Iraq. The Ministry of Defence said the military personnel were in Iraqi
territorial waters conducting a routine inspection of a cargo ship when they were
290

Times Online. July 15, 2004.

291

Times Online July 16, 2004.

292

Times Online. June 22, 2007.

223

surrounded by Iranian vessels and escorted to waters controlled by Iran. 293 Margaret
Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, summoned Irans ambassador in London. In a statement
Mrs Beckett said: We have sought a full explanation of what happened and we are
leaving them in no doubt that we want the immediate and safe return of our personnel
and their equipment. In the United States Sean McCormack, State Department
spokesman, said that Washington backed the demand.

On 25 March 2007 the Prime Minister Tony Blair warned the Iranian government about
the seriousness of seizing British sailors in Iraqi waters saying This is a very serious
situation. There is no doubt at all that these people were taken from a boat in Iraqi
waters. It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters, and I hope the
Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us. We have
certainly sent the message back to them very clearly indeed. They should not be under
any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which is unjustified and
wrong. 294

On 4 February 2007 April Jala Sharafi, an Iranian diplomat, was kidnapped in Baghdad
and was reported to be held by Iraqi intelligence services. He was released on 3 April
2007 and British, USA and Iraqi officials would not say if his release was linked to the
possible release of the Britons. 295

On 4 April 2007 the Iranian President, Mr Ahmadinejad pardoned and released all
fifteen British military personnel. He was prepared to forgive Britain for trespassing into
Iranian territorial waters. He said "This pardon is a gift to the British people, on the
occasion of the birthday of the great prophet and for the occasion of the passing of
Christ, I say the Islamic Republic government and the Iranian people with all powers
and legal right to put the soldiers on trial forgave those fifteen." Mr Ahmadinejad
also gave bravery awards to three members of the Iranian coast guard that captured the
293

Times Online. March 23, 2007.

294

Times Online, March 25, 2007.

295

Times Online, April 3, 2007.

224

British personnel. The sailors and marines were shown on Iranian television shaking
hands with the President in a release ceremony. Mr Ahmadinejad said: "Iran has
defended its land and will always defend its land. We are sorry that British troops
remain in Iraq and their sailors are being held in Iran." 296

These two incidents were in an area where there is some uncertainty as to the
delineation of territorial waters, and are against the background of strained diplomatic
relations with Iran, about its suspected nuclear weapons programme, the occupation of
holy Shia Muslim sites in Iraq and the detention of Iranians in Iraq. Both incidents
caused high level diplomatic activity, and strenuous efforts by the British government to
get its people returned. The facts leading up to the arrests were strongly disputed, with
allegations of entering Iranian territorial waters being denied, but in neither case was
there any suggestion that the military personnel were entitled to be released because
they were immune from arrest and prosecution.

Prosecutions for Collecting Information.

An activity fraught with danger for individuals, who are not diplomats, is to collect
information, and to record images in foreign states. Collecting information is viewed
very seriously by states. It is seen as a hostile act. There have been arrests and
prosecutions for the collection and transmission of information by the agents of foreign
states, in times of peace, for centuries. Those who collect such information are
designated as spies. One of the functions of an embassy is to collect information, 297 but it
has to be collected by lawful means, and there is a line to be drawn between the proper
collection of information for legitimate purposes, and the illegitimate, or illegal
collection of information, to undermine another state and its policies.

296

Times Online, April 4, 2007.

297

Article 3 1(d) Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.The functions of a diplomatic mission
consist inter alia in ascertaining by all lawful means conditioned and developments in the receiving
State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations.

225

The creation of images has long been a cause for arrests. On 9 September 1886 The
Times reported that a German national, posing as a tourist, was arrested drawing plans
and sketches of a fort at Belfont in France. The German was released after a day or two
after no sketches or plans were found. General Boulanger instituted a fresh enquiry after
intelligence suggested that the tourist was a Prussian General. 298

In August 1893 two French officers Delgony and Daguet were arrested as spies at Kiel
in Germany. At their trial on 15 December 1893 prosecution counsel asked for heavy
sentences. He said that the prisoners were not ordinary spies, and that there was a
regular spy system countenanced by the French Ministry and carried into execution by
officers. 299 The names are given slightly differently in a second report of the conclusion
of the trial on 16 December 1893 when Degony was sentenced to six years and
Delguey-Malvas to four years imprisonment. The court accepted that an extenuating
circumstance was that the accused had only wished to serve their country. During his
examination Degony stated that he had submitted their plans to the chief of the French
General Staff, who, after expressing his approval of the scheme, advised them not to
attempt to bribe German subjects, not to make any notes on the spot and to be cautious.
Counsel for the prosecution laid special stress on the fact that the spies were active
officers of the French navy. 300

After the invention of the camera taking photographs became a dangerous activity for
state agents. For example in China on 26 September 1967 Mr. George Watt, a British
engineer was arrested on charges of espionage in Lanchow, the capital of Kansu
province, north-west China, where he had been working on the construction of a
polypropylene chemical plant for the manufacture of synthetic fibres 301. In a statement
made on 12 March 1968 the New China News Agency alleged that Mr. Watt, who had
entered China on 14 December 1966, had during his stay in the country stolen "by
298

The Times, Thursday, Se 09, 1886, pg. 9; Issue 31860; col E.

299

The Times. Saturday, Dec 16, 1893; pg. 5; Issue 34136; col B.

300

The Times, Dec 18. 1893; pg. 5; Issue 34137; col C.

301

Keesings China April 1968.

226

means of spying important intelligence about China's military, political, and economic
affairs and the great proletarian cultural revolution, and stealthily took large numbers
of photographs of prohibited areas, and committed grave crimes." On 15 March 1968
Mr Watt was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for espionage. He was released on
2 August 1970 as part of his sentence was remitted in view of his good behaviour in
acknowledging and repenting his crimes" while serving his prison term. 302

In another case in China Mr. David Johnston, the British manager of the Shanghai
branch of the Chartered Bank was detained by the Chinese authorities in August 1968,
and signed a confession in January 1969 stating that he had offended against Chinese
laws. He admitted he had taken photographs. He was released from a Shanghai prison
on 23 December 1970. 303

On 25 April 1981, two Argentinian officers, Major Raul Pablo Barileau and Lieutenant
Oscar Santos were arrested for espionage in Chile. Chile asserted that the activities of
the two men in photographing strategic zones and important military institutions had
threatened Chilean Security. 304 They were tried and found guilty by a military court
within ten days, and their imprisonment ordered. Argentina closed its border with Chile
and sent an irate protest note, which termed the arrests illogical and irrational. The
Chilean foreign ministry responded that the two men were indeed spies. Major Barilleau
had entered Chile on twelve occasions, Lieutenant Santos on fourteen occasions. During
these visits both men had got in touch with Chileans and photographed objectives
important to national security, such as bridges, roads, high tensions towers and military
installations. The ministry said that both the officers and their wives, who had been
detained at the same time, had been afforded treatment in accordance with their rank,
and that this was in contrast to the abusive treatment given to two Chileans arrested in
1980 in Argentina. They had been kept in a jail and presented to the public in prison

302

Keesings China August 1970.

303

Keesings. January 1971. China.

304

Keesings. August 1981 Chile.

227

dress and in handcuffs. The foreign ministry said that Chile had treated those arrested on
spy charges better than Argentina. 305

One case, which generated much interest in the British press, involved photographs in
Greece. On 8 November 2001 twelve British subjects and two Dutch men were arrested
in Greece, on suspicion of spying at the Megara military airbase. Their cameras were
confiscated, and they were charged with photographing sensitive military installations.
The fourteen people arrested insisted they were plane-spotters on holiday, but the Greek
authorities thought they were spies because they had note books and diaries containing
details of military movements, including details of military flight take-off and landing
times at the airbase, to which civilian access was strictly prohibited. Paul Coppin, the
organiser of the tour arranged by his company, was reported to have been the guest of
the Turkish military earlier in 1998. 306 Mr Coppins wife, Lesley, was arrested, as was
Michael Bursell, a British Telecom manager who had written a number of aviation
pamphlets and a book about crashed aircraft in Europe. He was a former employee of
BAE, the aeronautics company that manufactured Hawk aircraft. Peter Norris was
reported as handing over a diary containing "voluminous notes of military movements.
Garry Fagan had a frequency scanner in his possession, which was of particular concern
to Greek intelligence officials. 307

The group appeared in court on 12 November 2001 and were held in custody. On 21
November further charges were preferred relating to the taking of the notes and the
aircraft numbers. On 27 November 2001 the case was referred to a higher court, the
Council of Judges. On 12 December the Council of Judges reduced the charges from
espionage to the collection of illegal information, and released each of the group on bail
of 9,000 to return to Greece for trial. 308 The Greek foreign ministry said that the group
had been warned three times before their arrest not to photograph military bases, and
305

The Times, May 07, 1981; pg. 9; Issue 60921; col C.

306

11 December 2001, The Times, p.8.

307

28 November 2001, The Times, p.17.

308

03 December 2001, The Times, p.8.

228

that they were arrested on November 5 for taking photographs near the Tanagra military
base north of Athens, but were released on the same day. 309

On 6 April 2002 the fourteen defendants were convicted Paul Coppin, the leader of the
group, and seven others were each sentenced to three years imprisonment. The other six
were each given a year's suspended sentence. They were all released on bail pending
appeal. The evening Jack Straw, the UK foreign secretary, condemned the Greek
response to the plane spotters' behaviour as disproportionate. 310

On 6 November 2002 it was reported that they were all cleared except for Michael
Keene, who suffered from ill-health and had not appealed; Tears flow as Greeks clear
planespotters of spying was the headline in The Times, but Judge Efstathiou said that
the plane spotters' action could have endangered Greek security, adding: "However, I
recognise that this is a new hobby in Europe and you didn't intend to cause harm." He
accepted that they were not guilty. 311

The question whether, if the allegations were true, the plane spotters would be entitled to
claim state immunity was never considered, not by the Greek court or government, not
by the British Government or press, and not by the defence lawyers. The furore was
about the fact that tourists, on a plane spotting holiday, had been arrested for taking
photographs.

In all these cases the persons were believed to be state agents, they were prosecuted and
no-one claimed that they were entitled to immunity.

The collecting of information by foreign agents is prosecuted by all states. Not just the
politically powerful and sensitive, although these states do prosecute the most. During
the cold war East Germany prosecuted a large number of spies and imposed heavy
309

28 November 2001, The Times, p.17.

310

02 April 2002, The Times, p.16.

311

07 November 2002, The Times, p. 9.

229

sentences. 312 West Germany also prosecuted but imposed much less harsh sentences.
For example In 1977 Herr Heinrich Burger, an East German citizen was sentenced in
West Germany to seven years' imprisonment for espionage activity on behalf of the East
German ministry of state security. He was released on 19 July 1979 in return for the
repatriation of four West Berlin citizens who had been convicted by East German courts
of espionage. 313 On 4 April 1979, Herr Peter Lehmann, an East German who was
resident in West Berlin, was arrested while attempting to recruit East German agents in
West Berlin, and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment on 13 July 1979. 314

312

Keesings. January 1986. West Germany-East Germany On 17 February 1982 Herr Karl Rechenberg, a
West Berliner, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for acting as an agent for a West German
intelligence service investigating East German border security.
On 24 March 1982 Herr Rudiger Noll, who had worked in the Hamburg city government and for the West
German Intelligence services (MAD), was sentenced to life imprisonment by the East Berlin military
court for spying on East German military locations since 1974.On 7 February 1983 Herr Heinz Jonsek and
his wife Frau Lore Jonsek, both West German citizens, received a life sentence and six years
imprisonment respectively for espionage on behalf of the United States of America. On 29 April 1983
Herr Georg Strama, a sergeant in the West German Armed Forces, was sentenced to 11 years
imprisonment, for espionage on behalf of West Germany. On 4 August 1983 an unnamed West Berliner
was sentenced to life imprisonment for spying on military installations on behalf of the United States of
America. On 12 August 1983 Herr Hans Sieberer, a West German citizen charged in the name of Herr
Kurt Klepp, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for espionage activities carried out on behalf of the
United States of America. On 14 April 1984 The Times reported that Herr Maximilian Leibrecht, a West
German, was imprisoned for 12 years for spying on airports and troop movements. On 14 December 1984
Herr Gunther Schulz, a West German, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for espionage on behalf of
the West German Intelligence Services (BND). On 7 February 1985 Herr Niels Jelden, a West German,
was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for espionage on behalf of the West German Intelligence Services
(BND). . On 27 July 1985 Herr Eberhard Prohl and his wife Frau Rita Prohl were given sentences of 13
and seven years for espionage for West Germany involving 'at least 24 conspiratorial meetings' with
contacts in East Germany. On 16 August 1985, an unnamed West German citizen, was sentenced by the
East Berlin military court, to 13 years imprisonment for military espionage. On 13 September 1985 Herr
Peter Flath, a West German, on Sept. 13, 1985, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, for using
visits to East Germany since July 1984 for espionage activities for a West German intelligence service.
On 23 May 1986 Herr Fred Altenkruger, a West Berliner, was sentenced to life imprisonment for several
years' systematic military espionage against East Germany and the Soviet Union on behalf of a US secret
service. On 11 August 1986 The Times reported that Herr Werner Kruger, a West German, was
sentenced, to 15 years in prison for spying against the East German and Polish armed forces. On 15
August 1986 Herr Rolf Briefer, a West German citizen, was sentenced by an East Berlin military court to
10 years in prison for several years' military espionage on behalf of the West German Federal Intelligence
Service. On 12 November 1987 Herr Bernard Manthey, from West Berlin, sentenced by the East Berlin
supreme military court to eight years' imprisonment for espionage on behalf of the West German Federal
Intelligence Service since September 1986.
313

Keesings. January 1982. West Germany.

314

Keesings West Germany January 1982.

230

The USA, Russia, China and the UK all have numerous examples of prosecutions of
foreign agents for collecting information. Small states such as Norway 315 and
Slovakia 316 also prosecute, as do states which are involved in conflict such as Israel, 317
as do neutral States such as Switzerland. 318

315

In April 1954 a Soviet citizen with the Norwegian name of Hansen was sentenced to one years
imprisonment for attempted espionage. His arrest followed the M.V.D. officer Gregori Pavlov seeking
political asylum and making disclosures, seven Norwegians were also later convicted and sentenced to up
to four years imprisonment for offences of espionage. They collected military information and reported on
iron-ore output, visits of tourists and prominent local personalities. The Times, Tuesday, June 01, 1954;
pg. 5; Issue 52946; col C. On the night of 21st to 22nd July 1973 M. Ahmed Bouchiki, a Moroccan alleged
to have been a member of the Black September Arab terrorist organization, who had been shot dead after
leaving a cinema with his Norwegian wife in the town of Lillehammer. On 1 February 1974, at the trial in
Oslo, Abraham Gehmer, alias Leslie Orbaura, who had worked as second secretary, then first secretary, at
the Israeli Embassy in Paris between 1965 and 1969, and Sylvia Rafael, alias Patricia Roxburgh, a halfJewish South African posing as a Canadian, each received a prison term of 5 and a half years
imprisonment for conspiracy to murder, illegal intelligence activities on behalf of Israel and illegal entry
into Norway. Dan Aerbel, a Danish-born Israeli, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for conspiracy
to murder and espionage on behalf of Israel; Marianne Gladnikoff, a Swedish-born Israeli, was sent to
prison for 2 and a half years for espionage and negligent manslaughter; and Zwi Steinberg, of Brazilian
and Israeli nationality, received a prison sentence of one year for espionage. Michael Doff (27), formerly
a chauffeur at the Israel Embassy in Paris, was acquitted. Keesings. March 1974. Norway-Middle East.
316

In 1941 Cy L. Sulzberger, foreign correspondent and columnist of the New York Times, who was born
in New York on 27 October 1912 was arrested and accused of being a British spy. He was released
without trial. 22 September 1993, The Times, p.19.
317

On 19 April 1989 Israel radio reported that the Supreme Court had ruled that an espionage case
involving a Soviet spy should be made public. The spy, Gregoriy Londin, had been sentenced to 13 years
in prison in 1988 having been found guilty of spying for the former Soviet Union. Keesings. October
1989. Iraq.
318

On 17 April 1962 three Czechoslovak citizens, Vlastimil Glaser, Otto Schwarzenberger and his wife,
were sentenced by a military court at Aargau on charges of espionage. Evidence was given at the trial that
Vlastimil Glaser, together with another Czechoslovak agent named Pavlik, had smuggled a wireless
transmitter and receiver into Switzerland by using diplomatic passports; and that Otto Schwarzenberger
and his wife, who posed as Swiss nationals returning from abroad by using assumed names and false
papers obtained through the Czechoslovak authorities gave Glaser material for the Czechoslovak secret
service from Schwarzenberger and his wife, and that Glaser handed it to a member of the Czechoslovak
Legation in Berne, Mr. Jaroslav Jelinek. Mr. Jelineks recall was demanded by the Swiss. On 1 May 1962
he Swiss Department of Justice and Police announced that another case had come to light in which an
agent of the Czechoslovak secret service had been caught with fraudulently-obtained Swiss papers, and
said that the man concerned, who had obtained a post with a firm in Basle, would be prosecuted for
political and military espionage. Keesings. June 1962. Switzerland Israeli-Swiss relations were upset in
1963 when two Mossad agents were arrested in Berne for intimidating a female member of the family of a
German scientist who had been offered a job in Egypt's missile development programme. 7 February
1998, The Times, p.17 On 24 May 1965 Auguste Caesar Atencio, an Argentinian was alleged to have
acted as a messenger between Soviet spies in three countries was tried in Lausanne of passing secrets to
Russia he was said to have met Soviet secret service agents in Lausanne, Madrid and Cannes, and passed
information about Switzerland, Greece and Argentina. Hr Atenacio denied belonging to any Russian
espionage organisation. The Times, Tuesday, May 25, 1965; pg. 12; Issue 56330; col D. On 10 February
1982 a Swiss citizen, Herr Karl Kruminsch, and an East German citizen, Frau Katarina Nummert, were
sentenced to three years and two years six months imprisonment respectively for espionage on behalf of

231

Israel does not deny spying and committing offences on the territory of others states. It
does not claim that its agents are entitled to immunity, but does make great efforts to get
its nationals returned. For example on 8 May 1965 an Israeli citizen Eliahu Cohen, was
convicted in Syria of spying for Israel, and sentenced to death. The Israeli government
offered to exchange ten convicted Syrian spies for Mr. Cohen, but the offer was rejected
and he was hanged on 18 May 1965. 319

The collecting of information is viewed very seriously by states, and reporters are
particularly vulnerable to arrest as their job is to collect information. Ian Mather of the
Observer has been unfortunate in being arrested twice in Argentina for spying.

On 13 April 1982 Mr Mather was arrested with Simon Winchester of the Sunday Times,
and Anthony Prime, a photographer for the Observer at the airport in Rio Grande, Tierra
the Soviet Union. On 25 January 1983 Mr Mikhail Nikolayev, a Soviet citizen who also held United
States passports in two names, was arrested, and he was sentenced in December 1983 to three years
imprisonment and 15 years banishment from Switzerland, for using Switzerland as a base to conduct
espionage activities to the prejudice of South Africa. His activities had been conducted in collaboration
with a close relative, Mrs Ruth Gerhardt, who had confirmed the connexion, and was convicted, together
with her husband, by a South African court for spying for the Soviet Union. Keesings. February 1985.
Switzerland. The nationality of Mrs. Gerhardt and her husband is not disclosed. On 25 August 1985 Herr
Johann Hubner, and Frau Ingeborg Manthey, were arrested in Lucerne. Their real names were Herr Jan
Vladislav Karmazin and Frau Rosemarie Muller, on 5 December 1986 they were each sentenced to six
years imprisonment and fined SFr 75,000 by the Lucerne criminal court, for carrying out military,
economic and political espionage over a period of 23 years, on behalf of East Germany, and for passing
on to the Soviet authorities information obtained in West Germany. Keesings. February 1987.
Switzerland. In 1998 five Mossad agents were arrested for spying in a residential area of Byrne. The
Mossad operations chief, who was publicly known only as Y offered his resignation. 25 November
1998, The Times, p.17. David Bental whose real name was withheld from the Swiss authorities was
caught in the basement of a flat near Byrne trying to bug the home of a Lebanese-born car salesman
whom the Israelis suspected of having links with Hezbollah. Israel radio said on 5 July 2000 that
Ephraim Halevy, the head of Mossad, had been told that his agents felt that sending Mr Bentall for trial
was a betrayal of trust. In court described how they caught Mr Bentall and four colleagues installing
listening devices in the home of the car dealer. All were questioned, but only Mr Bentall was charged
because he had a bag containing bugging equipment. A cell phone connected to twenty-four batteries,
which was to have been plugged into Abdallah el-Zeins telephone line and would have called a recording
centre every time he picked up his handset. 06 July 2000, The Times, p.20. On Friday 7 July 2000 a
Mossad agent with the alias Isaac Bental was given a twelve month suspended sentence and banned
from entering Switzerland for five years. Bental had been caught with four other agents in 1988, installing
bugging equipment in the flat of a Swiss-Lebanese living in Berne. The Sunday Times reported that as a
result of the trial the espionage activities of Mossad, the Israeli secret service, in Europe and the Arab
world ceased. In Israel Mossads agents angered by the decision of Ephraim Halevy, the agencys boss to
let Bental stand trial considered strike action. The paper reported that Halevy called off spying on Arab
embassies and counter-terrorist activities. 09 July 2000, The Sunday Times, News p.30.
319

Keesings. March 1966. Syria.

232

del Fuego. On 25 April 1982 an Argentine federal judge ruled that the three journalists
must stand trial on charges of spying. Judge Carlos Sagastume said he did not think they
were habitual spies but, given the situation, it was possible that they had acted from
patriotic motives or explicit instructions. Material in their possession could, in the
opinion of the military, damage the interests of the state if it were put in the hands of a
hostile power. 320

On 2 April 1992 Mr Mather, another journalist, and a photographer from the Sunday
Times, were all arrested in Argentina. They were charged with espionage under section
224 of the Argentinean Penal Code, and held in prison in Tierra del Fuego. This was just
after the invasion of the Falklands, a self governing UK territory, by Argentina. After
the Argentinean surrender in the Falklands on 14 June 1992 the three journalists were
freed on bail with permission to leave the country. 321

Not all journalists are treated as lightly as Mr Mather. Some states consider the
collection of information to be so serious that they impose capital punishment. Farzad
Basoft was a freelance journalist who worked for the Observer. He was Iranian by birth.
He came to London to study in his teens, and could not return after the revolution. In
1988 he was given British travel documents. On 6 September 1989 he went to Iraq, on a
press trip paid for by the Iraqi government, to report on the reconstruction of Iraq after
the war against Iran. There was news of a huge explosion a month before in a secret
missile plant at Al Iskandria, near Baghdad, and it was said that 700 people had been
killed. Once in Iraq some journalists including Farzad Bazoft decided to investigate.

When ITNs Paul Davies attempted to drive to the site of the explosion he was
questioned for nearly six hours by Iraqi security officials. Farzad Bazoft asked a friend,
Daphne Parish, a British nurse working in Iraq to help him. On 12 September she
obtained a four-wheel-drive car, and two white coats from the private Irish Hospital
where she worked, and they drove to Al Iskandria. They posed as an Indian doctor and
320

The Times, Monday, Apr 26, 1982; pg. 5; Issue 61217; col G.

321

11 March 1992, The Times, LT/p.5.

233

his nurse. That trip went smoothly. The next day Farzad Bazoft returned to the plant
alone, still disguised as a Doctor. He made sketches, and he took photographs of
buildings. He collected soil samples, and he picked up a loose shoe, and some tatters of
clothing. Back at his hotel Mr Bazoft telephoned Salah Mukhtar, Iraqs head of
information, to tell him about his visit. He also visited the British embassy, asking for
his soil samples to be taken out in a diplomatic bag. This request was refused.

On 15 September 1989 Mr Bazoft was arrested at the airport as he tried to leave Iraq.
Both he and Daphne Parish were convicted on 10 March 1990 by a revolutionary court
in Baghdad. Farzad Bazoft was sentenced to death and Daphne Parish to fifteen years
imprisonment. 322 The British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher was reported as being
horrified by the death penalty, and authorized messages to be sent to Saddam Hussain
asking for the sentence to be lifted. William Waldegrave, a foreign office minister
warned that if the sentence was carried out there would be profound damage to
relationships between the two countries. Iraqs ambassador to Britain was summonsed
to the Foreign Office where officials expressed utter dismay at the excessive
sentences. 323 On 12 March 1990 Mr Waldegrave called the sentences harsh and
disproportionate and told the House of Commons Iraq has recently show herself to
be concerned about what she would call the misrepresentation of her policies abroad.
She can be in no doubt about the damage which would be done to her standing in the
world, let alone her relations with the UK, if these unacceptable sentences were to be
confirmed. Mr Iltif Nassif Jassem, the Iraqi Information Minister consulted President
Saddam Hussain, who alone had the power to commute the death sentence, and he told
the official Iraqi news agency We considered the fabricated fuss against us a flagrant
interference in our internal affairs, because our measure had fully responded with Iraqi
law which sentences any spy to execution. The case was fairly tried and the two were
convicted and sentenced in the presence of the British consul and in accordance with the
laws applied in Iraq. 324
322

18 March 1990, The Sunday Times.

323

11 March 1990, The Sunday Times.

324

13 March 1990. The Times.

234

Farzad Bazoft was hanged on 15 March 1990. Daphne Parish was released on 16 July
1990 after a personal appeal by President Kaunda of Zambia to Saddam Hussain. 325 This
case demonstrates how threatened states can be by the collection of information, and
how seriously they view the offence of spying. The British government made what were
described as desperate efforts to prevent Mr Bazoft from being executed, but at no point
was it ever suggested that, if he was in fact spying for another state, then he was entitled
to immunity.

Efforts to Retrieve Agents.

States consider their agents who spy on their behalf important, they deny that agents
have committed offences, they say that spies do not deserve to be punished, and they
make strenuous efforts to get their agents back. One example of this is also a case of
trespassing and collecting information. On 1 May 1960 Captain Gary Powers was the
American pilot of a U2 plane which was shot down over the USSR. The U2 was a high
altitude plane equipped with powerful camera. The Soviet Government said that the
plane violated the Soviet frontier and was tracked by units of the Soviet anti-aircraft
defence. This surveillance showed that the planes route lay over large industrial centres
and important defensive objectives of the Soviet Union.

Gary Powers was arrested and charged with espionage, the indictment against him said
this was a deliberate incursion with hostile aims into the air space of the USSR. and
in view of this, the Soviet Government ordered the plane to be shot down. Tass
reported that the examination of the planes wreckage, and of the special equipment it
carried, established that the plane was designed for flight at great altitudes, and was
adapted for intelligence purposes, being equipped for aerial photography and radio
reconnaissance from great heights. Films of Soviet airfields and what were described as
other important military and industrial objectives in the Soviet Union were found among
the wreckage together with a ferromagnetic tape recording of the signals of certain
325

17 July 1990. The Times.

235

Soviet radar stations. 326 On the 19 August 1960 Gary Powers pleaded guilty and was
sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The prosecution accepted that Mr Powers was
acting on orders, this was not considered as mitigation, but his sincere repentance and
confession of guilt did mitigate the penalty. In sentencing the chairman of the court said
that the detachment to which Gary Powers belonged was a special combination of
military and civil intelligence services of the USA, and was designed to carry out
espionage against the Soviet Union. He said that Gary Powers knew he was violating the
sovereignty of the Soviet Union, and was undertaking a flight with reconnaissance aims,
in order to note rocket launching sites. 327

Gary Powers served eighteen months of his sentence. He was released on 10 February
1962 when he and Mr Frederic Pryor, an American Student detained by the East
Germans, were handed over to the American authorities, in exchange for Colonel Rudolf
Abel, a Soviet spy who was sentenced to thirty years imprisonment in the United States
in 1957. 328

Exchanges of spies who have been arrested in foreign states are often arranged. States
do not accept that their agents have been collecting information for them. Usually the
agent has a legitimate business reason for being in the foreign state, and their state
denies that they have been spying. Despite this apparent abandonment of their agents,
states go to great lengths to get them returned.

On 12 May 1963 Greville Wynne, a British man with an export business in electrical
equipment was sentenced to eight years detention; three years in prison followed by five
years in labour colonies with a severe regime by the Soviet Supreme Court in Moscow
for espionage. 329 Lieutenant-Colonel Oleg Penkovsky, a Soviet intelligence officer who
gave Greville Wynn information about agents of the Soviet-Union, the details of Soviet
326

The Times. Wednesday, Aug 10, 1960; pg. 6; Issue 54846; col E.

327

The Times. Saturday, Aug 20, 1960; pg. 6; Issue 54855; col D.

328

Keesings. February 1962. Soviet Union-United States.

329

The Times, Monday, May 13, 1963; pg. 11; Issue 55699; col A.

236

missile sites; an analysis of military manpower and weapons production and the
information that important guidance equipment was sent with rockets which were being
installed in Cuba, was tried with him. Oleg Penkovsky was sentenced to death, and on
16 May 1963 Tass announced that he had been shot. 330 This is an example of a states
own national being treated more severely than the foreign spy. A state national who
conspires against his own state is described as a traitor. Being an agent for a foreign
state does not provide immunity, but it is mitigation.

Diplomats named as being conspirators were not arrested, or charged, but left the
country. Mr Rodney W. Carlson, an American diplomat, left the Soviet Union
voluntarily on 14 December 1962, 331 Mr Ivor Roswell, transport officer at the British
Embassy in Moscow and his wife were sent back to London amid allegations of threats
on his life. 332 On 13 May 1963 Russia declared seven British diplomatic staff as persona
non grata saying they had been engaged in activities which grossly violate the
standards of behaviour appropriate for staff members of a diplomatic mission. Five
Americans were said to have aided Greville Wynne and Oleg Penkovsly and were also
declared persona non grata as their behaviour was said to be incompatible with the
status of officials of a diplomatic mission 333 Greville Wynn was released after eighteen
months on 22 April1964 in Berlin in exchange for Conon Molody, also known as
Gordon Lonsdale. 334

On 22 March 1961 Gordon Lonsdale, Peter Kroger, his wife, Helen Kroger; Henry
Houghton, and Ethel Gee, were convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiring to commit
breaches of the Official Secrets Act. The allegation was that Miss Gee and Mr.
Houghton, both civil servants, were passing information including photographs to the
others, who were Russian spies. At the time of the trial the true identity of Gordon
330

The Times, Friday, May 17, 1963; pg. 14; Issue 55703; col F.

331

The Times, Saturday, Dec 15, 1962; pg.7; Issue 55575; col B.

332

The Times, Friday, Mar 08, 1963; pg. 12; Issue 55644; col D.

333

The Times, Tuesday, May 14, 1963; pg. 12; Issue 55700; col G.

334

Keesings. April 1964. Soviet Union-United Kingdom.

237

Lonsdale, who pretended to be a natural-born Canadian citizen, was unknown, but he

was believed to be Russian. Mr and Mrs Kroger, who had New Zealand passports, were
identified as Maurice and Lorna Cohen, U.S. citizens who had disappeared from New
York after the arrest of the spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1950. Mr. Lonsdale was
sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, Mr and Mrs Kroger were both sentenced to serve
20 years imprisonment, Mr. Houghton and Miss Gee were both sentenced to 5 years
imprisonment. 335

Mr and Mrs Kroger were released in October 1969 in exchange for Gerald Brooke, a
British lecturer sentenced to five years imprisonment in the Soviet Union in 1965 for
distributing subversive literature. Mr Brooke was released on 24 July 1969. 336

There are numerous examples of exchanges of East and West German citizens during
the cold war, 337 and this sometimes involved other states. On 9 September 1967 Yuri
Loginov was arrested in Durban, South Africa in possession of documents and
espionage equipment. He had been taking photographs. He had assumed the identity of a
Canadian, Edmundas Trinka. He admitted being born in Moscow in 1933 and that he
was on a special mission for the KGB. He was exchanged for West German agents
serving long sentences for courier activities in East Germany in August 1969. 338 Mr.
Loginov admitted being a state agent. No claim for immunity was made on his behalf,
but Russia clearly was concerned to have him returned.

In all these cases states do not claim that their agents are entitled to immunity but they
make sustained efforts to have their agents released.

Conduct not on the Territory of the Forum State.

335

Keesings June 1961 United Kingdom.

336

Keesings. Soviet Union-United Kingdom, Sept 1969.

337

See for example Keesings. East Germany, September 1985 and, West Germany June 1982.

338

Keesings. September 1969.

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In the Djibouti v France Case 339 the ICJ had to consider whether Djibouti officials, the
Procureur de la Rpublique, and the Head of National Security had immunity from
being required to attend court to give evidence as suspects, warrants having been issued
for their arrest. The facts behind this case relate to Judge Bernard Borrel, a French
national who had been seconded as Technical Adviser to the Ministry of Justice of
Djibouti. On 19 October 1995, his corpse was discovered outside the city of Djibouti.
On 28 February 1996 the Procureur de la Rpublique of Djibouti opened a judicial
investigation into the cause of the death. That investigation concluded that it was
suicide. The French authorities were not satisfied and instituted their own proceedings.
Letters of request for assistance in the collection of evidence were issued, and evidence
was taken in Djibouti for use in France. Allegations of tampering with a witness and
subornation of perjury in Djibouti and Brussels were made, and an investigation was
instituted in France relating to that allegation. Djama Soulaiman Ali, the Procureur de
La Republique, and Hassan Said Khaiteh, the Head of National Security were
summonsed as suspected persons to attend court in France. They did not attend. Their
lawyer informed the French Judge that they were not authorised to give evidence, and
warrants were issued for their arrest. On 27 September 2006, the Versailles Court of
Appeal issued European arrest warrants for both. On 27 March 2008, after the close of
the oral proceedings before the ICJ, the Versailles Tribunal de Grande Instance found
Mr. Ali and Mr. Khaireh guilty, in their absence, and sentenced them to eighteen
months, and one years imprisonment respectively. Mr. Ali and Mr. Khaireh had agreed
to be tried without being present, and had appointed their lawyer to represent them. No
reference was made to immunity at any time during the hearings, and all the arrest
warrants were still in force at the time the ICJ gave judgment.

The ICJ said that the two European arrest warrants were outside its jurisdiction, and the
court had received no observations from the parties about the convictions and sentences
imposed in absence. Therefore the decisions of the ICJ were limited to the issuance of

339

The Case Concerning Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v France)
ICJ hhtp://www.icj-cji.org/docket/files/136/14550.pdf.

239

the witness summonses and warrants to bring the two defendants before the court to give
evidence as suspects.

Djibouti argued that the defendants were entitled to immunity ratione materiae, as it is a
principle of international law that a person cannot be held as individually criminally
liable for acts performed as an organ of the state. At paragraph 188 the ICJ observed that
such a claim is, in essence, a claim of immunity for the Djiboutian state, from which the
defendants would be said to benefit.

France argued that such a claim would fall to be decided on a case by case basis by
national judges. France said that the contrary would signify that all an official,
regardless of his rank or functions, needs to do is assert that he is acting in the context
of his functions to escape any criminal prosecution in a foreign State.

At paragraphs 195 and 196 of its judgment the ICJ observed that the various claims
regarding immunity were not made known to France by diplomatic exchanges, or before
any French court. The Government of Djibouti had not, at any stage, informed the
French courts or the ICJ that the acts complained of were its own acts, and that the
procureur de la Republique and the Head of National Security were its organs, agencies
in carrying them out. The ICJ said:

The State which seeks to claim immunity for one of its organs is expected to notify the
authorities of the other State concerned. This would allow the court of the forum State to
ensure that it does not fail to respect any entitlement to immunity and might thereby
engage the responsibility of that State. Further, the State notifying a foreign court that
judicial process should not proceed, for reasons of immunity, against its State organs, is
assuming responsibility for any internationally wrongful act committed by such
organs.

The court said that given all these elements it did not uphold the submissions of
Djibouti, and the summonses and arrest warrants were not declared null and void. The

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court did not adjudicate upon whether the alleged conduct, subornation of perjury, can
be a state function, but by leaving the summonses and arrest warrants in place implies
that the court did not consider the alleged conduct to be a legitimate function of state
agents.

The ICJ is saying that the correct procedure to be followed where a state wishes to assert
immunity ratione materiae on behalf of its agents is for that state to claim that immunity
through diplomatic channels, and also before the foreign court. Thereby the state
claiming immunity assumes responsibility for the actions of its agents. This is different
to state immunity when a state is being sued itself. The State Immunity Convention
requires states, and their courts to respect the immunity of other states of their own
motion, and the State Immunity Act 1987 requires English civil courts so to do. It is also
different to immunity ratione personae as the Arrest Warrant case said that under
international customary law immunity the issuance of the warrant was a breach of
international law, therefore courts issuing warrants have to consider of their own motion
whether the wanted person is entitled to immunity ratione personae.

Conclusion.

The preceding analysis of the cases shows that state officials do not have immunity
ratione materiae for criminal charges in respect of acts committed on the territory of the
forum state, or the territory of a third state, unless that immunity is accorded by a special
regime such as that afforded diplomats and consuls, or by agreement such as that
accorded to special missions, or by ad hoc agreement. Only those state agents who have
immunity ratione personae are entitled to immunity for offences committed on the
territory of a foreign state. State practice shows that agents are not only held responsible
for what can be considered serious crimes of violence such as murder, planting bombs
and kidnapping, but they are also routinely arrested and prosecuted for trespassing and
collecting information. State practice shows that states demonstrate opinio juris by
arresting, charging and prosecuting the agents of other states, and by not objecting to
their own agents being prosecuted. States demonstrate a responsibility towards their

241

agents, and make great efforts to get their agents returned, they make representations
and arrange exchanges, but they never assert immunity.

There is continuing immunity for those who have been entitled to immunity ratione
personae for conduct performed in the exercise of their functions. This extends to
conduct which is connected to such functions such a parking offences, but it does not
encompass serious crimes of violence such as bombing or kidnapping even if committed
on behalf of the sending state. Other officials, not entitled to immunity ratione personae
do not have immunity from prosecution for any offences on the territory of the receiving
state.

Offences committed on the territory of an officials own state are another question. Most
crimes committed on the territory of one state are not justiciable on the territory of
another state, as there would have to be extra-territorial jurisdiction to prosecute. One
area where states have agreed to assert such jurisdiction is in relation to international
crimes, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture. In an effort
to prevent the perpetrators of such crimes being able to evade justice states have signed
conventions agreeing to prosecute such persons. This has led to a tension in international
law between two principles, state immunity and the obligation to prosecute, and this is
considered in the next chapter of this thesis.

242

Immunity and Impunity.

Is there a conflict in International Law?
Laws are like spiders webs; they catch the weak and poor but the rich and powerful
can rip right through them 340

Is there a conflict in international law between the immunity enjoyed by high state
officials for conduct which constitutes international crimes, and the individual
responsibility which attaches to those offences? Have the two areas of international law
developed separately and without reference to each other to the extent that they are
incompatible? The immunity of high state officials has developed to protect individuals
performing their state functions in a second state, and also to protect those who perform
their functions in their own state from having those decisions called into question in
proceedings against them in another state. It is to protect such officials from cultural
differences or political interference by the second state. The purpose of this immunity is
to enable the individual to perform his or her functions. The purpose of individual
responsibility for international crimes is to prevent the creation of safe havens for those
committing such crimes, and thus to act as a deterrent to future offenders.

Immunity from prosecution for high state officials does not exist to protect the
individual. Its purpose is to enable state officials to conduct their states business, as it
prevents a state from questioning the governmental processes and actions of a second
state, before its domestic courts. That immunity, albeit for the protection of the state,
also protects the individual concerned from prosecution. If the immunity provides
protection from prosecution for an international crime such as genocide or torture, for
which there is a duty to prosecute, then there are two conflicting obligations under
international law. Does the immunity enjoyed by high state officials for conduct which
constitutes international crimes conflict with the concept of individual responsibility,

340

Anacharsis 6th Century BC.

243

and the duty to prosecute? Have the two areas of law developed separately to the extent
that they are incompatible?

This conflict was at the heart of the Pinochet case. Pinochet was accused of using
murder and torture to overthrow and defeat his political opponents, and then to maintain
his power in Chile. To do this he used the institutions of his government; the police and
the military. Spain asked for his extradition, and the extradition crime was official
torture; that is torture as defined in the torture convention, torture inflicted by or at the
instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person
acting in an official capacity. The definition of the crime of torture required that the
offence be committed as an action of the state, by a state official, and the governmental
nature of the allegations raised the question immunity from prosecution.

Professor Campbell McLachlan, observed the independent development of the two areas
of international law relating to immunity and human rights when he wrote:

As those involved in the Pinochet litigation discovered, these two bodies of law had
developed largely independently. Their potential incompatibility had not been resolved,
despite the fact that many international conventions had been concluded during the
latter half of the 20th. Century, which provided for national court jurisdiction over
international crimes. 341

This chapter will look at the development of these two strands of international law, that
of individual responsibility for international crimes, and that of immunity, and consider
whether they are in fact incompatible. It will look at the development of the concepts of
human rights and international crimes; the concept of universal jurisdiction and the duty
to prosecute those responsible for gross human rights abuses. It will also look at the
developments in immunity in relation to these crimes, particularly the Pinochet case and
thereafter.

341

After Baghdad: Conflict or Coherence in International Law (2003) 1 NZJPIL.

244

Human Rights, Individual Responsibility and the Duty to Prosecute.

After the Second World War the international community tried to put mechanisms in
place to prevent and regulate future conflicts, and to protect individuals from the actions
of their own, and other states. Such protection was seen as a fundamental element of a
peaceful international society. The United Nations was created, and under its auspices
the ILC prepared and promoted conventions to protect individuals from the excesses of
government. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) developed
international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflict. The resultant
conventions were designed to be multi-lateral treaties entered into by all states. The
conventions all take basically the same approach. A crime is stated to be of international
concern, the crime is defined, individual responsibility is confirmed, the jurisdiction to
be asserted is described, and the obligation to prosecute asserted. Within this framework
the conventions became progressively more sophisticated.

Human Rights Conventions.

On 10 December 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 217A (III), the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It recognised that the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world. The declaration expressed concern at the
barbarous acts which resulted from the disregard and contempt for human rights, and
recognised that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, to prevent rebellion
against tyranny and oppression. The declaration recognised that a common
understanding of human rights, and freedoms, was necessary to promote universal
respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms. The declaration
was proclaimed as a common standard for achievement. Article 3 declares that everyone

245

is entitled to life, liberty and security of person, and article 5 that no one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

In 1966 the General Assembly adopted Resolution 2200 (XXI), The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 6 of which recognises the right to life,
and the prohibition on being arbitrarily deprived of life, and article 7 is the prohibition
of torture, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or punishment.

The European Convention on Human Rights signed on 4 November 1950 also

recognises the right to life, and the prohibition on torture, as does the Inter-American
Convention on Human Rights signed on 22 November 1969 and in Africa the Banjul
Charter, a Charter on Human and Peoples Rights was adopted in 1981.

The Genocide Convention 1948.

On 11 December 1946 the General Assembly declared that genocide is a denial of the
right of existence of entire human groups, and that such denial of the right of existence
shocks the conscience of mankind, results in great losses to humanity in the form of
cultural and other contributions represented by these human groups, and is contrary to
moral law and to the spirit and aims of the United Nations. The resolution declared that
the punishment of the crime of genocide is a matter of international concern, and
affirmed that genocide is a crime under international law, which the civilised world
condemns, and for the commission of which principals and accomplices, whether
private individuals, public officials or statesmen, and whether the crime is committed on
religious, racial, political or any other grounds, are punishable.

The General Assembly invited member states to enact the necessary legislation for the
prevention and punishment of the crime, and recommended that international cooperation be organised between states with a view to facilitating the speedy prevention
and punishment of the crime of genocide. The Assembly requested the Economic and
Social Council to draft a convention on the crime of genocide, to be submitted to the

246

next regular session of the General Assembly. The resulting convention, the Genocide
Convention1948, was adopted by the General Assembly in Resolution 260 (III) on 2
December 1948.

The preamble to the Genocide Convention recognises that at all periods of history
genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity, and that in order to liberate mankind
from such an odious scourge, international co-operation is required.

The convention confirms that genocide is a crime, defines the offence, and provides that
anyone committing the offence of genocide shall be punished regardless of their status.
The convention specifically refers to constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials
and private individuals being punishable. It then goes on to provide for jurisdiction
based on territory, or by an international penal tribunal, even though there was no
international criminal tribunal at that time. General Assembly Resolution 260 (III)
invited the ILC to study the possibility of establishing an international court for the trial
of persons charged with genocide, but there was not to be one for over forty years.

The convention does not refer to the immunity of individuals. The specific reference to
the punishability of constitutionally responsible rulers, and public officials, implies that
they are not entitled to immunity for the crime of genocide, but the treaty does not
address immunity directly. The jurisdictional article provides only for trial before the
territorial court, where immunity would not be an issue if the alleged perpetrator was a
citizen of that state, or before an international criminal tribunal where a state would
consent to jurisdiction before surrendering its citizens. Therefore immunity is not an
issue.

There was a requirement in the convention to extradite an offender in accordance with

the laws and treaties in force, and said that genocide shall not be considered as a
political crime for the purposes of extradition, but there was no consideration of
immunity in the context of extradition. There was no responsibility to prosecute.
Although the prohibition on genocide became jus cogens, the prosecution and

247

punishment of those committing the crime of genocide was wishful thinking, as those in
power who commit genocide did not give up their power, and submit to prosecution.

The Geneva Conventions 1949.

After World War II, the ICRC drafted four conventions which are concerned with the
protection of the victims of war. The Committee was concerned to clarify international
humanitarian law, and to prevent violations of the law in future armed conflicts, by
punishing violations. On 12 August 1949 the text of the four Geneva Conventions was
agreed. They deal respectively with the wounded and sick in armed forces in the field;
the wounded, sick and shipwrecked in armed forces at sea; prisoners of war; and
civilians. The four conventions have common principles, and common articles, and
created the concept of grave breaches of the provisions of the conventions, such
breaches to be punishable by all state parties.

Each of the Conventions defines grave breaches by reference to breaches involving

particular acts if committed against persons or property protected by the Convention.
Article 50 of Geneva Convention I which relates to the wounded and sick in armed
forces in the field, and article 51 of Geneva Convention II which relates to the
wounded, sick and shipwrecked in armed forces at sea defines the acts as wilful killing,
torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great
suffering or serious injury to body or health, and extensive destruction and
appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully
and wantonly. Article 130 of Geneva Convention III which relates to prisoners of war
defines the acts as wilful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, including biological
experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health,
compelling a prisoner of war to serve in the forces of the hostile Power, or wilfully
depriving a prisoner of war of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the
Convention, and article 147 of Geneva Convention IV which relates to civilians
defines the acts as wilful killing, torture or inhumane treatment, including biological
experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health,

248

unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person,

compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully
depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the
present Convention, taking hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of
property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

By a common article, article 49 Geneva Convention I, article 50 Geneva Convention II,

article 129 Geneva Convention III, and article 146 Geneva Convention IV, state parties
undertake to enact any legislation necessary to provide effective penal sanctions for
persons committing, or ordering to be committed, any of the grave breaches. Each state
party is under an obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have
ordered to be committed, such grave breaches, and to bring such persons, regardless of
their nationality, before its own courts. Such state party may also, if it prefers, and in
accordance with the provisions of its own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to
another state party, provided there is a prima facie case. There are also safeguards
relating to fair trial.

These four conventions created a scheme for the location, prosecution and punishment
of war criminals, to ensure that such criminals could not evade justice. There is
jurisdiction without a connection with territory or nationality, and there is an obligation
to search for and prosecute persons present on a states territory. The primary obligation
is to prosecute, but a person may be extradited instead, if a requesting state can prove a
prima facie case. Immunity is not referred to. All the alleged perpetrators would be state
officials, in that they would be members of the armed forces and therefore entitled to
immunity ratione materiae if acting on behalf of the state.

The Torture Convention 1984.

On 9 December 1975 the General Assembly adopted Resolution 3452, which had
annexed to it the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Following

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this the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment was drafted. The preamble to that convention has regard to the
prohibition on torture in article 5 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in
article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The torture
convention declares that the states party to the convention desire to make more effective
the struggle against torture, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or
punishment throughout the world.

Article 1 defines torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical
or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him
or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third
person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing
him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such
pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or
acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

Torture is defined as an offence which can only be committed by officials acting in an

official capacity, or at the instigation of such an official, or with the consent or
acquiescence of such an official. The official character of the torture is a fundamental
element of the offence.

The aim of the torture convention is to create a system where no state is complicit in
torture, and no torturer can evade justice. All state parties are required to take effective
legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any
territory under their jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever are allowed;
war or the threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, are
not to be invoked as a justification of torture, nor can an order from a superior officer or
a public authority be invoked as a justification of torture.

No-one is to be extradited, deported or returned by one state to another state where there
are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being

250

subjected to torture. Each state party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences
under its criminal law, including attempt, complicity or participation in torture. All
states party agree to make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take
into account their grave nature.

Article 5 of the convention provides for jurisdiction for offences of torture. Each state
party shall establish its jurisdiction when the offences are committed in any territory
under its jurisdiction, or on board a ship or aircraft registered in that state, and where the
alleged offender is a national of that state. If the victim is a national of the state then the
state may take jurisdiction.

If an alleged offender is present in any territory under the jurisdiction of a state and the
state does not extradite him, then the state must establish its jurisdiction, and submit the
case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution. Any decision regarding
prosecution is to be taken in the same manner as in the case of any ordinary offence, of a
serious nature, under the law of that state. The standards of evidence required for
prosecution and conviction are no way less stringent than those for other cases, and
there are provisions for talking an alleged offender into custody, and guarantees as to
fair trial.

States must take jurisdiction on the basis of territory, and nationality of the offender, and
jurisdiction may be taken on the basis of the nationality of the alleged victim. These are
the traditional agreed bases of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction also has to be taken on the basis
of presence of the offender on state territory, if the offender is not extradited, then he is
to be prosecuted if there is sufficient evidence. This gives precedence to the territorial
state, or state of nationality, but is designed not to allow a perpetrator to escape because
there is a bar to his extradition. The immunity of an alleged offender is not considered at
all.

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Individual Responsibility

The concept of individual responsibility for international crimes was articulated in

article 7 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal for the trial of war
criminals at Nuremburg, which said The official position of defendants, whether as
heads of state or responsible officials in government departments, shall not be
considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment. 342 The
Tribunal emphasised this in its judgement saying that immunity could not apply The
principle of international law which, under certain circumstances, protects the
representatives of a state cannot be applied to acts condemned as criminal by
international law. The authors of these acts cannot shelter themselves behind their
official position to be freed from punishment. 343 The Tribunal also said Crimes
against international law are committed by men, not by abstract entities, and only by
punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law
be enforced

On 11 December 1946 the General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 95(1)

and affirmed the principles of international law recognised by the Charter of the
Nuremburg Tribunal and the judgment of the Tribunal, and by resolution 177(II) on 21
November 1947 the General Assembly directed the ILC to formulate those principles.
On 12 December 1950 by resolution 488(V) the General Assembly accepted the
principles as formulated by the ILC. Nuremberg Principle I provides that any person
who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible
therefore and liable to punishment, and Nuremberg Principle III provides that the fact
that a person acted as head of state or responsible government official does not relieve
him of responsibility under international law. 344
342

London, 8 August 1945, United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 82, 278. Article 7 The official position of
defendants, whether as Heads of State or responsible officials in Government Departments, shall not be
considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.
343

The Trial of German Major War Criminals: Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal Sitting
at Nuremberg in Germany, Part 22, HMSO, London 1950.
344

Principles of International Law Recognised in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the
Judgment of the Tribunal 1950. Yearbook of the ILC, 1950, vol. II, para. 97.

252

On 3 May1993 the UN Secretary General reported, as requested by paragraph 2 of

Security Council resolution 808 (1993) on the legal basis for the establishment of an
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. 345 In paragraph 29 the reports states
It should be pointed out that, in assigning to the International Tribunal the task of
prosecuting persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian
law, the Security Council would not be creating or purporting to legislate the law.
Rather, the International Tribunal would have the task of applying existing international
humanitarian law, and this applies to the concept of individual responsibility for
international crimes, as well as to the offences themselves. The report is stating the
concept that a person is responsible for their own actions, and may be prosecuted, and
punished, even if the conduct was performed on behalf of a state.

The ICTY and ICTR were created by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN
Charter in 1993 and 1994, with the power to prosecute persons for the most serious
violations of international humanitarian law. Article 7 of the ICTY statute and article 6
of the ICTR statute both provide for individual responsibility as follows:
1. A person who planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and
abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of a crime referred to in articles
2 to 5 of the present Statute, shall be individually responsible for the crime.
2. The official position of any accused person, whether as head of state or
government or as a responsible government official, shall not relieve such person
of criminal responsibility nor mitigate punishment.
3. The fact that any of the acts referred to in articles 2 to 5 of the present Statute
was committed by a subordinate does not relieve his superior of criminal
responsibility if he knew or had reason to know that the subordinate was about to
commit such acts or had done so and the superior failed to take the necessary and
reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.

345

S/25704.

253

4. The fact that an accused person acted pursuant to an order of a government or of

a superior shall not relieve him of criminal responsibility, but may be considered
in mitigation of punishment if the International Tribunal determines that justice
so requires.
Article 27 of the ICC Statute provides for individual responsibility and says:

1. This Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on
official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a head of state or government,
a member of a government or parliament, an elected representative or a
government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal
responsibility under this statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground
for a reduction of sentence.
2. Immunities or special procedure rules which may attach to the official capacity
of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the court
from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.

The setting up of these special international tribunals, and the specific provisions in their
statutes that heads of state, and government officials, are not exempt from responsibility
and can be tried by the tribunals, rather than demonstrating that there is no state
immunity for these acts, implies that there is such immunity. This immunity has been
specifically excluded by these statutes, and that this is one of the reasons that the
international tribunals and the ICC have been established.

The Duty to Prosecute.

The parties to the Genocide Convention undertake to prevent and to punish the crime of
genocide, and by article V they undertake to enact the necessary legislation to give
effect to the Convention, and in particular to provide effective penalties for those
convicted of genocide, but there is no duty to prosecute under this convention.

254

States party to the Geneva Conventions undertook to enact legislation to provide

effective penal sanctions for persons committing, or ordering to be committed, any of
the grave breaches of the conventions. They are also under an obligation to search for
persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave
breaches, and shall bring such persons regardless of their nationality, before its own
courts, or to extradite such persons. This is jurisdiction is based on presence of the
alleged offender in the territory of a state, and an obligation to prosecute, if extradition
is not granted. The common article in each of the four Geneva Conventions provides
that In all circumstances, the accused persons shall benefit by safeguards of proper
trial and defence. There is no requirement for any allegations to be submitted to
investigating or prosecuting authorities.

This concept of extradite or prosecute was also followed in conventions which were
drafted in response to international terrorism, the Hague Convention for the Suppression
of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft 1970, the Montreal Convention for the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation 1971, the Convention on Crimes
against Internationally Protected Persons 1973, the International Convention against the
Taking of Hostages 1979, and also in the Torture Convention. All of these conventions
require state parties to ensure that the crimes are prohibited under their domestic
legislation, and that persons who are present on their territory are prosecuted or
extradited. If such persons are not extradited, then the obligation is to submit the case to
the states prosecuting authorities for investigation. 346 The primary obligation here is to
extradite.

Extradite or prosecute, this is a vision of an ideal world. There are differences in

municipal criminal justice systems, in the way evidence is collected, and the
admissibility of evidence in trials, which make it very difficult to prosecute a person in
346

Article 7 Hague Convention 1970 Article 7 Montreal Convention 1971.Article 7 Convention on

Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons. Article 7(1) Convention Against Torture 1984. In the
Geneva Conventions the language is different, the Conventions being older, a High Contracting Party in
under an obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed grave breaches, and to bring such
persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts. The obligation is on a State to prosecute, not
to allow private prosecutions.

255

one state when the evidence is in another state. Even if international co-operation in
criminal matters was perfect the exercise would be very time consuming and expensive.
The first case in which the interaction of the duty to extradite, individual responsibility
and immunity was considered was that of Pinochet, and the English courts struggled to
reconcile the conflicting principles.

The Pinochet Case.

Pinochet was a former head of the state of Chile and as such, customary international
law required that he be granted immunity ratione materiae that is immunity for alleged
criminal offences committed in his public capacity whilst he was head of state. He was
accused of official torture in Chile, his own state, but the Torture Convention makes no
mention of state immunity, despite the fact that jurisdiction is given to the national
courts of other states.

A warrant was issued in Spain for the arrest of Pinochet, and his extradition was
requested. He was arrested in England and he made an application for habeus corpus to
the Divisional Court. There were then three hearings in the House of Lords.

It was submitted on behalf of Pinochet that as a former head of state he did not have
immunity in respect of personal or private acts, but that he continued to enjoy immunity
in respect of public acts performed by him as head of state, that is, in respect of the
exercise by him of sovereign power in that capacity, and that the conduct alleged against
him related not to his private or personal conduct, but to his conduct when exercising
sovereign power as head of state of the Republic of Chile. The allegations were that he
used the apparatus of the state to torture and murder.

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The Decision of the Divisional Court.

On the 28 October 1998 the Divisional Court 347 comprising three judges unanimously
found that Pinochet was entitled to immunity. The court rejected the argument that
immunity could not apply to torture as it was an international crime and said that
Pinochet was entitled to claim the same immunity as the state of Chile. Mr. Justice
Collins added regarding the submission that such crimes could not be a function of a
head of state; Unfortunately, history shows that it has indeed on occasions been state
policy to exterminate or oppress particular groups.

The Divisional Court certified that a point of law of general public importance was
involved in the courts decision, namely: The proper interpretation and scope of the
immunity enjoyed by a former head of state from arrest and extradition proceedings in
the United Kingdom in respect of acts committed while he was Head of State.

The First Decision of the House of Lords.

On 25 November 1998 the House of Lords 348 gave judgment and found that Pinochet
was not immune, but it was a close call with two of the five judges finding that he was
entitled to immunity. All of the Law Lords were agreed that the crucial question was
whether the acts alleged were done by Pinochet in the exercise of his functions as head
of state.

Lord Slynn at page 74 found that Pinochet was entitled to immunity as the acts relied
upon were done as part of the carrying out of his functions when head of state, as the
governments plans and instructions enabled the repression to be carried out, and the
acts relied on were done by Pinochet as part of the carrying out of his functions when he
was head of state. He said if states wished to exclude the long established immunity of
347

CO/4074/98 CO/4083/98 [1998] All ER (D) 509.

348

R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate and others, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (Amnesty
International and others intervening) [2000] 1 AC 61.

257

former heads of state then they must do so in clear terms, and in the UK that agreement
must incorporated into domestic law by legislation.

Lord Lloyd found that Pinochet was acting in a sovereign capacity, not a personal
capacity, and as plan Condor was organised by him as the head of the government in cooperation with other governments, and carried out through the agency of the police and
secret service, he was entitled to immunity as the acts of which he was accused were
official acts performed by him in the exercise of his functions as head of state. He did
not accept that the crimes alleged were so horrific that an exception must be made to the
ordinary rule of customary international law. He said that if the word governmental was
used rather than official then the distinction between private and officials acts is
apparent.

Lord Nicholls and Lord Steyn both found that the conduct alleged was not recognised by
international law as a function of a head of state, and therefore Pinochet was not
immune. Lord Hoffman agreed with them.

Lord Nicholls said that there was only immunity in respect of acts performed in the
exercise of functions which international law recognises as functions of a head of state,
irrespective of the terms of his domestic constitution, and that torture and hostage taking
were not regarded by international law as a function of a head of state, and as the two
international conventions made it clear these crimes were to be punishable by courts of
individual states, Pinochet was not entitled to immunity.

Lord Steyns view was that there was a line to be drawn between acts performed in the
exercise of functions as a head of state and those which were not, otherwise Hitlers
final solution could be an official act performed in the exercise of the functions of a
head of state. He said that where the line was to be drawn must depend upon the rules of
international law, and as international law condemned genocide, torture, hostage taking
and crimes against humanity as international crimes deserving punishment, these acts

258

could not be part of the functions of a head of state such as to grant immunity from
criminal prosecution.

Therefore after this judgment of the House of Lords an ex-head of state and therefore
analogously any ex-official could not claim continuing immunity from prosecution for
international crimes before the national courts of other states, but this decision did not
last long.

The First Decision of the House of Lords set aside: The Final Decision of the House
of Lords.
On 15 January 1998 the House of Lords 349 set aside the judgment of the 25 November
1998 on the grounds that the court was not properly constituted, and on the 24 March
1999 the House of Lords 350, comprising seven different Judges, gave a second and final
judgment as to whether Pinochet was entitled to immunity from the criminal jurisdiction
of the English courts.

During this time the position had changed, the Secretary of State had issued an authority
to proceed which did not specify the offence of genocide; and the charges against
Senator Pinochet had widened; there were now thirty-one charges alleging offences of
torture; conspiracy to torture; conspiracy to take hostages; conspiracy to torture in
furtherance of which murder was committed in various countries; conspiracy to murder
in Spain and in Italy; and attempted murder in Italy. The time frame for the offences was
also extended from between 1 January 1972 and 1 January 1990.

The seven judges in their reasons for their decision refer to each other. Lord Hope
analysed what extradition crimes were disclosed by the alleged conduct, and all the
other judges agreed with him. The offences relating to hostage taking were found not to
349

R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate and others, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No 2)
[2000] 1 AC 119.
350

Pinochet (No 3) [2000] 1 AC 147.

259

be extradition crimes because the conduct alleged did not amount to hostage taking; and
the offences of murder, and attempted murder were found not to be extradition crimes
because they could not be brought within the extra-territorial provisions of the
Extradition Act 1989. The conspiracies to commit offences in Spain were found to be
extradition crimes. The question of immunity relating to the offences of conspiracy in
Spain to murder in Spain has been considered in a previous chapter. This chapter is
concerned with torture and immunity.

Official torture became an offence in the UK on 29 September 1988 when section 134
of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 came into force. As is usual with criminal statutes it
was not retrospective in its effect. Usually a court would decide the question of whether
immunity applied first, but in this case the court considered the question of whether to
be an extradition crime the conduct had to be criminal under UK law at the time of the
alleged offence, or at the time of the extradition. The court decided, six judges
concurring and only Lord Millett dissenting, that for conduct to be an extradition crime
it had to be an offence in both the requesting State and the UK at the time the conduct
occurred. Therefore in the case the extra-territorial offences of torture for which
Pinochet could potentially be extradited were restricted to those committed after the 29
September 1988.

The court then considered whether Pinochet was entitled to immunity as an ex-head of
state performing the conduct in the exercise of his official functions. Any date at which
he lost immunity became of great importance as the number of offences for which he
could potentially be extradited were different depending upon which date was decided.
In this context the dates upon which the countries ratified the Torture Convention
became significant; Spain ratified the convention on the 21 October 1987, Chile ratified
on the 30 October 1988, and the UK on 8 December 1988. As a consequence the House
of Lords concentrated upon the proper construction of the Torture Convention, and was
less concerned with the concept of human rights in international law than the first
decision of the House of Lords.

260

All seven of the Judges gave separate reasons for their decision regarding whether
Pinochet lost his immunity, and if he did the date at which he lost it. Six of the Judges
agreed that he was not immune, but the dates at which the immunity was lost differed.
Lord Goff disagreed, and said that Pinochet was entitled to immunity for torture and
conspiracy to torture.

Lord Goff said that the central question was whether Pinochet, as a former head of state,
was entitled to state immunity ratione materiae, and the critical question was whether
the conduct was engaged in under colour of or in ostensible exercise of the head of
states public authority. He said that the whole purpose of state immunity was to
prevent the actions of one state being canvassed before the courts of another, and if
immunity ratione materiae was excluded, former heads of state and senior public
officials would have to think twice about travelling abroad, for fear of being the subject
of unfounded allegations emanating from states of a different political persuasion. He
thought the fact that no mention was made of state immunity in the convention was
decisive. Had it been intended to exclude state immunity then a paragraph in article 7
would have provided for that. He said that the functions of a head of state are
governmental functions and the fact that the head of state performs an act, other than a
private act, which is criminal, does not deprive it of its governmental character.

He found that Pinochet was immune, rejecting the argument that there is an implied
waiver of immunity for torture committed by state officials as part of their functions in
the Torture Convention, on the basis that waiver of immunity must be express not
implied. He said at 223A What a trap would be created for the unwary, if state
immunity could be waived in a treaty sub-silentio. As there was no mention of
immunity in the treaty, it could not be implied that immunity was waived, and therefore
immunity was not affected, and still applied. Lord Goff said that to find otherwise was
contrary to principle, authority and common sense.

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Lord Browne-Wilkinson at 204H to 206A found that Pinochet lost his immunity on the
8 December 1988, the date when all three states involved had ratified the Torture
Convention.

His reasoning was:

1. The torture convention provided worldwide universal jurisdiction for the

international crime of torture, and required all states to ban and outlaw torture.
Therefore torture became a truly international crime.
2. It cannot be an official function in international law to so something which
international law prohibits and criminalizes.
3. An essential feature of the international crime of torture is that it must be
committed by or with the acquiescence of a public official or other person acting
in an official capacity. Therefore all defendants will be state officials.
4. If the former head of state has immunity, the man most responsible will escape
liability while his inferiors, such as the chiefs of police and junior army officers
who carried out his orders will be liable, and he found it impossible to accept this
was the intention of the convention.
5. If the implementation of a torture regime is a public function giving rise to
immunity ratione materiae then all state officials who have been involved in
carrying out the torture as a state function would be immune, and no case could
be brought outside Chile, unless Chile waived its right to its officials immunity.

Lord Hope decided at 247G, 262D and 263E that immunity was lost on 30 October
1988. He said that there was no express waiver, nor an implied term in the Torture
Convention, but that the obligations which were recognised by customary international
law, in the case of allegations of systematic torture, by the date when Chile ratified the
Convention, were so strong as to override any objection by it on the ground of immunity
ratione materiae.

262

Lord Hutton said at 251C that the prohibition of torture had acquired the status of jus
cogens, and having regard to the provisions of the Torture Convention, acts of torture
after 29 September 1988 were not a function of a head of state, and therefore Pinochet
was not immune after 29 September 1988.

Lord Saville found that Pinochets immunity ceased at 8 December 1988 as the terms of
the Torture Convention expressly state that a former head of state, who allegedly resorts
to torture for state purposes, falls within the terms of the convention, and should be dealt
with in accordance with them; and at 267F he found that the express and unequivocal
terms of the Convention were a clear and unambiguous waiver of immunity.

Lord Millett found that Pinochet was not entitled to immunity for offences of torture,
and conspiracy to torture, he said at 277A-278B that the definition of torture is entirely
inconsistent with the existence of a plea of immunity ratione materiae. The offence can
be committed only by, or at the instigation of, or with the consent or acquiescence of, a
public official, or other person acting in an official capacity. The official or
governmental nature of the act, which forms the basis of the immunity, is an essential
ingredient of the offence, and that no rational system of criminal justice can allow an
immunity which is co-extensive with the offence.

Lord Phillips said at 290F that Pinochet was not entitled to immunity for the offences of
torture, and conspiracy to torture, as the Torture Convention is incompatible with
immunity ratione materiae. In his view immunity ratione materiae cannot co-exist with
international crimes, and extra-territorial jurisdiction in relation to them, as the exercise
of extra-territorial jurisdiction overrides the principle that one state will not intervene in
the internal affairs of another. It does so because the principle cannot prevail where
international crime is concerned, and once extra-territorial jurisdiction is established, it
makes no sense to exclude from it acts done in an official capacity.

In conclusion the court found by six to one, Lord Millett dissenting, that torture was not
an extradition crime until 29 September 1988, when torture became a crime under UK

263

law; and secondly by six to one, Lord Goff dissenting, that Pinochet was not entitled to
immunity for torture and conspiracy to torture. There were different decisions as to the
date when immunity was lost. Three of the Judges, Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Lord Hope
and Lord Saville, found that it was when all three states involved had ratified the Torture
Convention; that is the 8 December 1988. Lord Hutton found it was 19 September 1988
when torture became an offence in the UK, and two judges Lord Phillips and Lord
Millett, found that he was not entitled to immunity for the international crime of torture.
Therefore the majority decided the date was 8 December 1988, and Pinochet was found
to have lost his immunity as of that date.

This meant that Pinochet could only be extradited on a limited number of charges. The
Secretary of State had issued his authority to proceed on the basis that all of the
allegations in the extradition request would be the subject matter of the extradition
proceedings. The House of Lords were of the view that their decision constituted a
profound change in circumstances which required the Secretary of State to reconsider
his decision to issue an authority to proceed.

A third provisional warrant backed for bail was issued for the arrest of Pinochet, and he
was arrested on it and bailed. On 14 April 1999 the Secretary of State issued a second
authority to proceed for offences of torture and conspiracy to torture. Between 27
September 1999 and 30 September 1999 Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, Ronald
Bartle heard the committal proceedings, and on 8 October 1999 Pinochet was committed
to await the decision of the Secretary of State as to his return to Spain. The Secretary of
State decided not to return him to Spain on the basis of his ill-health, and Pinochet
returned to Chile on 2 March 2000.

In 2006 the House of Lords again considered the question of state immunity in the case
of Jones v Ministry of Interior. The House of Lords was again considering whether state
immunity applies to civil claims for torture committed by state officials abroad. The
House of Lords decided unanimously that state immunity does apply to such claims and
that the English courts have no jurisdiction to hear them. In coming to its conclusion the

264

House of Lords considered what was decided in the Pinochet case regarding immunity
from prosecution for official torture. Lord Bingham said at paragraph 19 of the
judgment said that the essential ratio in the Pinochet case was that international law
could not without absurdity require a state to prosecute and, at the same time, require
immunity to be granted to those properly charged. Lord Hoffman said at paragraph 81
that the reason why General Pinochet did not enjoy immunity ratione materiae was
because by necessary implication, international law had removed the immunity.

The Judges in all the Pinochet judgments and in the Jones case struggled to make sense
of the system of criminal responsibility and accountability introduced by the torture
convention, when no mention was specifically made regarding immunity. The only way
to implement the torture convention, without allowing those most responsible for the
most serious crimes to escape the regime, was to find that the torture convention
removed immunity ratione materiae. This was reading something into the convention
which was not really there, and led to criticism of the extradition proceedings. There
was no wholehearted approval of the Pinochet case, and that was because the Torture
Convention does not address the issue.

After Pinochet.

Although the House of Lords said that Pinochet could be extradited to Spain, the
decision by the Secretary of State not to order his extradition demonstrates the weakness
of relying upon national systems to deal with the sensitive matter of international
crimes. All participants in the Pinochet proceedings were left feeling that justice had not
been done. The decision not to extradite Pinochet was taken on proper medical advice,
and after the Divisional Court had considered whether there should be a judicial review
of the announcement by the Secretary of State that he was minded to conclude that
there was no purpose to be served in continuing the extradition proceedings, and that he
was minded to take a decision not to extradite Senator Pinochet to Spain. 351 But the
351

Case No: CO/236/00 and CO/238/00 31 January 2000 R v the Secretary of State for the Home
Department ex parte Amnesty International and Others.

265

impression given was that Pinochet had not been extradited because it was politically
convenient. This was reinforced by the behaviour of Pinochet on his return to Chile,
when he soon recovered from his illness.

The state of Chile did not waive immunity throughout the proceedings in England, and
asserted that the courts of England and Spain had no jurisdiction. When Pinochet
returned to Chile there were successful efforts to remove the immunity he had been
granted before he relinquished power and charge him with offences before the Chilean
courts. 352 Pinochet died on 10 December 2006 before any trial took place.

There have been developments in this area of international law since the Pinochet case.
The ICTY and the ICTR have demonstrated that international tribunals are an effective
way to deal with alleged war criminals. Internationalised domestic tribunals have since
been established in Sierra Leone, East Timor and Cambodia to assist national courts deal
with the prosecution of those responsible for atrocities. The ICC has been created by
treaty, and the question of the immunity of high state officials has been considered by
the ICJ on14 February 2003 in the Arrest Warrant case.

The International Criminal Court

At its fifty-second session, the UN General Assembly decided to convene a conference,

to be held in Rome, Italy, from 15 June to 17 July 1998 to finalise and adopt a
convention on the establishment of an international criminal court.
The ICC Statute 353 was adopted on the 17th July 1998 and entered into force on 1 July
2002. In the preamble the state parties recognise that grave crimes threaten the peace,
security and well-being of the world, and affirm that the most serious crimes of concern
to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished, and that their
effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at the national level, and by
352

Pinochet charged with kidnapping. BBC 1 December 2000.

353

UN Treaty Series: vol 2187. p. 3.

266

enhancing international cooperation. They say they are determined to put an end to
impunity, and thus contribute to the prevention of such crimes.

The preamble continues that the state parties are determined to establish an independent
permanent International Criminal Court in relationship with the United Nations system,
with jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community
as a whole. The preamble emphasises that the ICC shall be complementary to national
criminal jurisdictions. Finally the state parties are resolved to guarantee lasting respect
for, and the enforcement of, international justice.

The court has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international
community as a whole that is genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It
also has jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, once it is defined. Its jurisdiction is
limited to crimes occurring after the statute came into force on the 1 July 2002. A state
on becoming a party to the statute accepts the jurisdiction of the court. The primary
jurisdiction of the ICC is by consent. State parties may refer a situation to the prosecutor
for investigation on the basis of territory or nationality, or the prosecutor may initiate an
investigation in those circumstances. A state which is not a party to the statute may, by
declaration, accept the exercise of jurisdiction of the court, with respect to a specific
crime.

The court also has a non consensual jurisdiction under articles 13 to 15 of the statute,
whereby the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter may refer a
situation, in which one or more of crimes appear to have been committed, to the
prosecutor. This occurred on 31 March 2005 when the Security Council passed
Resolution 1593 referring to the situation in Darfur, Sudan since 1 July 2001 to the
Prosecutor of the ICC. On 4 March 2009 Pre-Trial Chamber 1 of the ICC issued a
warrant of arrest for a serving head of state, the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir for
war crimes and crimes against humanity. 354

354

ICC Press Release 394.

267

The complementarity principle is given effect by acknowledging that the domestic

jurisdiction of a state takes precedence unless that state is unable or unwilling to
prosecute. Article 17 headed Issues of admissibility, says the court shall determine
that a case is inadmissible where:

(a) The case is being investigated or prosecuted by a state which has

jurisdiction over it, unless the state is unwilling or unable genuinely to
carry out the investigation or prosecution;
(b) The case has been investigated by a state which has jurisdiction over it
and the state has decided not to prosecute the person concerned, unless
the decision resulted from the unwillingness or inability of the state
genuinely to prosecute;
(c) The person concerned has already been tried for conduct which is the
subject of the complaint, and a trial by the court is not permitted under
the principle of ne bis in idem dealt with in paragraph 3 of article 20.

In order to determine unwillingness in a particular case, the court shall consider, having
regard to the principles of due process recognized by international law, whether one or
more of the following exist, as applicable:

(a) The proceedings were or are being undertaken or the national decision was made
for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility
for crimes within the jurisdiction of the court;
(b) There has been an unjustified delay in the proceedings which in the
circumstances is inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to
justice;
(c) The proceedings were not or are not being conducted independently or
impartially, and they were or are being conducted in a manner which, in the
circumstances, is inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to
justice.

268

Article 20 paragraph 3 provides that no person who has been tried by another court for
conduct shall be tried by the court with respect to the same conduct unless the
proceedings in the other court:

(a) were for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal
responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the court; or
(b) otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially in accordance with
the norms of due process recognised by international law and were conducted in
a manner which, in the circumstances was inconsistent with an intent to bring the
person concerned to justice.

The statute of the ICC has expressly considered immunity, not just in relation to the
capacity of the court, but also in relation to national courts. Persons who are wanted by
the court, will be arrested, and appear before a national court, before being transferred to
the ICC. The provisions relating to immunity are carefully considered.

A person who commits a crime within the jurisdiction of the court is individually
responsible and liable for punishment, 355 and official capacity is irrelevant as the statute
applies equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. In
particular, official capacity as a head of state or government, a member of a government
or parliament, an elected representative or a government official does not exempt a
person from criminal responsibility under the statute. Immunities or special procedural
rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or
international law, do not bar the court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a
person. 356

This applies to a person who is before the ICC accused of a crime, but if a person is
before a national court, arrested on a warrant issued by the ICC, then:

355

Article 25.2.

356

Article 27.

269

1.

The court may not proceed with a request for surrender or assistance which
would require the requested state to act inconsistently with its obligations under
international law with respect to the state or diplomatic immunity of a person or
property of a third state, unless the court can first obtain the cooperation of that
third state for the waiver of the immunity.

2. The court may not proceed with a request for surrender which would require the
requested state to act inconsistently with its obligations under international
agreements pursuant to which the consent of a sending state is required to
surrender a person of that state to the court, unless the court can first obtain the
cooperation of the sending state for the giving of consent for the surrender. 357

This provision acknowledges that states and national courts have an obligation under
international law to recognise state and diplomatic immunity. The article says that the
ICC may not proceed with a request which would require the requested state to act
inconsistently with its obligations under international law. This implies that these
obligations are a matter for the ICC to decide. It is submitted that this is too narrow a
construction of the article. International law is binding upon both the requested state,
and the ICC, both are required to abide by it. The requested state cannot surrender a
person who is entitled to immunity, and the ICC cannot proceed with the request.

The English legislation deals with this by providing that such a decision be taken by the
Secretary of State not the courts. Section 23 International Criminal Court Act 2001,
headed Provisions as to State or Diplomatic Immunity, provides that any state or
diplomatic immunity attaching to a person by reason of a connection with a state party
to the ICC statute does not prevent proceedings. This includes immunity under
customary international law. Where immunity attaches to any person by reason of a
connection with a state which is not a party to the ICC statute, then if the ICC has
obtained a waiver of that immunity in relation to a request for that persons surrender to
the ICC that waiver is treated as extending to the proceedings in the UK in connection
with that request. A certificate by the Secretary of State that a state is or is not a state
357

Article 98

270

party, or that there has been a waiver is conclusive. The Secretary of State may in any
particular case after consultation with the ICC and the state concerned direct that
proceedings, which would be prevented by state or diplomatic immunity if the state was
not a party to the ICC, or a waiver, shall not be taken.

If the request is for the surrender of a person who has immunity because of a connection
with a state not a party to the ICC then the power under section 1 of the United Nations
Act 1946 to make orders in council may be used. This power is to give immediate effect
by order in council to UN Security Council resolutions not involving the use of armed
force. Orders in council made under this section shall be laid before Parliament
forthwith. The procedure has been considered in the case of A and Others v HM
Treasury 358 in which the Court of Appeal decided that the fact that the order in council
must be laid before Parliament even though there is no procedure to enable Parliament
to scrutinise or amend it, meant that it was not possible to challenge the lawfulness of
the orders on the ground they were ultra vires, as an individual Member could seek to
initiate a debate if he or she felt that an order was unsatisfactory. Sir Anthony Clarke
MR said the likelihood of Parliamentary scrutiny seems more theoretical than real.

The International Criminal Court Act 2001 therefore takes any decision regarding the
immunity of an individual out of the hands of the national court, but this does not mean
that it will not be argued if a person wanted for prosecution by the ICC is arrested in
England.

The Arrest Warrant Case.

On 14 February 2003 the ICJ in the Arrest Warrant Case 359 confirmed that serving heads
of state, and heads of government are immune from the jurisdiction of the national
courts of other states, and found that this immunity extends to foreign ministers. The
court then went on to find that such immunity prevents the issue of a warrant and its
358

[2008] EWCA Civ 1187.

359

128 ILR 1.

271

international circulation, even when the high state official is not abroad. This means that
those high state officials who have immunity ratione personae are absolutely immune
from the jurisdiction of the courts of other states and this includes immunity from
prosecution from international crimes, including official torture.

At paragraph 59 the Court said that the rules governing the jurisdiction of national
courts must be carefully distinguished from those governing jurisdictional immunities,
as jurisdiction does not imply absence of immunity, while absence of immunity does not
imply jurisdiction.

Although various international conventions on the prevention and punishment of

certain serious crimes imposed on States obligations of prosecution or extradition,
thereby requiring them to extend their criminal jurisdiction, such extension of
jurisdiction in no way affects immunities under customary international law, including
those of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. These remain opposable before the courts of a
foreign State, even where those courts exercise such a jurisdiction under these
conventions.

The court emphasised at paragraphs 60 that immunity does not mean impunity and that
immunity from criminal jurisdiction and individual criminal responsibility are quite
separate concepts. The court said that jurisdictional immunity is procedural in nature,
whereas criminal responsibility is a question of substantive law. Jurisdictional
immunity may well bar prosecution for a certain period or for certain offences, but it
cannot exonerate the person to whom it applies from all criminal responsibility.

In paragraph 61 the court explained four ways in which a person who has immunity
ratione personae may be brought to trial:

1. Such persons enjoy no criminal immunity under international law in their own
countries, and may thus be tried by those countries courts in accordance with
the relevant rules of domestic law.

272

2. They will cease to enjoy immunity from foreign jurisdiction if the state which
they represent or have represented decides to waive that immunity.
3. After a person ceases to hold office, he or she will no longer enjoy all of the
immunities accorded by international law in other states. Provided that it has
jurisdiction under international law, a court of one state may try the former
official of another state in respect of acts committed prior or subsequent to his or
her period of office, as well as in respect of acts committed during that period of
office in a private capacity.
4. An incumbent or former official may be subject to criminal proceedings before
certain international criminal courts, where they have jurisdiction.

The probability of high state officials who commit such serious offences being tried in
these circumstances is not high. Their own country is usually the one they are
oppressing, and therefore there will be no national prosecution. Such a person will not
surrender power; he is likely to grant an amnesty to himself before abdicating. He will
not waive immunity, or voluntarily surrender to an international tribunal. Those who are
capable of committing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture, will
not be concerned by the fact that, even though they cannot be tried, they have criminal
responsibility.

This exception that a former high state official can be tried for actions committed, whilst
in office in a private capacity, returns to the central question in the Pinochet case. Is
torture by a state official an official action, is it acta jure imperii and therefore immune?
Is the act is by its nature, and not its purpose, a governmental act. Pinochet instigated
torture to preserve his regime, is that not a governmental act? It is not the action of a
human rights compliant government, but he was using the apparatus of the state to
protect the government. As Lord Millett said at page 268 in Pinochet (3) this exception
to immunity is not acta jure gestionis, rather it is a parallel in some respects opposite
development.

273

The explanation of when a former high state official can be prosecuted was not
necessary for the ICJs decision in the Arrest Warrant case, and has been criticised.
Hazel Fox in State Immunity and the International Crime of Torture 360 says there is
some questioning of this ruling which may be described as obiter dicta, since the facts
on which the judgment was based concerned a minister while serving in office. Steffen
Wirth in Immunity for Core Crimes? The ICJs judgment in the Congo v Belgium
Case, 361 argues that the assertion that foreign ministers are immune for official acts,
even when they are no longer in office, is obiter dictum, and also that it is not well
reasoned, and difficult to reconcile with the existing law of state immunity. He says the
Court hardly adduces any evidence for the existence of the rule which it asserts, and,
what is more, there is a gap in its reasoning: whereas all arguments made by the Court
in discussing the merits of the case relate only to incumbent Ministers of Foreign
Affairs, the conclusion drawn in paragraph 61 of the decision then includes former
Ministers of Foreign Affairs. He argues that once a high state official leaves office he
should be protected only by immunity ratione materiae, which should be interpreted as
providing no protection against prosecution for international crimes.
Andrea Bianchi 362 argues that no immunity should be granted with regard to
prosecutions for international crimes. He contends that the very notion of crimes of
international law is inconsistent with the application of jurisdictional immunities
particularly as regards those crimes which by their very nature either presuppose or
require state action. If immunity were granted to state officials prosecution of such
crimes would be impossible and the overall effectiveness of international criminal law
irremediably undermined.

360

EHRLR 2006, 2, 142-157.

361

13 EURJIL 877.

362

"Denying State Immunity to Violators of Human Rights", 46 Austrian Journal of Public and
International Lait (1994), pp. 227-228 Immunity Versus Human Rights: The Pinochet Case. 10 EJIL
(1999) 237 at page 277-278.

274

At paragraph 85 of their Joint Separate Opinion in the Arrest Warrant Case, 363 Judges
Higgins, Kooijmans and Buergenthal quote Andrea Bianchi and note that it is claimed in
the literature that serious international crimes cannot be regarded as official acts because
they are not normal state functions nor functions that a state alone, in contrast to an
individual, can perform, but this has not been followed by state practice. There have not
been prosecutions by national courts of ex-high state officials of other states for
international crimes. This also has not been followed by the House of Lords in the case
of Jones v The Ministry of the Interior 364 and it is at odds with the principles of state
responsibility. A state will incur responsibility in international law if one of its officials
is acting under apparent authority even if the official exceeds his authority or
contravenes his instructions, the question is whether he was acting with apparent
authority. 365 If so the state will be responsible for his actions, which are therefore
official, albeit internationally wrongful, actions. Actions do not cease to be official
because they are illegal.

A decision of the ICJ has no binding force except between the parties and in respect of
that particular case, 366 but the ICJ is explaining customary international law in the Arrest
Warrant case and these are influential pronouncements. The ICJ appears to be saying
that the decision of the House of Lords in Pinochet (3) is incorrect. 367
Campbell McLachlan in Pinochet Revisited 368 suggests that it would be preferable if
international law were to admit of an exception to state immunity for the prosecution of
individuals for international crimes, that such an exception develop as an independent
head. But he says Whether such an exception is in truth developing as part of
international law's 'living and expanding code' is debateable, and; Although the ICJ's
363

128 ILR 119.

364

[2007] 1 AC 270.

365

Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts with commentaries.
Yearbook of the ILC 2001. vol. II (Part Two), para. 77, pp.31-143 commentary to article 7 para. (8).
366

Article 59 Statute of the ICJ 1945.

367

128 ILR 1 at paragraph 59.

368

ICLQ 2002, 51(4), 959-966.

275

judgment should properly be limited to the specific issue, as to serving foreign ministers,
which it decided, the conservatism at the core of the decision is bound to have a chill
effect on national judicial activism on related immunity issues, and thus inhibit the
further development of state practice.

In the Pinochet case the House of Lords decided that international law has to make sense
and be internally consistent. The Torture Convention requires states to extradite or
prosecute persons found on their territory accused of crimes of torture, and the definition
of the offence of torture requires that the person accused of the offence will have
immunity ratione materiae, as the offence will have been committed as an official act.
The House of Lords decided that the only coherent decision was that Pinochet was not
immune, and that states party to the Torture Convention must have meant that immunity
did not apply. The House of Lords decided that immunity continues for the offences of
murder and conspiracy to murder. It was not the seriousness of the offences, nor the
abuses of human rights, which removed the immunity, but the absurdity which would
prevail if Pinochet was found to be immune. As Lord Browne-Wilkinson said page
205E the whole elaborate structure of universal jurisdiction over torture committed by
officials is rendered abortive. The complicated reasons given by the Judges for their
decision, and the fact that no really sensible ratio can be deduced from the case, shows
the difficulty which the judges had in making their decision, and what the judges did
was to interpret the torture convention by reading into it a provision which was not
there.

The Pinochet case was about a former head of state and immunity ratione materiae,
whereas the Arrest Warrant case before the ICJ was about the immunity of a serving
foreign minister; that is immunity ratione personae. The ICJ stated clearly that a treaty
provisions regarding jurisdiction cannot change the immunity of an individual under
customary international law. This statement was unnecessary for the decision the court
came to, but it is a brave national court, particularly one at first instance, which would
issue a warrant when the ICJ says that immunity prevails.

276

The ICJ also said that one way in which a person with immunity can be brought to
justice is before an international tribunal. The international tribunals have been
successful in arresting and prosecuting individuals, and the International Criminal Court
has been created since the Pinochet case. The principle of complementarity in the ICC
statute gives precedence to states with traditional bases of jurisdiction, territory and
nationality, and only allows for prosecution if those states are unwilling or unable to
prosecute.

As Lord Browne-Wilkinson said in Pinochet (N0 3) at 190F

It may well be thought that the trial of Senator Pinochet in Spain for offences all of
which related to the state of Chile and most of which occurred in Chile is not calculated
to achieve the best justice.

Criminal offences should be prosecuted in a state with a proper connection to the

offence, and if that is not possible because a person is so powerful, then it is submitted
that the venue should be an international criminal tribunal, and not the domestic courts
of another state.

This is what has occurred in the case of Charles Taylor, the former president of the
Republic of Liberia. On 7 March 2009 an indictment and arrest warrant was issued by
the Special Court for Sierra Leone for the arrest of Charles Taylor who was at that time
President of Liberia and a head of state. Charles Taylor was accused of the commission
of crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions with intent to
obtain access to the mineral wealth of the Republic of Sierra Leone, in particular the
diamond wealth of Sierra Leone, and to destabilize the state. The allegation was that he
resourced and directed rebel forces, encouraging them in campaigns of torture, terror
and mass murder, in order to enrich himself from a share of the diamond mines that
were captured by the rebel forces.

277

On 4 June 2003 when Charles Taylor was visiting Ghana the warrant was transmitted to
the Ghanaian authorities, but he was not arrested. On 23 July Charles Taylor requested
the Special Court to quash the indictment and declare the warrant null and void. At this
time he was still President of Liberia, and the application was originally made by both
Charles Taylor and Liberia. Charles Taylor stood down as President in August 2003 and
he was allowed to reside in Nigeria. Liberia withdrew from the proceedings and did not
support his application.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone had to decide whether it was lawful for the court to
issue an indictment and to circulate an arrest warrant in respect of a serving head of
state. On 31 May 2004 The Special Court gave its judgment 369 and decided that it was
an international court; as it was not a national court, it had been established by an
agreement with the UN which was an expression of the will of the international
community, and had the characteristics of an international organisation. The court
considered following the Nuremberg principle III of individual responsibility
subsequently expressed in the statutes of the ICTY, ICTR and ICC that article 6(2) of its
Statute providing that the official position of any accused persons, whether as head of
state or government or as a responsible government official, shall not relieve such a
person from criminal responsibility nor mitigate punishment was lawful. The court
considered that Pinochet (No.3) and the Arrest Warrant case supported its conclusion.

At paragraph 53 of its judgment the court held that the official position of Charles
Taylor as an incumbent head of state at the time when the criminal proceedings were
initiated was not a bar to his prosecution by the Special Court.

The political sensitivities surrounding the prosecution of a former high state official are
demonstrated by the subsequent history of this case. On the 29 March 2006 Charles
Taylor was arrested in Nigeria. On 3 April 2006 he made his first appearance before the
Special Court in Freetown and he pleaded not guilty. By Resolution 1688 of 2006 on 16
June 2006 the Security Council determined that the presence of Charles Taylor in Sierra
369

128 ILR 239.

278

Leone was an impediment to stability and a threat to the peace of Liberia and of Sierra
Leone and to international peace and security in the region, and acting under Chapter
VII of the UN Charter the Security Council transferred the trial of Charles Taylor by the
Special Court to the building of the ICC in The Hague.

The international community is developing the mechanisms to deal with the political
consequences associated with trials of high state officials accused of international
crimes, using the international criminal tribunals. It is submitted international tribunals
are the appropriate venue for trial of such cases.

279

Conclusion
State immunity is a principle of international law based upon the consent of states. The
extent to which individuals benefit by immunity from prosecution for criminal offences
as an aspect of state immunity is not always clear. This area of law has been developing,
particularly during the past two decades, responding to changes in international society.

There are two different immunities which attach to individuals because they are state
officials; immunity ratione personae and immunity ratione materiae. Immunity ratione
personae is described as being immunity conferred because of the position held by an
official in a state, or the immunity granted because of the officials status. Immunity
ratione materiae is accorded because of the activity undertaken by a state official, the
immunity attaching to official acts. Although both of these immunities are accorded to
individuals because they are state officials, and the immunity is that of the state
inasmuch as it is the state that can waive the immunity, they are not the same. Immunity
ratione materiae is simply an expression of the immunity of the state, if the state is not
immune then neither is the official, whereas immunity ratione personae has a separate
existence to the immunity of the state. A person is entitled to immunity ratione personae
whether or not the state would be entitled to claim immunity in civil proceedings for the
actions of the state official.

As chapter three of this thesis shows, international law has long recognised that certain
high state officials enjoy immunity ratione personae which protects them against both
civil and criminal proceedings instituted in other states whilst they hold office.
Immunity ratione personae protects the person of the most important state officials. It is
an immunity afforded only to those officials of the highest status. It protects the dignity
of the state by protecting the office held by protecting the official who is inviolable. It
means that high state officials can go freely about their state business, enabling such
officials to perform their functions without interference, or fear of interference, from
other states. This immunity is all encompassing. It applies to all actions of the
individual, both before and after taking office, and it includes all civil and criminal

280

proceedings including those alleging the most serious of international crimes. 370
Immunity protects the individual and thereby protects the state.

Those who have immunity ratione personae have complete immunity from arrest and
prosecution for alleged crimes in foreign states. This includes all conduct whether in
their own state, the forum state or a third state. This enables these highest state officials
to carry out their functions. Not many people are entitled to immunity ratione personae,
but for those who are its beneficiaries, it is absolute. A foreign state has to accord a
person entitled to immunity ratione personae immunity of its own motion and not wait
for it to be claimed. 371

What is uncertain about immunity from criminal proceedings ratione personae is its
extent, in the sense of which officials benefit from it. In 2004 the ICJ in the Arrest
Warrant Case confirmed that this immunity extends to high ranking officials such as
heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers, 372 but the court refrained
from saying that this immunity extends no further. The term such as implies that
there may be other high state officials to whom this immunity extends. The role of
government ministers is extending as international society becomes more complex. In
the UK, for example, the Secretary of State for International Development has taken
over some of the responsibility traditionally performed by the foreign minister. In the
USA the National Security Adviser plays a role similar to that of a foreign minister. Part
of the traditional role of a foreign minister may be performed by civil servants. At this
time there has not been enough state practice to ascertain how the law will develop. Two
cases before Bow Street Magistrates Court, Re: Shaul Mofaz 373 and Re: Bo Xilai 374
both described in chapter three, have accorded immunity to a defence minister and a
minister for commerce including international trade respectively. These cases are of
370

Arrest warrant case. ICJ 128 ILR 1 paras 51 and 58.

371

Arrest warrant case. ICJ 128 ILR 1 at paras 70 and 71.

372

Arrest warrant Case. ICJ. 128 ILR 1 at para. 51.

373

128 ILR 709.

374

128 ILR 713.

281

limited authority in English law, as they are decisions of a court of first instance which
have not been considered by the higher courts. As examples of state practice these cases
have to be treated cautiously, however they may be indicative of the way international
law is developing.

There are also special regimes which give state officials immunity ratione personae for
limited agreed periods of time. Diplomatic immunity, consular immunity and the
immunity accorded to the members of Special Missions are all based upon the consent
of states and are well established in international law. These regimes all accord
immunity to specific state officials for particular periods of time by agreement between
both states involved. The purpose of the immunity conferred under these regimes is to
enable state officials perform particular tasks or undertake specific roles on behalf of
their state. This immunity ratione personae is all encompassing for the time agreed,
usually the time the officials are present on the territory of the receiving state. An
official who benefits from this immunity has an obligation to abide by the laws of the
receiving state, and if he does not do so the sanction available to the receiving state is to
expel the official.

It is submitted in this thesis that immunity ratione personae accorded to high state
officials should be limited to the few state officials whose role requires them to
represent their state at all times, and to travel freely on behalf of their state. The people
who perform the roles of head of state, head of government and foreign minister are
immune. Whatever titles the people performing these roles are given, and whether there
is only one person per role or more than one is unimportant, it is the function they
perform on behalf of their state that gives the individuals immunity, Otherwise the
immunity accorded to members of Special Missions can cover visits by state officials
for state business. This regime has the advantage of being agreed in advance so that the
sending and receiving state know the purpose of the special mission, and know who has
immunity, and for how long.

282

What is less clear is whether there is continuing immunity ratione materiae accorded to
those who have had immunity ratione personae once that immunity comes to an end.
Also whether there is immunity from prosecution for officials who perform official
actions . Immunity ratione materiae is immunity attaching to conduct undertaken on
behalf of a state and it is described as being for acta jure imperii, actions of an official
nature.

The concept that the immunity of the state also covers the official has been developed in
civil proceedings. The rationale for this immunity in civil cases is that if an individual is
sued, then the state is sued by proxy, and the immunity of the state is thereby
undermined. To allow the individual to be sued when the state is immune would be to
circumvent the immunity provided to the state. There is only one entitlement in civil
proceedings to compensation, and the responsibility is that of the state. If the conduct of
an official is attributable to the state and the state is in international law responsible,
then the state may claim immunity unless an established exception to immunity applies,
and in these circumstances the state may also claim immunity for the individual state
official. 375 In a civil context if a state is entitled to and claims immunity regarding
conduct by its officials, then this immunity extends to all officials and ex-officials for
this conduct, provided they were acting in an official capacity. Acting in an official
capacity means the same here as it does in the context of the law of state
responsibility. 376 So if a state claims immunity for its officials that state is accepting
responsibility for their actions. 377

The entitlement of individuals to immunity in civil cases is different to the entitlement to

immunity in criminal cases. The responsibility of the individual and the state is not coterminus when criminality is alleged, as a person who commits a crime is individually
responsible for that crime, and can be punished. Individual responsibility for crimes
375

Jones v The Ministry of the Interior. HL. [2007] 1 AC 270 at para. 12.

376

ILC Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts 2001. Articles 4
and 7. The Case Concerning Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v
France) ICJ hhtp://www.icj-cji.org/docket/files/136/14550.pdf. at para. 196.
377

Jones v The Ministry of the Interior [2007] 1 AC 270 at para. 12.

283

under international law has been a principle of international law since the acceptance of
the Nuremburg principles after the Second World War. Individual criminal
responsibility is separate from and additional to any responsibility of the state.
Associated with the concept of individual responsibility for offences are the ideas of the
punishment and prevention of crime. A person who is responsible for a crime should be
punished, and the possibility of prosecution and punishment should thereby act as a
deterrent to others. There is nothing inconsistent in saying that the state is immune in
respect of a particular act, but that an individual official can be prosecuted and punished
for it.

The concept of immunity ratione materiae covering criminal liability was raised by the
arrest of Pinochet, and in Pinochet (3) the judges in the House of Lords were all agreed
that all state officials are entitled to continuing immunity ratione materiae, but as shown
in chapter four this premise was accepted without proper analysis or argument. There
have been statements in cases such as The McLeod 378 and Blaskic, 379 that officials
should not be punished for acting on behalf of their state, but as the analysis in chapter
four shows the statements are not supported by state practice. The analysis of those
cases, and the other cases referred to in the Blaskic judgment do not support that
conclusion. The analysis of state practice shows that states regularly prosecute state
officials for actions performed on behalf of their states.

The place where the criminal conduct occurs has a bearing on whether immunity ratione
materiae attaches to that conduct. The evidence of state practice set out in chapter four
of this thesis demonstrates that states have regularly prosecuted and punished officials of
foreign states for acts committed on the territory of the forum state. This includes not
only serious offences such as terrorism, assassination and kidnapping, but also less
serious matters such as collecting information and trespassing. There is a marked
contrast between the treatment of officials who have immunity ratione personae, such as
378

British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 29, p. 1139.

379
Prosecutor v Tihomir Blaskic. 29 October 1997. Appeals Chamber. ICTY. Judgment on the request of
the Republic of Croatia for review of the decision of the Trial Chamber II of 18 July 1997.
http://www.un.org/icty/blaskic/appeal/decision-e/71029JT3.html.

284

diplomats, who are expelled, and other officials who are prosecuted, and often severely
punished, for the same conduct. The analysis of state practice in chapter four shows that
only those state officials who are present on the territory of a foreign state with the
consent of the second state and have immunity ratione personae are entitled to immunity
ratione materiae from prosecution after they have left the territory or cease to hold
office. They have immunity ratione personae for an agreed period, and thereafter they
have continuing immunity ratione materiae, that is they have immunity from
prosecution, for conduct legitimately performed in the exercise of their functions. This
immunity extends to conduct which is connected to their functions but does not cover
serious crimes of violence, even if committed on behalf of the sending state. In the
criminal context acting in an official capacity does not include acts of violence on the
territory of a foreign state. An official present on the territory of another state who does
not have immunity ratione personae does not have immunity from prosecution for any
offences committed on that territory.

The analysis of state practice demonstrates that immunity does not attach to conduct
alone, for a person to have continuing immunity ratione materiae from prosecution for
offences committed on the territory of a foreign state they must initially have had
immunity ratione personae. The forum state must have agreed to the official being
present on its territory, and agreed to the purpose of the visit. Those officials present on
the territory of a foreign state, with the consent of that state, who have immunity ratione
personae, have continuing immunity ratione materiae only for official conduct, acta jure
imperii, with the proviso that the conduct must be part of the legitimate functions of the
official. This does not extend to acts of violence.

In Pinochet (No 3) all seven judges agreed:

1. An ex-head of state is immune from prosecution for murder and conspiracy to murder
alleged to have been committed in the forum state.
2. All state officials no matter how minor are entitled to continuing immunity.

285

This analysis of state practice in arresting and prosecuting foreign state officials
demonstrates that both of these statements are incorrect. State officials are routinely
prosecuted in foreign states for offences committed on behalf of their state. A former
state official who had immunity ratione personae and who committed serious offences
on the territory of a foreign state is not entitled to blanket immunity ratione materiae. He
was on the territory of the foreign state with the consent of that state, but it did not
consent to him committing serious offences such as murder and conspiracy to murder.
These offences of violence do not carry immunity. A state official who has never had
immunity ratione personae does not have immunity from prosecution for offences
committed on the territory of another state. He is responsible for his own actions and
required to abide by the law of the foreign state whilst he is there.

There is the question regarding the extent of immunity for offences committed by an
official on the territory of his own state in the exercise of his official functions. For the
most part states do not have jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed on the territory
of another state and therefore the question does not arise. As described in chapter six
states have signed conventions undertaking to assert extra-territorial jurisdiction in
relation to international crimes, and agreeing to extradite or prosecute alleged offenders
present on their territory. Most states are party to the four Geneva Conventions 1949
and the Torture Convention 1984. These conventions both require states party to assume
jurisdiction over alleged offenders present on their territory. All states party have a duty
to extradite a person alleged to have committed any offence as defined in the
conventions or to submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of
prosecution. Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions are most likely to be committed
by soldiers and other state officials and the definition of torture in the Torture
Convention requires that the offence is committed by officials acting under the guise of
official authority. Therefore these offences are almost certainly to be committed by
persons acting in an official capacity. As shown in chapter 6 there is a tension between
the principle of immunity and the obligation under international law to prosecute these
crimes.

286

The ICJ at paragraph 61 of its judgment in the Arrest Warrant Case said that after a
person ceases to hold office a court of one state may try the former official of another
state in respect of acts committed during that period of office in a private capacity. This
was the central question is Pinochet, is torture, an offence that has to be committed by a
state official, an official act in the sense that it carries immunity ratione materiae.

One way to reconcile these two decisions is to say, as the judges did in the Pinochet
case, that official torture committed by a state official as defined in the Torture
Convention cannot be an act which carries with it immunity ratione materiae. This
would mean that the terms official act and acts committed in a private capacity have
different meanings in different contexts. In civil proceedings an official act means an act
for which a state may claim immunity, an act for which it is in international law
responsible. In criminal proceedings an official act cannot include conduct prohibited by
international law. This is saying that official torture does not carry immunity ratione
materiae because it is official.

The ICJ also said at paragraph 59 of its judgement that a treaty provision regarding
jurisdiction cannot change the immunity of an individual under international law. It said
that rules governing the jurisdiction of national courts must be carefully distinguished
from those governing jurisdictional immunities, and that jurisdiction does not imply the
absence of immunity while the absence of immunity does not imply jurisdiction. This is
all very well, but if there is no jurisdiction for official torture, the Torture Convention is
rendered meaningless. The ICJ continued that the obligations of prosecution or
extradition imposed by conventions for the prevention and punishment of serious crimes
require states to extend their criminal jurisdiction, such extension of jurisdiction in no
way affects immunities under customary international law, including the immunity of
high state officials. The ICJ said those immunities remain opposable before the courts of
foreign states even where those court exercise such a jurisdiction under those
conventions.

287

The statements of the ICJ about the immunity of former state officials were not
necessary for the decision of the court, and they have been criticised. The Arrest
Warrant case was about the immunity ration personae of high state officials, whereas the
Pinochet case was about immunity ratione materiae to be afforded to former high state
officials for offences and therefore the two case are distinguishable. But the statements
of the ICJ in the Arrest Warrant case are powerful and clear declarations of that courts
understanding of customary international law. Any national court issuing a warrant for
the arrest of a former high state official of a foreign state for torture or grave breaches of
the Geneva Conventions engages the responsibility of the state, and must expect the
issuance of such a warrant to be challenged in higher courts and on the international
plane.

The ICJ said that another exception to the immunity of former high state officials is
prosecution before an international criminal tribunal which has jurisdiction. The
principle of complementarity in the ICC statute gives precedence to prosecution by
states with traditional bases of jurisdiction territory and nationality, and only allows for
prosecution before the ICC if those states are unwilling or unable to prosecute.

The ICC has jurisdiction after 1 July 2002 and it has commenced work. It has issued a
warrant for a serving head of state, the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir and the court
is being used for the prosecution of the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. The
international community is developing the mechanisms to cope with the political
consequences associated with the trials of high state officials accused of international
crimes using the international tribunals. It is submitted that the statute of the ICC
provides a coherent hierarchy and a clear decision making process for deciding where
the trials of former high state officials for crimes under international crimes should be
held.

288

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