Immunity For Foreign Officials: Possibly Too Much and Confusing As Well

In his thoughtful presentation, David Stewart observes from his daily experience that the law of international immunities is a rather complex body of rules. In analyzing immunity issues, one needs to take into account treaties, laws, and/or cases that include, among others, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, diplomatic and consular immunity, the case law regarding head of state immunity, and international organization law. In addition, there is pending the new UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property. Mr. Stewart also posits a general conclusion that in recent decades the general trend has been to limit the scope of immunities granted to individuals. Although this might be true in many respects, it would seem that immunity for foreign government officials, other than diplomats, has expanded rather than contracted in recent years. The relevant law has also become more complex. I question whether this expansion and increased complexity are good developments, or instead ones that discourage appropriate accountability for these individuals