The EU and International Diplomatic Law: New Horizons?

In: The Hague Journal of Diplomacy
Authors: Jan Wouters 1 and Sanderijn Duquet 1
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  • 1 Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • 2 jan.wouters@ggs.kuleuven.be sanderijn.duquet@law.kuleuven.be
Online Publication Date:
01 Jan 2012
In:
Volume 7: Issue 1
Article Type:
Research Article
Page Count:
31–49
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/187119112X609185
Keywords:
European Union (EU); EU delegations; European External Action Service (EEAS); 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations; EU ambassadors; EU external representation; international diplomatic law

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Summary

The European Union has a unique sui generis status on the international plane, which is reflected in its capability to enter into diplomatic relations with third states and international organizations. Over nearly six decades, the European Union (EU) has gradually built its own worldwide bilateral and multilateral diplomatic network, which is made subject — through specific agreements with the host country — to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The ‘Union delegations’ are now operating as the diplomatic missions of the EU as a whole, in contrast to the former Commission delegations. This article examines the relationship between the EU and international diplomatic law. How does the EU establish and conduct diplomatic relations? What legal instruments are being used? How do the Vienna Convention and customary diplomatic law come into play? What is the exact legal status of EU ambassadors and diplomatic staff? By critically analysing these issues, this article assesses the specific contribution the EU makes to the further development of international diplomatic law.

In:
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy
E-ISSN:
1871-191X
Print ISSN:
1871-1901
Publisher:
Brill | Nijhoff
Cover The Hague Journal of Diplomacy
  • 8)

    Alain Plantey, Principes de Diplomatie (Paris: Editions A. Pédone, 2000), p. 18. According to Plantey (on p. 20), sovereignty is also a necessary condition for diplomacy. The international diplomatic regime has a strong state-oriented nature; see Ben Rosamond, ‘Conceptualizing the EU Model of Governance in World Politics’, European Foreign Affairs Review, vol. 10, no. 4, 2005, pp. 463-476 at p. 465.

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  • 10)

    Eileen Denza, Diplomatic Law: A Commentary on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 31; and Plantey, Principes de Diplomatie, p. 204.

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  • 12)

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  • 36)

    Roberts, Satow’s Diplomatic Practice, p. 407. The member states are represented by the Commission in multilateral forums for the areas where the European Community has competence; this role has expanded extensively within and across competence sectors; see R.P. Barston, Modern Diplomacy (Essex: Pearson Education, 2006, 3rd edition), p. 85.

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  • 49)

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  • 59)

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  • 103)

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  • 106)

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