CAB148-30-Defence and Oversea Policy Committee Meetings Relating to 1967 Disturbances-1967 — Page 24

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CONFIDENTIAL

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on a basis of reciprocity, within the following upper limits;

(i)

(ii)

with Poland, full immunity from criminal and civil

jurisdiction for officers in charge of consular posts

with slightly increased protection for other consular

personnel and families;

with Bulgaria, full immunity from criminal and civil

jurisdiction for consular officers and employees (including service staff) of the nationality of the

sending State;

(iii) with the other countries concerned, immunity and

inviolability equivalent to that accorded to the

corresponding grades of personnel in the diplomatic

missions in the capitals.

THE LORD CHANCELLOR said he had asked for the question of the

level of immunity in these Conventions to be referred to the Committee,

in the light of what had been said during the Committee's discussion

of the Anglo-Soviet Convention, which it had been implied was a special

case unlikely to lead to any demand for similar treatment for other

countries. Ministers were now being asked to accord special treatment

to Poland and Bulgaria also, with the prospect of similar proposals in

respect of other Eastern European countries, including perhaps

Yugoslavia. Moreover, the Bulgarian Convention in addition to

providing full immunity for consular officers, would give full immunity

to service staff also: the latter provision would be embodied in an

Exchange of Letters. It had to be recognised that there was

considerable public feeling in this country against the extension of

diplomatic and consular immunities which put the representatives of

other countries out of reach of the law in respect both of criminal

offences and of civil offences such as non-payment of debts.

largely at British instance that the Vienna Convention on Consular

Immunities concluded in 1963 had adopted a limited scale of immunity

for consular officials.

It was

In discussion, it was recognised that the extension of consular

immunity over and above the scale in the Vienna Convention was not

lightly to be conceded, but there was nevertheless general agreement that there were adequate grounds for treating Eastern European countries as a special case. The reasons for so doing were widely recognised internationally, and it should not be difficult to resist proposals for equally generous treatment for non-Communist countries, e.g. the new

Commonwealth countries. Doubt was expressed, however, about the propriety of embodying in an unpublished Exchange of Letters further

extensions of consular immunity; it was desirable that the Conventions

should declare all the immunities that were being conceded.

CONFIDENTIAL

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