Diplomatic impunity: a renewed case for universal jurisdiction

Foreign diplomats enjoy absolute immunity from arrest and prosecution before the courts of a receiving State. Even for serious crimes under international law, such as torture or slavery, they would be exempt from the State’s criminal jurisdiction. A consequence of this blanket rule is that it enables impunity, particularly if sending States and third States take no steps towards initiating criminal proceedings. This article presents universal jurisdiction as a route towards arrest and prosecution in the case of international crimes. It argues that universal jurisdiction is ultimately a form of international, not domestic, criminal jurisdiction. Since diplomatic immunities do not apply against international criminal jurisdiction, it follows that States could exercise universal jurisdiction to circumvent the domestic procedural barriers of diplomatic immunities, albeit sparingly. This approach would reconcile the seemingly conflicting norms under general international law and international criminal law.