International Law On Diplomatic Relations: An Analysis Of Diplomatic Immunity And Privilege In Light Of Actual And Potential Crth:Le

ABSTRACT

The study was exploratory and analyzed the gaps between the provisions of diplomatic immunity and privileges and the realities of the serious crimes that are and that can be committed. It was designed to examine the potential for diplomatic immunities to be abused, in order to identify weaknesses in the relevant law hence requiring revisiting of 1he law. The study relied upon qualitative methods of data collection and analysis to gather data from key informants who included; employees of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and from the American Embassy, British Council as well as French Embassy. The study also relied on secondary data from the libraries in the above offices and missions as well as Kampala International University library and the Law Development Center in Uganda. The findings are presented under the following topics: • The potential of abuse for diplomatic immunity • How diplomatic immunity can be abused • The revisiting of the law on diplomatic relations. The study recommends the amendment of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in dealing with immense abuse; isolating offending nations; creation of a permanent international court that would have jurisdiction to hear cases relating to abuse of diplomatic immunity. The limiting of diplomatic immunity to official acts is also recommended.