ABSTRACT

Diplomatic immunity from civil and criminal proceedings established itself as a fundamental of customary diplomatic law. It traced its origin from the Greeks and Romans. The purpose of this research is that it thought to analyze the principle of diplomatic immunity in relation to the crimes committed by diplomats and suggested possible recommendations for improvements in the area of diplomatic immunity. The research method that was employed in the research report was the standard desktop method including the historical over view on diplomacy and analysis on the existing international laws and historical background that contextualized the topic and formulate an argument. The findings of this research were fact that a person (diplomat) who commits crimes and high misdemeanors may enjoy the privileges of immunity while others may not which was a significant difference and one could question if the concept of diplomatic immunity is compatible with the principle that " all people are equal before the law"

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This chapter covered the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, research methodology and literature review.

1.1 Background of the Study

The concept of diplomatic immunity from civil and criminal proceedings has established itself as a fundamental of customary diplomatic law. It is one of international law's most successful and enduring rules, with 185 states currently recognizing the rules of diplomacy as stated in the Vienna Convention of 1961 1.According to some scholars, the doctrine of diplomatic immunity traces its origin from the Greeks and Romans. This emerged as a well-established exception to the general international law principle of territorial jurisdiction which bestowed on the state exclusive reign within its boundaries. This exception developed from the concept of sovereign immunity, the concept of independence and equality of states and existence of specific rule of

international Jaw.