International law, Sixth edition
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International Law MALCOLM N. SHAW
Ibid., p. 274.
335 Oppenheim’s International Law, p. 1084. 336 There was a division of opinion at the Vienna Conference between the developed and developing states over this issue. The former felt that the right to instal and use a wireless did not require consent: see Denza, Diplomatic Law, pp. 214 ff. 337 Defined in article 3(2) of the Draft Articles on the Diplomatic Courier and the Diplomatic Bag adopted by the International Law Commission in 1989 as ‘the packages containing official correspondence, and documents or articles intended exclusively for official use, whether accompanied by diplomatic courier or not, which are used for the official com- munication referred to in article 1 and which bear visible external marks of their character’ as a diplomatic bag: see Yearbook of the ILC, 1989, vol. II, part 2, p. 15. 338 Article 27(3). 339 Article 27(4). 340 This marked a shift from earlier practice: see Yearbook of the ILC, 1989, vol. II, part 2, p. 15. 341 An accompanying crate contained persons allegedly part of the kidnapping operation. 342 See Foreign Affairs Committee, Report, pp. xxxiii–xxxiv. Note also the incident in 1964 when an Israeli was found bound and drugged in a crate marked ‘diplomatic mail’ at Rome Airport. As a result, the Italians declared one Egyptian official at the Embassy persona non grata and expelled two others, Keesing’s Contemporary Archives, p. 20580. In 1980, a crate bound for the Moroccan Embassy in London split open at Harwich to reveal $500,000 worth of drugs, The Times, 13 June 1980. In July 1984, a lorry belonging to the 760 i n t e r nat i o na l l aw 2000, diplomatic baggage destined for the British High Commission in Harare was detained and opened by the Zimbabwe authorities, the UK government protested vigorously and announced the withdrawal of its High Commissioner for consultations. 343 In view of suspicions of abuse, the question has arisen as to whether electronic screening, not involving opening or detention, of the diplo- matic bag is legitimate. The UK appears to take the view that electronic screening of this kind would be permissible, although it claims not to have carried out such activities, but other states do not accept this. 344 It is to be noted that after the Libyan Embassy siege in April 1984, the diplomatic bags leaving the building were not searched. 345 However, Libya had en- tered a reservation to the Vienna Convention, reserving its right to open a diplomatic bag in the presence of an official representative of the diplo- matic mission concerned. In the absence of permission by the authorities of the sending state, the diplomatic bag was to be returned to its place of origin. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia made similar reservations which were not objected to. 346 This is to be contrasted with a Bahraini reservation to article 27(3) which would have permitted the opening of diplomatic bags in certain circumstances. 347 The Libyan reservation could have been relied upon by the UK in these conditions. It is also interesting to note that after the Dikko incident, the UK Foreign Minister stated that the crates concerned were opened because of the suspicion of human contents. Whether the crates constituted diplomatic bags or not was a relevant consideration with regard to a right to search, but: the advice given and the advice which would have been given had the crate constituted a diplomatic bag took fully into account the overriding duty to preserve and protect human life. 348 USSR was opened for inspection by West German authorities on the grounds that a lorry itself could not be a bag. The crates inside the lorry were accepted as diplomatic bags and not opened, Foreign Affairs Committee, Report, p. xiii, note 48. 343 See UKMIL, 71 BYIL, 2000, pp. 586–7. 344 See the Legal Adviser, FCO, Foreign Affairs Committee, Report, p. 23. See also 985 HC Deb., col. 1219, 2 June 1980, and Cmnd 9497. See further Yearbook of the ILC, 1988, vol. II, Download 7.77 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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