tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post8133206719759980969..comments2024-03-27T12:56:38.992-07:00Comments on The Skeptical Bureaucrat: A Senior Administration Official Briefs The Press On Diplomatic ImmunityTSBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-45989443384258144482011-02-23T07:15:53.519-08:002011-02-23T07:15:53.519-08:00That's right, I forgot. And we do have at leas...That's right, I forgot. And we do have at least one precedent for that, since Georgia once waived immunity to allow us to prosecute one of it's diplomats for a drunk driving fatality he caused.TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-88712401362886739812011-02-23T06:17:35.866-08:002011-02-23T06:17:35.866-08:00The sending state can also waive immunity, at its ...The sending state can also waive immunity, at its sole option.<br /><br />Thus, the Brits could hand Bloomberg's theoretical assassin over to NYPD, if they wanted to, which they very well might.someone elsenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-689141267302947422011-02-22T13:22:54.257-08:002011-02-22T13:22:54.257-08:00That is correct. Just like in Lethal Weapon 4 (or ...That is correct. Just like in Lethal Weapon 4 (or was it 3?).<br /><br />Diplomatic immunity isn't something decided by a district attorney or a court, it's a treaty obligation on the receiving state. We would cut the Brit loose in order to avoid a breech in relations with the UK. The UK would probably then put their guy on trial, but they wouldn't have to. <br /><br />Even after Pearl Harbor we repatriated Japanese diplomats (and German ones, after Germany declared war on the U.S.), just as they reciprocated and repatriated ours.<br /><br />I don't agree with Obama on most things, but he was right when he said there is an underlying principle at stake here. Diplomatic immunity is part of having a world system of state sovereignty and international law. <br /><br />FYI, I personally do not benefit from immunity, since it never applies to TDY visitors on official business abroad, no matter what kind of passport they carry. If anything, I'm a potential victim of immunity by virtue of living (and driving) in a diplomat-intensive area.TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-7910419274718359932011-02-22T12:14:40.578-08:002011-02-22T12:14:40.578-08:00Thanks TSB: That helps a lot and I now understand ...Thanks TSB: That helps a lot and I now understand what you have been saying from the beginning. Given the rules of the game then: <br /><br />If a person properly assigned to the British Embassy in DC traveled to NYC<br />and assassinated mayor Bloomberg and then surrendered to police our only recourse would be to order him back to the UK as undesirable? And this would need to be done before any investigation? <br /><br />Thanks! lilGWBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com