The diplomatic immunity

GS PAPER II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Context: Belgian ambassador's wife claims diplomatic immunity after slapping a Seoul store assistant.

It is a privilege of exemption from certain laws and taxes granted to diplomats by the country in which they are posted.
The custom was formed so that diplomats can function without fear, threat or intimidation from the host country.

Diplomatic immunity is granted on the basis of two conventions, popularly called the Vienna Conventions — the Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, and the Convention on Consular Relations, 1963.
They have been ratified by 187 countries, including South Korea. Which means, it is a law under that country’s legal framework and cannot be violated.

According to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, the immunity enjoyed by a diplomat posted in the embassy is “inviolable”.
The diplomat cannot be arrested or detained and his house will have the same inviolability and protection as the embassy.

Exceptions to prevent misuses:

It is possible for the diplomat’s home country to waive immunity but this can happen only when the individual has committed a ‘serious crime’, unconnected with their diplomatic role or has witnessed such a crime.
Alternatively, the home country may prosecute the individual.
While diplomatic immunity is intended to “insulate” diplomats from harm, it does not insulate their countries from a bad reputation and a blow to bilateral ties.
The privilege of diplomatic immunity is not for an individual’s benefit.
If a diplomat acts outside his business of conducting international relations, a question arises over whether his immunity still applies.

The Vienna Convention classifies diplomats according to their posting in the embassy, consular or international organisations such as the UN.
Diplomats posted in an embassy get immunity, along with his or her family members.
While diplomats posted in consulates also get immunity, they can be prosecuted in case of serious crimes, that is, when a warrant is issued. Besides, their families don’t share that immunity.