This precedent would almost certainly
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2025 9:04 am
To undertake such an act would set quite a distabilising precedent in international relations. be used by other countries. The Telegraph reports a former UK Ambassador to Russia (Sir Tony Brenton) as stating that
” ‘arbitrarily’ overturning the status of the building where Mr Assange has taken shelter to avoid extradition, would make life ‘impossible’ for British diplomats overseas. . . . ‘I think the Foreign Office have slightly phone number library overreached themselves here, for both practical and legal reasons.’ ‘The Government itself has no interest in creating a situation where it is possible for governments everywhere to arbitrarily cut off diplomatic immunity. It would be very bad.’ . . . He warned that if it did, life would become ‘impossible’ for those working in British embassies around the world, adding: ‘If the Russians had had the power and simply walked into the embassy and simply arrested someone, we would have been in much more insecurity.’
To be fair, the Foreign Office is not suggesting that it would simply walk into the Embassy or storm it. As Roger points out even if consent is withdrawn with a view to depriving the building of its inviolability, the UK would have an obligation to permit the members of mission to leave the premises within a reasonable time (and with the archives and property of the mission too). However, even to suggest the possibility of unilateral termination of the diplomatic status of the building is to hand to other States the possibility of choosing to threaten missions with disruption to their work and removal from their premises, without the receiving State (the host State) having to pay the price of cutting off diplomatic relations.
” ‘arbitrarily’ overturning the status of the building where Mr Assange has taken shelter to avoid extradition, would make life ‘impossible’ for British diplomats overseas. . . . ‘I think the Foreign Office have slightly phone number library overreached themselves here, for both practical and legal reasons.’ ‘The Government itself has no interest in creating a situation where it is possible for governments everywhere to arbitrarily cut off diplomatic immunity. It would be very bad.’ . . . He warned that if it did, life would become ‘impossible’ for those working in British embassies around the world, adding: ‘If the Russians had had the power and simply walked into the embassy and simply arrested someone, we would have been in much more insecurity.’
To be fair, the Foreign Office is not suggesting that it would simply walk into the Embassy or storm it. As Roger points out even if consent is withdrawn with a view to depriving the building of its inviolability, the UK would have an obligation to permit the members of mission to leave the premises within a reasonable time (and with the archives and property of the mission too). However, even to suggest the possibility of unilateral termination of the diplomatic status of the building is to hand to other States the possibility of choosing to threaten missions with disruption to their work and removal from their premises, without the receiving State (the host State) having to pay the price of cutting off diplomatic relations.