The History of Diplomatic Immunity

Linda S. Frey and Marsha L. Frey

The History of Diplomatic Immunity traces the evolution of diplomatic immunity, a convention embedded in the practices and precedents of the past. Unique in its coverage, this book analyzes the practice from ancient times to the present and in various cultures, both Western and non-Western. Linda S. Frey and Marsha L. Frey follow the trail of certain privileges and immunities, setting them within a historical and cultural context; they examine how, in some cultures but not others, certain practices became precedents and some courtesies hardened into rights.

The authors show how certain principles common to all civilizations buttressed the principles of diplomatic immunity; discuss the importance of various theorists both ancient and modern; examine the significant domestic legislation and international conventions; analyze celebrated instances of the violation of diplomatic immunity; study policy decisions by governments; study the influence of certain judicial decisions; and analyze the various rationales for such privileges.

The expansion of the international community has meant the inclusion of nations with different traditions and few common values. Law no longer serves as a metaphor for the international community nor does it incarnate the community’s vision of itself as it did in the past.

Linda S. Frey is a professor of history at the University of Montana, and Marsha L. Frey is a professor of history at Kansas State University. They have coauthored many other books together, including Societies in Upheaval: Insurrections in France, Hungary, and Spain in the Early Eighteenth Century.