ABSTRACT
One of the most controversial and often misunderstood sections of interna-tional law deals with questions relating to the norms and practices associ-ated with agents engaged in the diplomatic enterprise. Diplomacy constitutes an essential element in the conduct of modern foreign policy, but any basic international relations textbook will point out that it comprises only one set of techniques among many others available to statesmen.1 Normally diplomacy, in its narrow sense, is associated with negotiation and other peaceful means of developing cooperation or resolving disputes.2 In the following discussion, we emphasize the distinction between diplomatic agents and consular agents. Consular agents are primarily concerned with facilitating business and tourism (“low politics”), rather than with matters of foreign policy/diplomacy (“high politics”). Matters of foreign policy and diplomacy are the work of diplomatic agents. This chapter will first briefly discuss the history of diplomatic practice and then will examine the legal regime within which modern diplomatic and consular relations take place.
