Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

• Coming into Force: 24 April 1964
• Subject Terms: Diplomatic and consular relations
• Date of Conclusion: 18 April 1961
• Registration Number: 7310
• Citation: UNTS v. 500 (p.95)
• Registration Date: 24 June 1964
• Party Submitting the Application for Registration: ex officio
• Type of Document: Multilateral
• Depositary: Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Participants: Afganistán,Albania,Argelia,Andorra,Angola,Antigua and Barbuda,Argentina,Armenia,Australia,Austria,Azerbaiján,Bahamas,Bahrein,Bangladesh,Barbados,Bélgica,Belize,Bhutan,Bolivia,Bosnia & Herzegovina,Botswana,Brasil,Brunei Darussalam,Bulgaria,Burkina Faso,BURMA,Burundi,Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic,Camboya,Canada,Cabo Verde,Central African Republic,Ceylon,Chad,Chile,China,Colombia,Comoros,Congo (Brazzaville),Congo (Leopoldville),Costa Rica,Croacia,Cuba,Cyprus,Czech Republic,Czechoslovakia,Dahomey,Democratic People's Republic of Korea,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Democratic Yemen,Dinamarca,Djibouti,Dominica,República Dominicana,Ecuador,Egipto,El Salvador,Equatorial Guinea,Eritrea,Estonia,Ethiopia,Federal Republic of Germany,Fiji,Finlandia,France,Gabon,Gambia,Georgia,German Democratic Republic,Ghana,Greece,Grenada,Guatemala,Guinea,Guinea-Bissau,Guyana,Haiti,Holy See,Honduras,Hungria,Islandia,India,Indonesia,Iran,Iraq,Ireland,Israel,Italia,Ivory Coast,Jamaica,Japón,Jordan,Kazakhstan,Kenya,Kiribati,Kuwait,Kyrgyzstan,Laos,Latvia,Lebanon,Lesotho,Liberia,Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,Liechtenstein,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Madagascar,Malawi,Malaysia,Maldives,Mali,Malta,Marshall Islands,Mauritania,Mauritius,México,Micronesia (Federated States of),Monaco,Mongolia,Montenegro,Morocco,Mozambique,Namibia,Nauru,Nepal,Holanda,New Zealand,Nicaragua,Niger,Nigeria,Noruega,Oman,Pakistán,Panamá,Papua New Guinea,Paraguay,Perú,Philippines,Polonia,Portugal,Qatar,Republic of China,Republic of Korea,Republic of Moldova,Republic of Viet-Nam,Rumania,Rwanda,Samoa,San Marino,Sao Tome and Principe,Saudi Arabia,Senegal,Seychelles,Sierra Leone,Singapore,Eslovaquia,Eslovenia,Somalia,South Africa,España,Sri Lanka,St. Kitts and Nevis,St. Lucia,St. Vincent and the Grenadines,State of Palestine,Sudan,Suriname,Swaziland,Suecia,Suiza,Syrian Arab Republic,Tajikistan,Tanganyika,Tanzania,Thailand,The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Timor-Leste,Togo,Tonga,Trinidad and Tobago,Tunisia,Turquia,Turkmenistan,Tuvalu,Uganda,Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,United Arab Emirates,United Arab Republic,United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,United Republic of Cameroon,United Republic of Tanzania,United States,Uruguay,Uzbekistan,Vanuatu,Vatican City State,Venezuela,Viet Nam,Yemen Arab Republic,Yugoslavia (Federal Republic of),Yugoslavia (Socialist Federal Republic of),Zambia,Zimbabwe

No.

7310

ALBANIA,

ARGENTINA,

AUSTRALIA,

AUSTRIA,

BELGIUM,

etc.

Vienna

Convention

on

Diplomatic

Relations.

Done at

Vienna,

on

18

April

1961

Official

texts:

English,

French,

Chinese,

Russian

and

Spanish.

Registered

ex

officio

on

24

June

1964.

ALBANIE,

ARGENTINE,

AUSTRALIE,

AUTRICHE,

BELGIQUE,

etc.

Convention

de Vienne

sur

les

relations

diplomatiques.

Faite

Vienne,

le

18

avril

1961

Textes

officiels

anglais,

français,

chinois,

russe

et

espagnol.

Enregistrée

d'office

le

24

juin

1964.

96

United

Nations

—

Treaty

Series

1964

No.

7310.

VIENNA

CONVENTION

1

ON

DIPLOMATIC

RE

LATIONS.

DONE

AT

VIENNA,

ON

18

APRIL

1961

The

States

Parties

to

the

present

Convention,

Recalling

that

peoples

of

all

nations

from

ancient times

have

recognized

the

status

of

diplomatic

agents,

Having

in

mind

the

purposes

and

principles

of

the Charter

of

the

United

Nations

concerning

the

sovereign

equality

of

States,

the

maintenance

of

inter

national

peace

and

security,

and

the

promotion

of

friendly

relations

among

nations,

Believing

that

an

international

convention

on

diplomatic intercourse,

privi

leges

and

immunities

would

contribute

to

the

development

of

friendly

relations

among

nations,

irrespective

of

their

differing

constitutional

and

social

systems,

Realizing

that

the

purpose

of

such

privileges

and

immunities

is

not

to

benefit

individuals

but

to

ensure

the

efficient

performance

of

the

functions

of

diplomatic

missions

as

representing

States,

Affirming

that

the

rules

of

customary

international

law

should

continue

to

govern

questions

not

expressly

regulated

by

the

provisions

of

the

present

Convention,

Have

agreed

as

follows

:

Article

I

For

the

purpose

of

the

present

Convention,

the

following

expressions

shall

have

the

meanings

hereunder

assigned

to

them

:

(a)

the

"

head

of

the

mission

"

is

the

person

charged

by

the

sending

State

with

the

duty

of

acting

in

that

capacity

;

(b)

the

"

members

of

the

mission

"

are

the

head

of

the

mission

and

the

members

of

the

staff

of

the

mission

;

"The

Vienna

Convention

on

Diplomatic

Relations

was

adopted

on

14

April

1961

by

the

United

Nations

Conference

on

Diplomatic

Intercourse

and

Immunities

held

at

the

Neue

Hofburg

in

Vienna,

Austria,

from

2

March

to

14

April

1961.

The

Conference

also

adopted

the

Optional

Protocol concerning

the

Acquisition

of

Nationality

(see

p.

223

of

this

volume),

the

Optional Protocol

concerning

the

Compulsory

Settlement

of

Disputes

(see

p.

241

of

this

volume),

the

Final

Act

and

four

resolutions

annexed

to

that

Act.

The

Convention

and

the

two

Protocols

were

deposited

with

the

Secretary-General

of

the

United

Nations.

The

Final

Act,

by

unanimous

decision

of

the

Conference,

was

deposited

in

the

archives

of

the

Federal

Ministry

for

Foreign

Affairs

of

Austria.

The

text

of

the

Final

Act

and

of

the

annexed

resolutions

is

published

for

the

purpose

of

information

on

p.

212

of

this

volume.

For

the

proceedings

of

the

Conference,

see

United

Nations

Conference

on

Diplomatic

Intercourse

and

Immunities,

Official

Records.

Vols.

I

and

II

(United

Nations

Publication,

Sales

Nos.

:

61.X.2

and

62.X.1).

The

Convention,

in

accordance

with

its

article

51,

came

into

force

on

24

April

1964,

the

thirtieth

day

following

the

date

of

deposit

with

the

Secretary-General

of

the

United

Nations

of

the

twenty-second

instrument

of

ratification

or

accession.

For

the

list

of

States

on

behalf

of

which

the

instruments

of

ratification

or

accession

were

deposited

as

at

the

date of

the

registration

of

the

Convention,

see

p.

204

of

this

volume.

98

United

Nations

—

Treaty

Series

1964

(c)

the

"

members

of

the

staff

of

the

mission

"

are

the

members

of

the

diplomatic

staff,

of

the

administrative

and

technical

staff

and

of

the

service

staff

of

the

mission;

(d)

the

"

members

of

the

diplomatic

staff

"

are

the

members

of

the

staff

of

the

mission

having

diplomatic

rank;

(e)

a

"

diplomatic

agent

"

is

the

head

of

the

mission

or

a

member

of

the

diplo

matic

staff of

the

mission

;

(/)

the

"

members

of

the

administrative

and

technical

staff

"

are

the

members

of

the

staff of

the

mission

employed

in

the

administrative

and

technical

service

of

the

mission;

(g)

the

"

members

of

the

service

staff

"

are

the

members

of

the

staff

of

the

mission

in

the

domestic

service

of

the

mission;

(A)

a

"

private servant

"

is

a

person

who

is

in

the

domestic

service

of

a

member

of

the

mission

and

who

is

not

an employee

of

the

sending

State

;

(»)

the

"

premises

of

the

mission

"

are

the

buildings

or

parts

of

buildings

and

the

land

ancillary

thereto,

irrespective

of

ownership, used

for

the

purposes

of

the

mission

including

the

residence

of

the

head

of

the

mission.

Article

2

The

establishment

of

diplomatic

relations

between

States,

and

of

permanent

diplomatic

missions, takes

place

by

mutual

consent.

Article

3

1.

The

functions

of

a

diplomatic

mission

consist

inter

alia

in

:

(a)

representing

the

sending

State in

the

receiving

State;

(b)

protecting

in

the

receiving

State

the

interests

of

the

sending

State

and

of

its

nationals,

within

the

limits

permitted

by

international

law;

(c)

negotiating

with

the

Government

of

the

receiving

State

;

(d)

ascertaining

by

all

lawful

means

conditions

and

developments

in

the

receiving

State,

and

reporting

thereon

to

the

Government

of

the

sending

State;

(e)

promoting

friendly

relations between

the

sending State

and

the

receiving

State,

and developing

their

economic,

cultural

and

scientific

relations.

2.

Nothing

in

the

present

Convention

shall be

construed

as

preventing

the

performance

of

consular

functions

by

a

diplomatic

mission.

No.

7310