Recently, India invoked diplomats parity as provided by the Vienna Convention and forced Canada to withdraw 41 of its diplomats.

What is Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961)?

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) is a United Nations treaty that sets the rules on how countries should treat diplomatic representatives from other nations, in order to ensure friendly relations and maintain proper communication channels between countries.

The Vienna Convention is signed by 61 countries in 1961 and presently, 193 countries, including India and Canada, are party to the document.

The Vienna Convention lays out special rules – privileges and immunities – for diplomats, which allows them to act without fear or harassment through enforcement of local laws and to communicate securely with their sending Governments.

Apart from the privileges, the Vienna Convention also has rules laid out for a withdrawal of a mission. It could take place on grounds of economic or physical security and breach of diplomatic relations.

What is diplomatic immunity under Vienna Convention?

One of the main points of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is diplomatic immunity. Diplomats are granted exemption from certain laws and taxes in the country they are posted. This is done in order to allow them to function without fear, threat or intimidation from the host country.

Article 29 of the Convention reads: “The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving State shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.”

What is Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention?

Article 11.1 of the Convention clearly states: “In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State (here India) may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.”

What this means is that the Convention allows the receiving State, in this case India, to decide how many diplomats they want of a foreign country.

Is India the first to take such action?

India isn’t the first to take such action. In August 2017, Russia and the United States asked for each other’s diplomats to be recalled on the principle of parity, following a low in their relations.

In August this year, Moldova also demanded a reduction of diplomats from Russia on the grounds of parity. Moldova demanded that Russia reduce the number of its embassy’s employees to 10 diplomats and 15 administrative and technical employees by 15 August, to bring them to parity with the employees of the Moldovan embassy in Moscow.