Diplomatic immunity and its excesses

Diplomatic asylum: Like Assange, Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty from Hungary fled from the communist authorities in his country by seeking refuge in a foreign embassy, the US embassy, where he remained for the subsequent 16 years. — Reuters

THE murder – or just “death”, depending on whose version you choose to believe – of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside his own country’s consulate in Turkey has put a spotlight yet again on one of the thorniest areas of international law: the immunity which diplomats and their buildings enjoy under international law.

For the Khashoggi case, although by far the most unusual and gruesome in many years, is hardly unique. And the question of what states can or cannot do within the compounds of their embassies in other countries is constantly alive: Julian Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website which specialised in publishing secret documents of other countries, has avoided British justice through the simple expedience of living in the Embassy of Ecuador in London for the past six years.