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A package which, to permit and protect free communication between a state and its diplomats, may not be opened or detained en route, whether it contains classified material or not. (A diplomatic bag containing classified material and thus requiring special protection is known as a ‘crossed bag’ because its label is marked with a large black ‘X’.) It is meant only for official diplomatic correspondence and articles intended exclusively for the use of a diplomatic or permanent mission. It must be clearly indicated as such, and secured with a seal bearing the official stamp of the sending state or mission. It may be in the charge of a diplomatic courier or diplomatic agent, but may also be sent by other means, such as by the hand of an aircraft\'s captain (‘care-of-pilot’). It has no agreed maximum size or weight, so a diplomatic ‘bag’ may, and often does, consist of a crate or container. Because of the suspected (and sometimes documented) abuse of this facility to carry currency, drugs, weapons and even bombs, some states have asserted the right to place limits on the size of the bag, X-ray it, or return it to the sender. However, the protests of other states and the principle of reciprocity go far to guarantee the inviolability and sure transmission of diplomatic bags.
In an effort to clarify disputed aspects of the relevant law, and to encourage a more uniform observance of it, the UN General Assembly, some 25 years ago, asked the International Law Commission to examine the issue. In 1989 it produced a final text on the status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by diplomatic courier, and recommended that the Assembly convene a conference to study the matter. However, informal consultations revealed wide divergences of view (not least between Britain and the United States) on some of the draft articles, particularly the one relating to the inviolability of the diplomatic bag. In consequence, progress towards a treaty on the issue remains held up. But at the level of practice the situation is in almost all respects managed satisfactorily. See also casual courier; Dikko, Umaru; Queen\'s Messenger. |
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