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The representation of the person of the sending sovereign. This idea used to be employed to justify diplomatic privileges and immunities, and the related right to demand direct access to the receiving sovereign, which according to Article 2 of the Regulation of Vienna (1815) was considered exclusive to diplomatic agents of the first class (ambassadors, legates and nuncios). This generally gave ambassadors no more than a negotiating point on top-level access, although it could sometimes be used to great advantage. The disappearance of monarchical regimes and the political emasculation of those which remained, together with the practical obstacles to effecting this doctrine, saw the importance attached to it diminish during the course of the nineteenth century. Even the early editions of Satow\'s Guide, published shortly after the First World War, regarded the ‘representative character’ of the ambassador as little more than an historical curiosity. Nevertheless, many diplomats from all sorts of states remain deeply conscious of representing the person of their head of state. See also exterritoriality; functional approach; representation. |
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