Experts on Diplomatic Law Meet at Edinburgh Law School
Thu 18 September 2014
The conference opened with a keynote speech by Sir Brian Barder, former British High Commissioner in Australia and Nigeria and former British Ambassador to Poland and Ethiopia. In his thought-provoking lecture, Sir Brian reflected on the continuing need for protection of diplomatic personnel and referred to his own experiences, in particular in Poland in the late 1980s.
On the first full conference day, delegates had the opportunity to hear a presentation by Dr Iriñiz Casás, one of only three surviving delegates of the 1961 Vienna Conference. Dr Iriñiz Casás' talk remembered the difficult circumstances under which the conference was arranged in the days of the Cold War, but also offered insights into the challenges which the application of the convention faces today.
The Edinburgh conference brought together speakers and participants from more than 17 States and five continents. They included prominent experts on diplomatic law – among others, Prof Craig Barker (University of Sussex, author of The Protection of Diplomatic Personnel) and Prof Jan Wouters (KU Leuven, author of The Law of EU External Relations), but also diplomats and officials of Foreign Ministries, including Dr Wolfgang Spadinger (Director of Privileges and Immunities at the Austrian Foreign Ministry). The closing speech was delivered by H.E. Juan Falconi Puig, Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to the Court of St James's.
Dr Paul Behrens, who organised the three day event together with Ms Kaisa Mitt, said: 'We were privileged to have so many excellent and engaging experts at this event. It is rare that conferences are dedicated to diplomatic law, and we hope that this conference can lay the foundations for a network on diplomatic and consular law.'
The organisers intend to publish the conference papers as a book on diplomatic law in the 21st century.