Masterclass: Current Issues in Diplomatic and Consular Law
Join Edinburgh Law School for our Masterclass: Current Issues in Diplomatic and Consular Law. Current Issues in Diplomatic and Consular Law - a two-day online course which looks into some of the most fascinating questions of the law of diplomatic and consular relations.
This course will be held on 7 and 8 July 2026. The course fee is £215.00 and all participants will receive a certificate of completion from Edinburgh Law School at the end of the course.
Early bird discount
We are offering a 10% early bird discount if you register before 1 April 2026. Please use code LAW_10%_2026
Diplomatic and consular law are two of the most fascinating areas of international law. They look back on a long history, but they also continue to raise intriguing questions which puzzle observers and which will be at the centre of our seminars. What, for instance, was a Hungarian cardinal doing for 15 years in the American embassy in Budapest? Why did a Nigerian politician find himself inside a diplomatic bag? How did the International Court of Justice try to stop an execution in Arizona, and why did this involve questions of consular law?
Other questions that arise in this area are of everyday concern to diplomatic agents and consular officers, and everybody who has an interest in this area. What are the immunities that diplomats and consuls enjoy, and why is the inviolability of the premises of the mission important? What does the receiving State have to do to support the work of diplomats and consuls? Does international law allow the planting of listening devices in diplomatic and consular missions?
This course could not have been more comprehensive and thorough. It was a masterpiece of magisterial lucidity leaving the clearest impression in my mind of the work of the consular service and the problems which can arise. I cannot think of any aspect of the subject which was not discussed, and the teachers were immensely approachable, making it easy to ask any questions no matter how small. In a word the course was excellent. Thank you very much for a wonderful course and well done!
The course will be divided into the following seminars:
Diplomacy in a Time of Tension: Diplomatic Law Today
The first worldwide treaty on diplomatic law - the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations - was adopted only in 1961. But it quickly gained wide acceptance and is considered today the "basic law" of diplomatic relations around the globe. And yet, questions remain. The terms of the Convention are often vague and general, and part of its success arguably lies in the fact that it avoided some tricky problems.
What, for instance, are the precise duties that diplomats owe to the receiving State? At what stage can the host claim that diplomats are "interfering" in its own affairs? How well are diplomats protected against intrusions into the premises of the embassy? And what happens when the mission itself causes danger to the public?
These are some of the questions which we will address in this seminar. The seminar will also introduce some basic concepts of diplomatic law and explain the sources that help us find answers where the Vienna Convention is silent. It also explores situations in which diplomatic law meets with other rules (such as human rights law).
Asylum for Assange: Current Topics in Diplomatic Law
In 2012, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was granted asylum in the embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London. It was by no means the first case of diplomatic asylum, nor the last: in April 2024, for instance, the asylum granted to the politician Jorge Glas in the Mexican embassy in Ecuador was brought to an end through a raid of the premises by Ecuadorian security forces. How are cases of asylum on embassy premises to be evaluated under modern international law? Are there regional rules that help to assess the lawfulness of diplomatic asylum?
Interesting questions also arise where members of the diplomatic family are wanted by the police in the receiving State. Do family members have immunity from jurisdiction, or are there particular conditions that apply? Who, under international law, is a member of the "diplomatic family"? What about same-sex partners and partners in polygamous marriages?
The diplomatic bag, too, raises interesting considerations. What happens when the diplomatic bag is used for illicit purposes? Are there any remedies that the receiving State has when it fears that abuses of diplomatic immunities have taken place in that regard?
This seminar deals with these and other questions that are of great significance to diplomatic relations in an ever changing world.
Between Visas and the Death Penalty: The Rights and Duties of Consuls
What is the consular office, and how does it differ from the diplomatic one? This seminar will offer an insight into the everyday work of consuls and will deal with aspects such as the promotion of friendly relations, of trade interests, and of cultural affairs that matter to both sending and receiving State. It will also examine some of the many ways in which consuls help nationals abroad - be it through the issuing of passports and visas or through assistance when citizens of the sending State have found themselves in emergency situations.
A particularly important point concerns communication with nationals of the sending State who were arrested for crimes committed in the host State. Consular help in these cases can be of essential significance and consuls have the right to provide such assistance. Yet the fact that the arrested persons have often not been informed of these rights causes a problem and has led to several cases before the International Court of Justice.
These are among the questions that will be explored in this seminar. The seminar will also convey some basic concepts of consular law and introduce you to the leading international treaty in this field - the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, concluded only three years after its sister convention, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Murder in the Consulate: Current Topics in Consular Law
In October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for the Washington Post who had been critical of the Saudi government, entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He was never seen again. According to Turkish sources, he was killed while on the premises of the consulate.
The case raises not only factual questions – its evaluation under the law remains unclear as well. Did Turkey have a right (perhaps even a duty) to enter the consulate as soon as they learnt that Kashoggi's life was in danger? Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular premises are inviolable; but on the question of emergency powers of the receiving State, the Convention is far less clear.
Questions can also arise when the immunity of consular officials is infringed. In December 2013, for instance, Devyani Khobragade, the Indian Deputy Consul-General in New York, was arrested on charges of visa fraud, leading to harsh protests by India. Is the arrest of a consular officer ever possible? Are there conditions that have to be fulfilled, and how are these to be evaluated in the Khobragade case?
These are questions of ongoing significance in consular relations. They and other interesting aspects in which consular law has played a role in contemporary relations will be discussed and critically examined in this seminar.
Dr Paul Behrens
Dr Paul Behrens is Reader in Law at Edinburgh Law School and has taught diplomatic and consular law for nearly 20 years at several universities. He is the author of Diplomatic Interference and the Law (Hart Publishing 2016) and co-editor of Diplomatic Law in a New Millennium (Oxford University Press 2017), and he has given talks to diplomatic agents and consular officers.
Consul General Christiane Hullmann
Christiane Hullmann is the German Consul General and Dean of the Consular Corps in Scotland. She has served in the German Foreign Service for 22 years, with postings including Head of the Legal and Consular Department at the German Embassy in Kyiv, the Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York and Head of the Western Balkans Division at the Federal Foreign Office.
Tuesday, 7 July 2026
- 1:30pm - 3:30pm: Diplomacy in a Time of Tension: Diplomatic Law Today (Dr Paul Behrens)
- 3:30pm - 4:00pm: Break
- 4:00pm - 6:00pm: Asylum for Assange: Current Topics in Diplomatic Law (Dr Paul Behrens)
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
- 1:30pm - 3:30pm: Between Visas and the Death Penalty: The Rights and Duties of Consuls (Consul General Christiane Hullmann)
- 3:30pm - 4:00pm: Break
- 4:00pm - 6:00pm: Murder in the Consulate: Current Topics in Consular Law (Consul General Christiane Hullmann)
Please note that this course will not be recorded.
Image Credits:
The Allée des Nations in front of the Palace of Nations. Image credit: Tom Page
The Signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Artist: Amédée Forestier
