Foreign representation

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Sign "Federal Republic of Germany - Honorary Consul"

Foreign representatives (including missions are called) permanently established in international law offices of state in other countries with a foreign power or international and supranational organizations (eg. As in international organizations such as the United Nations ). The missions abroad do not include pure liaison offices, such as those maintained by certain government agencies (e.g. ministries, criminal investigation offices) at foreign government agencies or international institutions.

Types of representations

There are diplomatic and consular missions abroad. The latter can, however, be attached to a diplomatic mission. While diplomatic missions represent the interests of the government of a state in a foreign power, consular missions (consular departments at embassies and consulates) primarily represent the interests of the citizens of the sending state in the receiving state and perform contact and administrative tasks at subordinate levels.

Land or buildings owned by diplomatic missions are not extraterritorial areas today , and therefore do not belong to the territory of the sending state under international law . However, the premises of the representation are inviolable. Representatives of the receiving state may only enter these with the consent of the head of mission. The degree to which the premises and the objects located therein enjoy immunity from state acts of the receiving state differs for diplomatic and consular missions.

Diplomatic missions

The diplomatic missions include embassies , apostolic nunciatures , high commissioners and permanent missions . Also of a diplomatic nature are embassies , which, however, hardly appear as permanent institutions (representations) in today's international relations, as well as commercial representations with diplomatic tasks.

The Apostolic Nunciatures act as diplomatic representations of the Holy See (i.e. the Pope as subject of international law ), which also represent the interests of the Vatican City State . They are traditionally doyen for the embassies in a country, i.e. the local diplomatic corps .

As the only globally recognized object of international law without national territory, the Order of Malta maintains 100 diplomatic missions.

Consular missions

No diplomatic missions are consular authorities such as B. Consulates General , Consulates and Honorary Consuls ( also called consular posts in Switzerland ). Rather, they are considered to be foreign missions of their own kind and are also referred to as consular missions.

Foreign Ministries

In the Federal Republic of Germany , the Foreign Office (AA) and the missions abroad form a uniform supreme federal authority under the direction of the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs . German officials employed in the diplomatic or consular service belong to a career in the foreign service.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of Switzerland consists of the headquarters in Bern and the more than 300 Swiss "foreign missions" , such as embassies, consulates and residences .

The Austrian Foreign Service is also organizationally affiliated with the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMeiA) of Austria .

See also

Web links

Commons : Foreign missions  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Foreign missions  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. katholisch.de
  2. malteser-butzbach.de