Multiple accreditation

Multiple accreditation is a term used in diplomacy . It means that an ambassador or another member of the diplomatic mission simultaneously in several states accredited is. Occasionally the term secondary accreditation is used for this.

term

For cost reasons, not all states have embassies in every other country . The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (WÜD) of 1961 therefore opens up the possibility of multiple accreditation.

An ambassador or another member of the diplomatic staff of a mission can be accredited in several countries at the same time through the instrument of multiple accreditation.

Multiple accreditation according to customary international law has been possible since the 18th century .

Legal basis

Article 5 of the Vienna Agreement on Diplomatic Relations states

(1) After notifying the receiving states involved, the sending state may certify a head of mission or, if necessary, appoint a member of the diplomatic staff for several states, unless one of the receiving states expressly objects.

(2) If the sending state certifies a head of mission to one or more other states, it may establish a diplomatic mission under the direction of a chargé d'affaires ad interim in any state in which the head of mission does not have his permanent seat.

admissibility

Multiple accreditation is only permitted if the sending state notifies it and none of the states involved expressly object. For example, the Holy See is refusing to double accreditation of ambassadors who are accredited to the Italian government.

The procedure for secondary accreditation is the same as for accreditation in the host country where the ambassador is based. Multiple accreditation therefore requires the ambassador to hand over his credentials to the head of state of the receiving state in which he is additionally accredited. Only then is he formally accredited in this country.

Double accreditation and multiple accreditation i. e. S.

If an ambassador is accredited in two countries, one speaks of double accreditation . For example, the German ambassador to Switzerland is also accredited for Liechtenstein.

If an ambassador is accredited in more than two countries, one speaks of multiple accreditation (in the narrower sense) . For example, the German ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago is also accredited in the small Caribbean states of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname.

Diplomatic practice

Multiple accreditation occurs frequently in practice. It is primarily used by smaller states that do not have a large diplomatic service. They only maintain diplomatic missions in the most important countries in the world, in neighboring states or with large trading partners. Otherwise they use the instrument of multiple accreditation. For example, the Ambassador of Suriname in The Hague is also accredited in Germany.

Ambassadors from larger states are often accredited multiple times, even in smaller states. Examples are the German ambassador in Spain for Andorra, the German ambassador in France for Monaco or the German ambassador in Italy for San Marino.

Collective agency

A distinction must be made between multiple accreditation and collective representation . With collective representation, two or more states accredit the same person as an ambassador in a receiving state. Article 6 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations allows this possibility. It is particularly attractive for small states.

A collective accreditation presupposes that the sending states have a special relationship with one another. For example, the ambassadors of Switzerland also represent the Principality of Liechtenstein in most of the world's countries.

literature

• Knut Ipsen : International Law. A study book. 4th, completely revised edition. Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-37115-9 , p. 487.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.