Establishment and Conduct of Diplomatic Relations

Abstract

It has already been observed in the previous chapter that though every sovereign independent state possesses the “right of legation,” opening of diplomatic relations between states is a matter of agreement between the governments concerned.¹ Even though a state may be fully sovereign and recognised by other states, it is very likely that all states will not be in a position to have diplomatic relations with it. In recent years with the increasing number of newly independent sovereign states in the community of nations, the problem of maintenance of diplomatic relations by establishment of permanent missions is becoming more and more acute, and the smaller nations find it impossible to maintain such missions at too many capitals due to lack of trained personnel and difficulties of having sufficient foreign exchange at their disposal. Accreditation of the same person as envoy to two or more states has helped to solve the problem to some extent but even this solution is not possible in all cases. The proposal of having one person to act as the envoy of two or more states, adopted by the Vienna Conference 1961, will no doubt help in relieving the burden of representation, but it is yet to be seen as to how far this is followed by states in practice in view of certain obvious practical difficulties. Apart from these considerations, it may also be that having regard to the smallness of interest that a state has to protect in another, or due to such factors as disapproval of the policies or practices of the state, or the repercussions that the establishment of a mission may have on neighbouring countries, a state may not be willing to have a permanent diplomatic mission in a particular state or states. Unwillingness on the part of a state to open permanent diplomatic missions in some cases may give rise to dissatisfaction especially when the other state is keen on establishing such relations. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance to bear in mind that non-establishment of permanent mission by one state in another is in no way derogatory to the latter, nor does it have any effect on the recognition of that state as a sovereign independent member of the Family of Nations.