Diplomatic Asylum and the Assange Case

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12187944
AutoresM den Heijer (0000-0003-1420-2562, autor correspondente)
Ano2013
Volume26
Fascículo2
Páginas399-425
Data de publicação2013-05-03
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLeiden Journal of International Law (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0922-1565 • E-ISSN: 1478-9698
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0922156513000095
OpenAlexW2139779938
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas14

This article traces the place and development of diplomatic asylum in international law in close connection with the more specific questions raised by the case of Julian Assange, who was granted asylum in the Ecuador embassy in London on 16 August 2012. After discussing the historical rise and decline of diplomatic asylum, the article reviews the current status of diplomatic asylum in international law and its implications for the triangular legal relationship between the United Kingdom, Ecuador, and Mr Assange. The article submits that, although there would not seem to be a title in general international law or human rights law for Ecuador to grant asylum to Assange, there is no obvious legal route for the United Kingdom to terminate the asylum. The fate of Assange resembles that of a long series of historical precedents where diplomatic asylum resulted in protracted stays. Although this may seem an unsatisfactory result from the perspective of international law, the uneasy balance between territorial sovereignty and diplomatic inviolability also engenders incentives to avoid disputes or to resolve them through diplomatic channels

Human rights · International law · Political science · Politics · Sovereignty · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Aviation · International Law and Human Rights · Law