https://declassified.library.utoronto.ca/files/original/bd40e5e95f11d81f9a2e82cdeb26da5a.pdf 5319c6ec32ec49d0051389e65283813f PDF Text Text -72- DIPLOM a TIC p r i v i l e g e s a n d imm u n i t i e s In its every day signific a nc e diplomacy me ans the conduct of any human a ff airs with a droitn ess. But here we are concerned with diplomacy only in its sp e cializ e d sense, and th at is the conduct of intern ation al a ff airs by n e gotiation. In the broadest sense there has of necessity be en diplomacy ever since organiz ed states came into existence. O ccasions must aris e , even in the most primitiv e communities, when it becomes necessary to send re pre s e ntativ e s to n e gotiate on matters of common intere st with neighbouring communities. E vidence of n e gotiations of this type can be found from the beginning of recorded history. O riginally, however, the re pre s e ntativ es appointed -were concerned with sp e cific issues and were withdrawn when the n e gotiation was concluded. It was only with the appointment of permanent re pre s e ntativ e s by the chief W estern E urope an state s in and a fter the 15th century th at diplomacy in its modern and fully developed form appe ared. It was then th at diplom atic re pre s e ntativ e s were made permanent in the sense th at th eir departure did not depend on the conclusion of a p articular n e gotiation, and would normally be followed by the appointment of a successor. The establishment of permanent E mbassies and the more and more d etaile d relations which re sulted from them led to the development during the loth, 17th and 18th c e nturie s of an elaborate range of agre ements and conventions as to the dutie s and privileg e s of ambassadors, who were the only diplom atic re pre s e ntativ e s in those days. Common sense dire cted th at he should have immunity from personal atta cks, however hostile his conduct, since the absence of immunity would sp e e dily le ad to re pris als, and in time to the discontinuance of a ll diplom atic relations. When it became customary in the 18th century to allow Ambassadors to le accompanied abroad by th e ir wives, the immunity of the Ambassadors suite also came to be g e n erally accepted. And so it progressed until today we have an established intern ation al law which governs the granting of re ciproc al privileg e s and immunities to diplom atic officia ls throughout the world. The a ct governing these concessions is a ptly named th e . Privileg e s and Immunities (United N ations) Act 19M-7. It is not known when the first foreign diplom atic re pre s e ntativ e was appointed to C anada, but by the end of la st ye ar 35 countrie s had established diplom atic missions in C anada, 19 of which were E mbassies, 6 High C ommissioner’ s O ffic e s and 10 Legations. On the other hand, at the end of 1952 C anada maintained missions in foreign countries. At the outbre ak of war in 1939 there, were only 32 offic ers in the C anadian diplom atic corps, both at home and abroad. Some were busy colle cting information and representing C anada in 7. C a pitals 5 others in processing this information and sending out instructions from O ttawa. Today C anada numbers 270 offic ers in its diplom atic corps, of whom 60 percent are in O ttawa and the remainder are serving abroad. These 2figure '„ s will give you some indic ation of C anada's ris e to-day to the> important intern ation al position of a middle power. As jyou may be m c aware a w a iu, the uiie C anadian gov ernm e nt, department a e p arun e government which looks after diplom atic relations with foreign governments is the D epartment of E xtern al A ff airs. a irs . This D epartment 000075 �-73a ctu ally was only established as a separate government d e part ment on S eptember ^th, 191 +6 , but in re a lity it has operated as a unit within the Prime Minister's offic e since the F irst World W ar. At the present time the D epartment is presided over by a Minister, who is the Honourable Lester B. P e arson. He is assisted by an Under S ecretary, a D eputy Under S ecretary, thre e A ssista nt Under S e cretarie s, and O ffic ers and employe es of various ranks and designations. The O ffic ers and employe es below the rank of a ssista nt Under S ecretary are divid e d at home into sevente en divisions, a Press O ffic e , and Internation al C onferences S ection, and a Tra nslation Bure au. According to the geographical are a or the politic al institution with which they are concerned, the divisions are known in alpha b etic al order as follows:- American Division C onsular Division D efense Liaison Div's 1 and 11 E conomic Division E stablishments & Organiz ation Division E urope an Division F ar E astern Division F inance Division Historic al R ese arch & R eports Division Information Division Legal Division P ersonnel Division Protocol Division Supplies & Property Division United N ations Division of these Divisions only two ne ed to concern us, and they are the Protocol and C onsular Divisions. The Protocol Division of the D epartment of E xtern al Aff airs is the unit which looks after the arrangements for the exchange of diplom atic and consular re pre s e ntativ e s betwe en C anada and other countrie s, and the a dministration of the privileg e s and immunities prescribed for these re pre s e ntativ es by intern ation al law and pra ctic e . It also looks after arrangements for officia l hospit ality extended by the Minister or senior officia ls of the D epartment 5 questions of precedence amongst members of the diplom atic corps and of C anadian diplo matic missions abroad5 honours and awards for members of the C anadian Armed F orces (in conjunction with other intere ste d a uthorities of the C anadian G overnment) and e nquirie s on points of diplom atic protocol. Diplomatic and consular re pre s e ntativ e s of other countrie s arriving in C anada make th e ir first contact with the Protocol Division, which serves th e ir missions also as a channel for general e nquirie s, a source of inform ation on C anadian G overnment re gulations and procedure, and as a guide to protocol pra ctic e in O ttawa. F urth er to this the Protocol Division look after distinguish e d visitors to C anada such as the handling of arrangements for the visit of the Royal couple in 19>1; visits by foreign Premiers, Presidents, e tc., as w ell as presenting new envoys to the G overnor G eneral. As it has be en pointed out, the Protocol Division look a fter the a dministration of the privile g e s and immunities accorded to diplom atic and consular re pre s e ntativ e s under intern ation al law. These privile g e s and immunities vary in diff ere nt countrie s to a minor degre e, but in C anada they . include the following :- 000076 �_7 U(a) E xemption from examination of baggage and other effe cts, and of adminission th ereof fre e from duty & taxes. (b) Admission of article s for personal and fa mily use fre e from duty and taxes. (c) Fre e e ntry from customs duty and taxes (on first arriv al only) for employe es of foreign and C ommonwealth G overnments on th eir personal and household effe cts, including motor v e hicle s, but not spirituous liquors. (d) Motor v e hicle s may be admitted from from dutie s and taxes but'may not be sold or disposed of for 2 ye ars. (e) R emission of excise taxes and duty on domestic spirits and tobacco products purchased from lic e ns e d manufacturers. (f) R emission of sales and/or excise taxes on c ertain goods purchased in C anada such as automobiles, cig ars, cig aretts, tobacco, wines, ale , be er, stout and spirits. (g) E xemption from personal Income T ax (h) E xemption from R adio License F e e (i) Diplomatic correspondence may be sent by courier or post fre e from postal examination. Fre e m ailing concessions for surface mail have be en granted to members of the Diplomatic C orps representing countrie s of the Postal Union of the Americans and Spain. (0) Fre e despatch is granted on other than a ir mail within C anada. (k) P ublic ations of the D epartment of E xtern al Affairs are issued gratis to persons appe ar ing on offici a l diplom atic lists. (1) In the Province of O ntario motor v e hicle lic e ns e permits and driving lic e ns e s are issued without payment of the usual fe e s. (m) In the Province of O ntario exemption is granted from provincial gasoline sales ta x. (n) Immunity from C ivila nd C rimin al Process The la st mentioned immunity was placed on the bottom of the list as it is considered advise able to elaborate a littl e furth er on this point* F irst of. a ll it is to be understood th at diplom atic re pre s e ntativ es of a ll foreign governments in C anada are exempt from C anadian judicia l machinery. This does not mean th at they arc exempt from observing the laws of the country, but only means th at they are fre e from the judicia l processes of C anadian courts should there be any viol a ti n of the laws 000077 �-75of C anada. In the event th at any diplom atic offici a l bre aks a C anadian law, the normal process followed here is th at a request for his re c all might be placed with offici a l's home government. If the offence is serious enough, the offici a l could a ctu ally be held in custody pending re c all but th at would be as f ar as it could go. In the event th at damages are involve d, the C anadian government may re qu e st . payment from the government of the offici al ’ s country. Since the officia l is exempt from C anadian judicia l machinery, it is up to his own government to de al with him under the laws of th at country, be aring in mind the nature of the offence here. When diplom atic immunity is claimed, law enforcement offic ers must, by the nature of th eir dutie s, e sta blish the id e ntity of the claimant to immunity before it can be accorded. The possession of an id e ntity card issued by the D epartment of E xtern al Affaibs is evidence th at the claimant is re gistere d with the D epartment as being a fully accredited diplom atic re pre s e ntativ e . E xcept in the case of infring eme nt of tra ffic ordinances in O ttawa, C anadian law enforcement offic ers have be en requested to re port to the Under S ecretary of State for E xtern al Aff airs any case of infringement of the law where the alleged offe nd er claims diplom atic immunity. Such re ports should state the nature, time and place of the alleged offence and the name and status claimed by the alleged offe nd er. The matter will then be taken up by the Under S ecretary of State for E xtern al Affairs with the H e ad of the Mission concerned and appropriate a ction will follow. The other Division of the D epartment of E xtern al Affairs which is of intere st to us is the C onsular Division, which issues C anadian P assports and C ertific ate s of Id e ntity. P assports will be mentioned la t er but at the moment we will de al with C ertific ate s of Id e ntity. At the present time the C onsular Division of the D epartment of E xtern al Aff airs issues four diff ere nt kinds of C ertific ate s of Id e ntity. There is the ordin ary kind th at is issued to bona fid e re side nts of C anada who are unable to obtain n ational passports or oth er tra v el documents, and the 3 diff ere nt kinds which are issued to diplom atic re pre s e ntativ e s in this country, a ctu ally the c ertific a t e s of id e ntity issued to diplom atic offici a ls are id e ntity cards , rath er than c ertific a t e s in the truesense of the word. The Id e ntity C ard which is issued to a ciplom atic officia l c-njoying full diplom atic status is a small booklet with a m aroon coloured cov er, me asuring approximately 3 inches by 2 inches. On the insid e of the front cover the officia l is id e ntifie d by name and the position he holds. A photograph of the subje ct appe ars on the opposite page, and a sample of his. signature appe ars as w ell. A similar booklet with a black coloured cover is issued to C onsular re pres e ntativ es, Trade C ommissioners and non-diplomatic non-C anadian personnel of foreign missions in C anada, along with th e ir wives and childre n who have re ached the age of 16 ye ars. A similar card with a gre en coloured cover is issued to non-C anadian offici a ls of sp e cializ e d agencies of the United N ations in C anada, such as the Internation al C ivil A viation Organiz ation and the Internation al Labor Organiz ation, th eir wives and members of th eir fa milie s who have attain ed the age of 16 ye ars. It is wished to emphasiz e th at the black and' gre en id e ntiry cards are issued to individuals of non-d ip lomatic status who do not enjoy diplom atic privileg e s and immunities. 000078 �-76C anadian passports are also issued by the C onsular Division of the D epartment of E xtern al Affairs and while they are not dire ctly relate d to diplomatic privile g e s and immunities, it might be worth-while for general information purposes to say a few words about these documents. F irst of a ll, it might be said " What is a passport?" A passport may be defined as a document of id e ntity issued by a state , ordin arily to its own n ationals, which requests foreign governments to grant the be arer safe and fre e passage and a ll la wful aid and prote ction while within th eir jurisdiction, and implicitly guarante es th at he will, be re-admitted to the issuing country. When did passports come into existence? In January, 1862, the G overnor-G eneral established the first passport re gulations. However, because of the small number issued and the rela tiv e unimportance of passports in those days, the history of passports is difficult to tra c e . Prior to 1915? only British subjects by birth could obtain such a document. In 1911 +, however, the Imp erial P arliament and the Dominions enacted le gisla tion on the n aturaliz ation of alie ns and this gave n aturaliz e d C anadians the right to obtain C anadian pass ports. From 1915 to 1921 a ten s e ction, single she et fold er was established as the form of passport. However, a conference held under the auspices of the Le ague of N ations in the ye ar 1920 suggested an intern ation al form, of passport, in booklet shape, and this was adopted in 1921. U ntil 19 , +6 a ll passports were issued in the name of the G overnor-G eneral, but this was changed so th at the S ecretary of State for E xtern al a ff airs now makes the request in the name of the Sovereign. Throughout the British C ommonwe alth passports are issued by virtu e of the Royal prerog ativ e . In ’ C anada this me ans th at they are issued under re gulations passed by the G overnor-G eneral-in-C ouncil. In turn this roughly me ans th at no subject can complain of the way in which it is exercised. The holding of a passport is a privile g e and not an inherent civil right. The S ecretary of State, under le g al and tra dition al a uthority may or may not grant a passport to a citiz e n to tra v el abroad. Anyone who is refused a passport has no redress in the courts. While on this point it is intere sting to note th at the right to refuse a passport, associated under our laws with the Royal prerog ativ e , has be en preserved in the United States of America. During recent ye ars various e fforts have be en made to elimin ate re strictions on tra v el but considerations of humanity have be en counter-balanced by considerations of s e curity. During the past ye ar C anada was able to arrange with E urope an members of the North Atla ntic Tre aty Organiz ation, as w ell as with Sweden and Switz erland, for members of the C anadian F orces to travel, to those countrie s w'ithout a passport or vis a . Also, on the one hand C anadians may now visit in a ddition to the C ommonwealth countrie s, France, Norway, It a ly Sweden, D enmark, B elgium, G ermany, Luxenbourg, The N etherlands and Switz erland without having th eir passports visa ed. On the other hand, a new passport re gulation was published on June / 30, 1951? in the C anada G a z ette re quiring C anadians who intended visiting the Soviet Union or s a t e llit e countrie s to notify the D epartment of E xtern al Affairs of th e ir tra v el plans and inte ntions. After re aching any of those countries C anadians must re port th eir arriv al and departure to the clos e st C anadian or United Kingdom a uthoritie s located th ere . 000079 �-77E ver since the C anadian C itiz enship Act came into force in 19^7 C anada has issued thre e types of passports. A blue covered passport with pink tinted she ets was adopted for use by C anadian citiz e ns, while red covered passports were issued to C anadian diplomatic representatives. A new Special passport with a gre en cover has be en adopted for use by non-diplomatic employe es of C anadian missions abroad. In the past 10 ye ars there has be en an incre asing number of passports issued, bringing the number of v alid passports in C anada to over 5000,000. In 1952, 76,180 C anadian passports were issued. In January of this ye ar, tra v el conscious C anadians applied for a record monthly total of 7,501 passports. 000080 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CDIG00195 Title A name given to the resource CDIG00195 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Library and Archives Canada, RG146, volume 5873, Part 1, "Brief - Talks deliveryed to Special Branch Class 1953-07-13 to 1953-07-22," Wallet 1 (A-2013-00622) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource RCMP Special Branch Subject The topic of the resource Counterintelligence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Canada Declassified Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource en