Personal immunity of state officials and application of unilateral coercive measures

Abstract

Unilateral coercive measures (UCMs) can be imposed against different types of officials including those who hold high-ranking offices. At the same time in accordance with international law heads of state, heads of government and ministers of foreign affairs enjoy absolute immunity from criminal and civil foreign jurisdiction. Therefore, it’s unclear whether UCMs, adopting against such foreign state officials, are in conformity with international legal norms on immunity. Thus, the article attempts to reveal the scope of immunity ratione personae in the context of the application of UCMs. It specifies theoretical aspects of the topic (defines the scope of personal immunity of state officials, the essence and legality of UCMs under international law), addresses specific problems arising out from the application of UCMs against high-ranking officials. Moreover, the paper identifies the interplay between international legal norms on immunity and norms regarding UCMs and on this basis reveals the types of such measures and the circumstances under which they can be considered as legal.

Author Biography

Nataliya O. Moroz, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaležnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

PhD (law), docent; associate professor at the department of state management, faculty of law

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Published
2021-12-10
Keywords: personal immunity, absolute immunity, high-ranking state officials, unilateral coercive measures, sanctions
How to Cite
Moroz, N. O. (2021). Personal immunity of state officials and application of unilateral coercive measures. Journal of the Belarusian State University. International Relations, 2, 49-61. Retrieved from https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/internationalRelations/article/view/4115
Issue
No 2 (2021): Journal of the Belarusian State University. International Relations
Section
International Law

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