Diplomatic Protection - History

History

Diplomatic protection traces its roots to the eighteenth century. The idea that a state has a right to protect its subjects who are abroad has been expressed by Emmerich de Vattel in his opus "The Law of Nations": "Whoever ill-treats a citizen indirectly injures the State, which must protect that citizen." Since this protection could take any form whatsoever, the doctrine has often been misused by Western powers as a pretext to intervene in the affairs of less powerful nations, sometimes resorting to the use of force (for example in China during the Boxer Rebellion and Venezuela in the early twentieth century). As a result, the doctrine of diplomatic protection has attracted much criticism, particularly in former colonies. Specifically in Latin America the Calvo Doctrine was devised to avoid the invocation of diplomatic protection by Western nationals. Nevertheless, diplomatic protection has been recognised as customary international law by international courts and tribunals as well as scholars. After the Second World War, with the use of force being outlawed as an instrument of international relations, diplomatic protection usually takes other forms, such as judicial proceedings or economic pressure.