Research On Immunity Of State Officials From Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction

The development of modern international criminal law has a certain impact on the principle of immunity of state officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction in customary international law,and many disputes have arisen in judicial practice.Based on the special report of the Special Rapporteurs of the International Law Commission and the judicial practice of the International Criminal Tribunal or the International Criminal Court,this paper discusses the relevant issues.After stating the concept,origin and development of immunity of state officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction,this paper discusses the types of immunity from criminal jurisdiction,including personal immunity and functional immunity.It has become a consensus of most countries that state officials enjoy absolute personal immunity in domestic courts of foreign countries.However,in the practice of the International Criminal Tribunal or the International Criminal Court,there are exceptions to personal immunity,that is,state officials who enjoy personal immunity shall not claim personal immunity in international courts or tribunals.At the domestic level,it is not allowed to claim the application of functional immunity in the international core crimes,but the exception of functional immunity is controversial.From the perspective of domestic judicial practice,different opinions still exist on this issue.Therefore,in order to fight against international criminal acts,there are exceptions in the practice of domestic judicial institutions,but the reasons for excluding the application of functional immunity are worth further exploring.At the international level,the principle of "irrelevant official status" excludes the application of functional immunity.The application of personal immunity and functional immunity in foreign domestic courts,international criminal courts or international criminal courts must be handled carefully.The status of state officials is relatively special,and improper handling may cause turbulence in international relations.