Diplomatic mission

(Also known as missions) missions abroad are permanently established in international law of a given country abroad with a foreign power or in between and supranational organizations (eg international organizations such as the United Nations ). Not to representative offices abroad include pure compound offices as by certain government bodies (eg ministries, detective agencies, etc.) are maintained with foreign governments or international institutions.

Types of representations

There are diplomatic and consular missions abroad. However, the latter can be connected to a diplomatic mission. While diplomatic missions represent the interests of the government of a state with a foreign power, take consular missions ( embassies and consular sections at consulates ) primarily the interests of the citizens of the sending State in the receiving State and meet true contact and administrative tasks at lower levels.

Land or buildings of diplomatic missions are today no extraterritorial area, so international law are by no means the territory of the sending state. However, the premises of the Representation are inviolable. Representatives of the receiving State may not enter them only with the approval of the Heads of Mission. The measure by which the premises and the objects in it enjoy immunity from state acts of the receiving State, is different for diplomatic and consular missions.

Diplomatic Missions

Among the diplomatic missions include embassies, Apostolic Nunciature, High Commissions and permanent missions. Also diplomatic legations in nature, which hardly occur as permanent establishments ( agencies ) in today's interstate traffic but still in appearance, as well as trade missions with diplomatic task.

As diplomatic missions of the Holy See (ie the Pope as a subject of international law ), which also represent the interests of the State of Vatican City, which act Apostolic Nunciature. They are traditionally Doyen for the embassies in a country, ie the local diplomatic corps.

Consular Representations

No diplomatic missions are consular such as consulates general, consulates and honorary consuls ( known in the parlance of Switzerland also Konsularposten ). They are considered rather as foreign representatives of its own kind and are also referred to as consular offices.

Ministries of Foreign Affairs

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Foreign Office (AA ) and the foreign representatives form a single supreme federal authority under the direction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Today, the diplomatic and consular service in Germany form the uniform officers legally career in the Foreign Service.

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs ( DFA) of Switzerland consists of the headquarters in Bern and the Swiss over 300 "Outside Agencies ". The Austrian Foreign Service is connected organizationally to the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (MFA ) in Austria.