Skip to content
bruneilawsby aturio
In force1984 Revised Edition
Contents

Act

Diplomatic Privileges (Vienna Convention) Act

Diplomatic privileges and immunities under the Vienna Convention

Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged

s 1

This Act may be cited as the Diplomatic Privileges Short title

(Vienna Convention) Act.

3 2.

The following provisions of thi{ Act shall, with Replacement respect to the matters dealt with therein, have effect in II:xisting substitution for any previous enactment or rule of law.

s 3

(1)

Subject to section 4 the Articles set out in the App~ication

Schedule to this Act (being Articles of the Vienna Conven-C!o~~~~~~n tion on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961) shall have the force of law in Brunei and shall for that purpose be con-strued in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2)

In those Articles

"Agents of the receiving State" shall be construed as including any police officer and any person exercising a power of entry to any premises under any written law in force in Brunei;

"national of the receiving State" shall be construed as meaning a citizen of Brunei.

(3)

For the purposes of Article 32, a waiver by the head of a mission of any State or any person for the time being performing his functions shall be deemed to be a waiver by that State.

4

Restriction of privileges and immunities

Evidence

Saving for certain bilateral arrangements

Diplomatic Privileges (Vienna

Convention)

(4)

Articles 35, 36 and 40 shall be construed as grant-ing any privilege or immunity which they require to be granted.

(5)

The references in Articles 37 and 38 to the extent to which any privileges and immunities are admitted by the receiving State and to the additional privileges and immuni-ties that may be granted by the receiving State shall be construed as referring respectively to the extent to which any privileges and immunities may be specified by His

Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan by Order pub-lished in the Government Gazette and to any additional privileges and immunities that may be so specified.

s 4

If it appears to His Majesty that the privileges and immunities accorded to a mission of Brunei in the territory of any State, or to persons connected with that mission, are less than those conferred by the Act on the mission of that

State or on persons connected with that mission, His Majes-ty may by an Order published in the Government Gazette withdraw such of the privileges and immunities so conferred from the mission of that State or from such persons connected with it as appears to him to be proper .

. i

s 5

If in any proceedings any question arises whether or not any person is entitled to any privileges or immunities under this Act, a certificate issued by or under the authority of the Minister stating any fact relating to that question shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.

s 6

(1)

Where any special agreement or arrangement be-tween the Government of any State and the Government of

Brunei in force at the commencement of this Act provides for extending

(a)

such immunity from jurisdiction and from arrest or detention, and such inviolability of resi-dence, as are conferred by this Act on a diplomatic agent; or

Diplomatic Privileges (Vienna

Convention)

(b)

such exemption from customs duties, taxes and related charges as is conferred by this Act in respect of articles for the personal use of a diplomatic agent; or to any class of person, or to articles for the personal use of any class of person, connected with the mission of that

State, that immunity and inviolability or exemption shall so extend, so long as that agreement or arrangement continues in force.

(2)

The Minister shall publish in the Government

Gazette a notice specifying the States with which and the classes of person with respect to which su~h an agreement or arrangement as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section is in force and whether its effect is as mentioned in para-graph (a) or paragraph (b) of that subsection, and shall whenever necessary amend the notice by a further such notice; and the notice shall be conclusive evidence of the agreement or arrangement and the classes of person with respect to which it is in force.

Schedules