On Immunity Of State Officials From Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction

In recent years, with the development of the international community, thecountries have a close communication with each other, which will make thehigh-ranking State Officials have a high chance to be accused of criminal crimes inother countries. More and more people pay attention to the topic and this topic hasbecome more and more complicated and sensitive. Immunity of State Officials fromforeign criminal jurisdiction has been regarded as a very important issue by theInternational Law Commission during its codifying and developing process.Immunity of State Officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction is an issue with greattheoretical and practical implications, concerning not only State Officials’ smoothfunctioning but also friendly relations between states and stable international relations.The consensus of the international community is Heads of State, Heads of theGovernment and the Foreign Ministers, namely the troika, who enjoyed the immunity.But whether other state officials, such as Vice President, Justice of Supreme Courtand others, enjoy the immunity or not is a dispute.Some issues have discussed by the ILC, such as ratione personae, rationemateriae and the relations between them, but a series of problems are to be solved.Members of the ILC are seriously divided on two issues, namely the subjective scopeof the immunity of State Officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction and exceptions toimmunity. Of course, whether there are exceptions to the immunity of State Officialsfrom foreign criminal jurisdiction or not is the biggest dispute between the members.In other words, are state officials who have committed serious international crimesaccountable for their acts, and have they lost their immunity in foreign courts? Allthese problems are to be solved in few years.At present, the personal responsibility for the international crimes, the protectionof individual human rights, the development of the universal jurisdiction and others,will have an influence on the development of the immunity of the State Officials fromforeign criminal jurisdiction. But in practice, the implementation of universaljurisdiction cannot surpass the basic structure of the principle of sovereign equality. The immunity of State Officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction, as a proceduralrule, can not absolve State Officials of their responsibility, but it doesn’t mean StateOfficials can be remitted. We should find other measures to solve this problem,including domestic prosecution, waiving immunity, prosecution by internationalcriminal justice institutions.