Relations with Foreign Missions

Part3

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or its equivalent) is the channel through which all other representations should be made to a government by another state, its diplomatic representative or an international organization. If the enquiry is of an essentially technical or routine nature the Ministry may authorise the appropriate technical department to carry on further correspondence direct with the mission or organization concerned; but the initial approach and all matters of substance are traditionally addressed to the Ministry.

In practice, with the great increase in the scope and extent of international cooperation since the establishment of the United Nations and regional economic and political groupings, there has been a tendency for home government departments to assume even greater responsibility for international negotiations within their particular field; for example the British Department of Trade is responsible for negotiation of external commercial policy, including tariff policy and matters directly regulated by international convention, e.g. civil aviation and patents; the Department of the Environment is responsible for negotiation of international projects in aircraft construction, and the Ministry of Defence for relations with NATO and other defence organizations.

When a Minister of Foreign Affairs assumes office he writes to all the diplomatic representatives of foreign states and informs them accordingly, and subsequently arranges for each of them to call on him or (in a large capital like London) for a reception at which he can meet them. When he relinquishes the post he also advises them accordingly and gives them the name of his successor. In addition, the Minister informs the diplomatic representatives of his own country abroad of such moves.

The head of diplomatic mission (unless he is a Chargés d’Affaires en titre) is the representative of one Head of State to another; and although it is no longer practical for him to claim the right of access to the Head of State, or, in many countries, to the head of government, he has by custom and courtesy the right of access to the Minister for Foreign Affairs at any time in order to discuss matters of concern between the two countries. Dealings of a routine matter, however, are normally carried out between the head of mission or a member of the diplomatic staff of the mission and the appropriate official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When the Minister of Foreign Affairs wishes to convey a message to another government he has two possible means of communication: through his country’s own diplomatic representative in the foreign country concerned; or through that country’s representative to the Minister’s own government. (Since any government is the instrument of the Head of State, a head of mission may correctly be said to be the representative of one government to another.) Generally speaking a government makes formal approaches through its own representatives abroad, but formal protests are often made to the foreign representative who perhaps more immediately available; effectiveness being the obvious key to the choice of method. Sometimes both are used at the same time. By summoning a head of mission and speaking directly person-to-person, a Minister for Foreign Affairs can doubtless stress the extent of his displeasure when asking for a clarification, particularly if the time chosen for the summons is known to coincide with diplomat’s breakfast or golf.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27