The History of the Formation and Development of the Institution of Diplomatic Asylum in Latin America

Abstract

The institution of diplomatic asylum occupies a special place in the system of international law due to the ambiguity of its legal regulation. As it is known, this institution was not recognized by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and subsequent universal legal documents. However, most Latin American countries widely apply the right to grant asylum in the premises of diplomatic missions and not only on the basis of the provisions of numerous regional agreements, which directly provide rules of granting diplomatic asylum. The dual approach to the issue of diplomatic asylum that has developed in international practice creates a lot of disputes between states, due to the divergence of their positions on this issue. The article examines the history of the formation and development of the institution of diplomatic asylum, its legal regulation in Latin America and briefly reveals the contribution of judicial practice to the development of the institution. The main purpose of this study is to identify existing contradictions in the international legal regulation of the institution of diplomatic asylum and to analyze acceptable ways to eliminate such discrepancies.