diplomatic immunity
15
7.4
- noun
- /ˌdɪpləˈmætɪk ɪˈmjunɪti/
- Specialized
:
inmunidad diplomática
- While protests and occasional riots happen outside embassies, governments generally respect the diplomatic immunity of other nations.
- waive diplomatic immunity
- violation of diplomatic immunity
- claim diplomatic immunity
She claimed diplomatic immunity, which many diplomats have.
- She claimed diplomatic immunity, which many diplomats have.
- Don't they have, like, diplomatic immunity?
Examples
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Without your diplomatic immunity , you would be in jail now.
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But it's on embassy grounds and they claim diplomatic immunity.
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You have no right to violate the diplomatic immunity of another nation.
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That's one of the main reasons for diplomatic immunity in the first place.
Blog text (2) -
There are certain members of the Holy See's diplomatic corps who, in fact, have diplomatic immunity, having been accepted as accredited diplomats.
Blog text (14) -
As a diplomat, she enjoys diplomatic immunity, which protects her from local laws.
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Due to his diplomatic immunity, the ambassador cannot be prosecuted for his actions in the host country.
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The official explained that all foreign diplomats in the city have diplomatic immunity from civil litigation.
Synonyms
173
4.9
Official protection from legal action or punishment
Being free from local laws, usually for diplomats at embassies
People are not subject to a country's laws, for example diplomats
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and predictably built from 'diplomatic' (relating to diplomats/foreign relations) and 'immunity' (legal protection), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes legal protections afforded to diplomats. The adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g. French 'immunité diplomatique', Spanish 'inmunidad diplomática'), making the term transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Diplomatic immunity comes from the old idea that foreign messengers or ambassadors should be given special safety when they visit another country. Because they were treated as diplomatic guests with immunity, meaning they could not be arrested or punished by local courts, the phrase now means being 'exempt from certain laws'.