4 Immunities of Special Missions

Special missions — temporary delegations for a particular task (negotiation, state funerals, summits) — governed by the New York Convention on Special Missions (1969) (in force for a modest ratifier group; much of it accepted as custom): consent-based entry (the mission's visitonly by the receiving state's consent — the sovereignty gate); head of delegation and diplomatic staff enjoy immunity equivalent to VCDR diplomats while the mission lasts; premises' inviolability; the specific immunities' limits. The doctrine's margins: ad hoc envoys (unofficial messengers' uncertain status), high-level visits (the visiting head of government's complete inviolability — arrest warrant doctrine below), and UN conference delegates (the General Convention's regime). The practical Nepali note: the summit-and-conference era (SAARC, BIMSTEC, BRI forums) runs on special-mission immunity — the state protocol manuals codifying the custom.