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foreign state. On the other hand, diplomatic asylum is the a. In the preface to its 1972 guidelines on the granting
term used where an individual, to evade local jurisdiction of asylum and "temporary refuge," 65 the State Depart-
for a political offense, or to esc& from imminent danger, ment makes the following policy statement.
finds protection in certain places that enjoy well-recog- Both within the United States and abroad, foreign nationals who te-
nized immunities from the local jurisdiction. It is used quest asylum of the United States Govemment owing to persecution
particularly with reference to asylum in embassies and should be given full opportunity to have their requests considered on
their merits. The request of a person for asylum or temporary refuge
legations. 59
b. In the Asylum Case, 60 the International Court of shall not be arbitrarily of summarily refused by U.S. personnel. Because
of the wide variety of circumstances which may be involved, each re-
Justice observed: ' quest must be dealt with on an individual basis, taking into account
A decision to grant diplomatic asylum involves a derogation from the humanitarian principles, applicable laws and other factors.
sovereignty of that State. It withdraws the offender from the jurisdiction In cases of such requests occurring within foreign jurisdiction, the
of the territorial State and constitutes an intervention in matters which ability of the United States Government to give assistance will vary with
are exclusively withi the competence of that State. Such a derogation location and circumstances of the request. 66
horn territorial sovereignty cannot be recognized unless its legal basis is
established in each particular case. These guidelines then proceed to set forth detailed
In keeping with this I.C.J. opinion, the United States has procedures to follow and information to provide with
consistently refused to recognize the right to grant diplo- regard to requests for asylum in the United States in other
matic asylum. 61 Derogations from this practice have oc- area outside any foreign jurisdiction.
curred only in instances of serious humanitarian concern. b. In speaking to requests for asylum by individuals at
One such instance is described below. U.S. installations, vessels or aircraft in foreign jurisdic-
c. In a letter to the American Consulate General in tions, this State Department document declares that while
Toronto in 1961, Acting Secretary of State Bowles stated: it is policy of the U.S. not to grant asylum at these units or
installations within the territorial jurisdiction of a foreign
The United States, whiie not recognizing the doctrine of political
[diplomatic]62 asylum in United States Missions abroad, has in excep- state, any requests for U.S. asylum should nevertheless be
tional cases granted refuges on humanitarian grounds to an individual in reported in accordance with these newly established
immediate and grave personal danger. procedura1,guidelines. Moreover, attention is called to the
With special reference to the case of Cardinal Midszenty, you will fact that U.S. installations overseas may grant "temporary
recall that he appealed to the American Legation in Budapest for refuge
on November 4, 1956, when Soviet armed forces renewed their attack refuges" 67 for humanitarian reasons, i.e., in exceptional
upon the Hungarian people. The decision to grant refuge to the cardinal circumstances where the life or safety of a person is put in
was taken by the United States Govemment under highly exceptional danger, such as pursuit by a mob. 68
and most unusual circumstances and on urgent humanitarian grounds at 5-26. Controlling DA Regulation. In response to the
a time of foreign aggression against Hungary. It was clear in the circum-
stances of the renewed Soviet attack that Cardinal Mindszenty . .. faced State Department guidelines discussed above, the Depart-
certain death or imprisonment should he fall into the hands of Soviet or ment of the Army has formulated AR 550-1, Procedures
Soviet-controlled Hungarian Communist Forces. The American Lega- For Handling Requests for Political Asylum an Tempo-
tion in Budapest was accordingly authorized in this situation of
rary Refuge. 69 This regulation provides specific guidelines
emergency to afford him the refuge which he had requested. 63
to Army installations and units that receive requests for
5-25. Controlling State Department Guidelines. Due to political asylum or temporary refuge both within and out-
the general confusion surrounding the concepts of "politi- side of the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. 70
cal" and "diplomatic" asylum, the Department of State
and the Department of the Army have recently developed
guidelines and regulations setting forth definitions relating The end of this chapter marks the termination of an ex-
to asylum and the specific actions to be taken when re- amination of one of the most critical areas of public inter-
quests for such are made. 64 national law--state jurisdiction. Due to its importance, it
59. See 6 M. Whiteman, Digest of International Law 428 (1968) 65. Reference here and in AR-550-1 is made to political asylum
and 8 M. Whiteman, Digest of International Law 660 (1967). and "temporary refuge," a term used to describe temporary grants of
60. Colombian-Peruvian Asylum Case, [I9501 I.C.J. 266. "diplomatic" asylum. The term is used in deference to the above noted
61. 2 G. Hackworth, Digest of International Law 622 (1941). U.S. refusal to recognize the validity of the granting of diplomatic
62. The necessity of inserting the word "diplomatic" here is indica- asylum.
tive of the confusion surrounding the concept of asylum. The terms 66. U.S. Department of State, supra note 64.
"political" and "diplomatic" asylum are consistently used in- 67. "Temporary refuge" must not be confused with political or
terchangeably, although, as indicated above, these principles are legally diplomatic asylum.
and politically different in nature. 68. U.S. Department of State, supra note 64. This section also con-
63. Letter from C. Bowles, Acting Secretary of State to the Ameri- tains the procedures to be followed in such situations and the degree of
can Consulate General in Toronto, April 28, 1961, Instruction No. force that can be used in order to protect the individual(s) involved.
A-22, Dept of State fde 211 0012/4-2861.
64. U.S. Department of State, New Guidance Reirlforces U.S. 69. Department of the Army, supra note 64. This AR implements
Policy on Right of Asylum, 66 State Dep't. Bull. 124-27 (January 31, DOD Directive 2000.11 of the same title.
1972); Department of the Army, Procedures for Handling Requests for 70. The analogous U.S. Navy Regulation is SECNAVTNST
Political Asylum and Temporary Refuge, AR 550-1 (August, 1973). 5710.22 (7 October 1972); change 1 (IS August 1973).