Statutory Instruments
International Immunities And Privileges
Made
11th February 2009
Laid before Parliament
12th February 2009
Coming into force
9th March 2009
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 11th day of February 2009
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas the London Summit conference is to be held in London in the United Kingdom from 1 to 2 April 2009 and is to be attended by representatives of the United Kingdom and other sovereign Powers:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by section 6 of the International Organisations Act 1968 (the Act) (1), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:
1. This Order may be cited as the London Summit (Immunities and Privileges) Order 2009 and shall come into force on 9th March 2009.
2.—(1) For the purposes of this Order, there are hereby specified as the representatives of sovereign Powers (other than the United Kingdom) at the London Summit conference, the persons who are notified to the Secretary of State by the sovereign Power concerned as members of its delegation having ministerial or other high official rank, and who are accepted as such by the Secretary of State.
Except in so far as in any particular case any privilege or immunity is waived by the Governments of the sovereign Powers whom they represent, and without prejudice to any privilege or immunity to which they are otherwise entitled, the persons specified in paragraph (1) shall enjoy while exercising their functions and during their journeys to and from the place of meeting the like immunity from suit and legal process, including immunity from personal arrest or detention as is accorded to the head of a diplomatic mission under the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964(2).
3. Neither Article 2 of this Order nor section 6(3) of the Act and Part IV of Schedule 1 to the Act shall operate so as to confer any privilege or immunity on any person as the representative of the United Kingdom or as a member of the official staff of such a representative or on any person who is a British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen, a British Overseas citizen or a British National (Overseas) or who is permanently resident in the United Kingdom.
Judith Simpson
Clerk of the Privy Council
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order confers privileges and immunities upon the representatives of sovereign Powers at the London Summit conference, which is to be held in London in the United Kingdom from 1 to 2 April 2009. This Order provides that representatives of sovereign Powers (other than the United Kingdom) whom the Secretary of State has accepted as members of the delegation for the purposes of this Order, will enjoy immunity from suit and legal process, including immunity from personal arrest or detention.
A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.
1968 c.48; section 6 was amended by the International Organisations Act 1981 (c.9), section 1(3).