Ambassador - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition ambassador

Definition :

Ambassador [legatus, Lat.], a representative minister sent by one sovereign power to another, with authority conferred on him by letters of credence to treat on affairs of state, 4 Inst. 153. Ambassadors are either ordinary, who reside in the place whither they are sent; or extraordinary, who are employed upon special matters. An ambassador during the period of his residence here is entirely exempt from the jurisdiction of the courts of this country, Magdalena Steam Navigation Co. v. Martin, (1859) 2 E&E 94; Musurus Bey v. Godban, 1894 (2) QB 352). Ambassadors and their domestic servants are protected from civil arrest and their goods from seizure under distress or execution by the (English) Diplomatic Privileges Act, 1708 (7 Anne, c. 12), which is declaratory of the Common Law, but imposes severe penalties, including corporal punishment, on persons violating its provisions. The King can veto the appointment of an ambassador, and this constitutional right was last exercised by William IV. in 1835, in the case of Lord Durham as ambassador to St. Petersburg. The Sovereign can also refuse to receive an ambassador accredited to him. See Chit. Stat., tit. 'Ambassadors.