Speech
About Law and diplomacy
(Speech held by Cristiana-Irinel Stoica, Founding Partner at STOICA & Asociaţii attorneys at law, with the occasion of the event on August 29th, organized by the Association of the Romanian Diplomats’ Partner in partnership with WOHOM)
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honored guests,
I received with great pleasure the invitation of the Association of the Romanian Diplomats’ Partners, in partnership with the WOHOM to attend today’s event. This event is destined to promote with generosity and delicacy, the persons and personalities who bring an essential contribution to the success of the diplomatic mission – the wives of the ambassadors, first of all, but also personalities from the diplomatic, business, cultural, and social life of Romania.
This was in fact the purpose of the setting up of the Association of the Romanian Diplomats’ Partners, more than a year ago, when, at the request of Mrs. Luminita Fatu, the wife of the Romanian Ambassador in Finland, His Excellency, Mr. Lucian Fatu, I have advised the setting up of this association. I supported and I will continue support not only as a professional, but also as a friend, this brave and generous initiative which, I am convinced, will have exceptional results. Today’s event represents such successful accomplishment and I sincerely congratulate Mrs. Fatu, President of Association of the Romanian Diplomats’ Partners, as well as Mrs. De Escala, President of WOHOM, for all they have done for this event to really contribute to the promotion of the Romania’s image.
I was invited to make a brief speech about Law and Diplomacy.
I started from an ascertainment easy to observe by any lawyeror diplomat: the relationship between the law and the diplomacy is a long term one. The diplomatic profession is one of the oldest professions, such as the legal one. Both diplomacy and law were formed in time, thanks to diplomatic or legal schools since the antiquity.
Also, we all know that diplomatic personalities were mostly remarkable lawyers, such as Nicolae Titulescu, in what it concerns the Romanian diplomacy. His bust is present in front of one of the Bucharest’s Law Faculty’s amphitheatres as a symbol of gratefulness for his exceptional career both as lawyer and as diplomat.
The diplomacy is associated to the international law, but without being mistaken with it. The international law as science, systematizes the rules of conduct or relationships between the states, by its branch of diplomatic and consular law and it handles the norms written or recognized, stipulated in conventions or about to be encoded, while the diplomacy is distinguished by a political element, subject to numerous rules and practices. The evolution of the diplomacy, so significant for the understanding of present diplomatic institutions, or the treaties’ theory and technique, related to the essence of diplomacy itself, are not treated exhaustively by the diplomatic law.
Having as guide in drafting my speech an exceptional work on diplomacy written by the Romanian academician Mircea Malita, work that unfortunately, since 1975 until now, at my knowledge, has not been republished, I found an extraordinary concern for redefining the diplomacy in the last 40-50 years,.
Therefore, the Dutch specialist de Valk, in his book “La signification de l’integration europeene pour le development du droit international moderne”, published in 1962, divides the history of the international relationships in two distinct parts: one dominated by the ancient international law, the one of the formal equality between states, which has the task to reconcile all their liberties, which is founded, among others, on the principle of equality of representation and the one of the non-intervention; on the other side, the diplomacy which defines the modern international law, described by the author as “integration law” or “communitar”.
This approach, sustained by international law professionals, constitutes the fundament of the re-examination of present diplomacy. Today, we can speak not only about state diplomacy, but also about the diplomacy of the coalitions, of the groups or of the international associations. Thus, the diplomacy extends its field of activity, receiving a new meaning, modern, entirely different from the old diplomacy. The international organizations with political and economical character appeared after the Second World War – NATO, the European Council, the European Union, GATT etc., are living proof of the intensification and diversification of the role of the diplomacy in the modern world, through the consular and diplomatic international law and the international trade law. All of these were built with the support of legal professionals in general.
In his work “Principes du droit des gens”, of 1896, Alphonse Rivier stated that “by diplomacy it is understood the career or the profession of a diplomat. Some devote themselves to the diplomacy, as well as others devote themselves to the career of magistrate, lawyer, teacher or military.” Not few were those who said that the diplomacy stands somewhere between art and science. Also, the law, as well as the science, is performed sometimes with the talent with which an artist is called to delight the audience, particularly when the lawyer pleads in front of the distingued judges.
But, beyond such resemblances, differences or points of connection which can exist and exist between the law and the diplomacy, it is adequate to take a moment to speak of the function of representation which is without a doubt its essence. Here, I’m taking the liberty to quote Pradier-Fondere, who in his diplomatic law course published in 1899, defined the diplomacy as “the art of representing the government’s and the countries’ interests in front of foreign governments and countries; to watch that the rights, the interests, the dignity of a country are not underestimated out side that country; to administrate international businesses and, to lead, or to have, according to the instructions received, political negotiations.”
The function of representation is insured through diplomats. “If we are talking about the diplomats as persons, we must not forget that behind them stand schools” said the Academician Mircea Malita in his work “the Diplomacy”.
I would add: behind the diplomats stand their families, the diplomats’ spouses. In performing the function of representation of the governments they stand for, the diplomats are and must be effectively supported by their families, for insuring the diplomatic protocol, through techniques and practices relatively constant in time. The image of the governments of the states represented by the diplomats is also given by the image of their families. Beside the families, there are many other persons and personalities who can support, by professionalism and reputation, the formation of the positive image of a country. I believe that today more then ever, only in partnership with his family and with representative personalities of his country, the diplomat shall succeed to represent what Predier-Fodere considered as being a true diplomat:
“The diplomat is a citizen vested with the most noble, brilliant and envied profession to which an enlighten spirit and an exceptional soul could aspire: the representation abroad of the cultural, moral dignity, the real interests and the legitimate rights of his country”.
Thank you.
