Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-110

§2728 Crimes Committed by Diplomats

Title 22 › CHAPTER 38 — DEPARTMENT OF STATE › § 2728

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of State must send Congress a report about diplomatic immunity within 180 days after October 21, 1998, and then every year. The report must say how many people living in the United States have full criminal immunity and how many U.S. citizens living abroad have full criminal immunity in their host country. It must list cases where state, local, or federal authorities told the State Department they had reasonable cause to believe an immune person committed a serious crime, including earlier reports, and note which of those people the Secretary certified as immune. The Secretary must also report any requests from other countries asking the United States to waive immunity for a U.S. citizen, and whether the Secretary made the notifications described below. The Secretary may leave out information that would harm a criminal investigation or reveal law enforcement or intelligence methods. A “serious criminal offense” for this report includes any felony, any crime punishable by more than 1 year in prison, crimes of violence as defined in federal law, and driving offenses like DUI or reckless driving. Congress wants the Secretary to look into whether countries should agree to let the diplomat’s home country prosecute crimes its diplomats commit abroad or waive immunity so prosecution can proceed. The Secretary should also tell each foreign mission, from time to time, about U.S. policies on crimes by people with diplomatic immunity.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §2728

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Annual report concerning diplomatic immunity

(1)Report to Congress

180 days after October 21, 1998, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to the Congress, a report concerning diplomatic immunity entitled “Report on Cases Involving Diplomatic Immunity”.

(2)Content of report

In addition to such other information as the Secretary of State may consider appropriate, the report under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A)The number of persons residing in the United States who enjoy full immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the United States under laws extending diplomatic privileges and immunities.

(B)Each case involving an alien described in subparagraph (A) in which an appropriate authority of a State, a political subdivision of a State, or the United States reported to the Department of State that the authority had reasonable cause to believe the alien committed a serious criminal offense within the United States, and any additional information provided to the Secretary relating to other serious criminal offenses that any such authority had reasonable cause to believe the alien committed before the period covered by the report. The Secretary may omit from such report any matter the provision of which the Secretary reasonably believes would compromise a criminal investigation or prosecution or which would directly compromise law enforcement or intelligence sources or methods.

(C)Each case described in subparagraph (B) in which the Secretary of State has certified that a person enjoys full immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the United States under laws extending diplomatic privileges and immunities.

(D)The number of United States citizens who are residing in a receiving state and who enjoy full immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of such state under laws extending diplomatic privileges and immunities.

(E)Each case involving a United States citizen under subparagraph (D) in which the United States has been requested by the government of a receiving state to waive the immunity from criminal jurisdiction of the United States citizen.

(F)Whether the Secretary has made the notifications referred to in subsection (c) during the period covered by the report.

(3)Serious criminal offense defined

For the purposes of this section, the term “serious criminal offense” means—

(A)any felony under Federal, State, or local law;

(B)any Federal, State, or local offense punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year;

(C)any crime of violence as defined for purposes of section 16 of title 18; or

(D)(i)driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;

(ii)reckless driving; or

(iii)driving while intoxicated.

(b)United States policy concerning reform of diplomatic immunity

It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should explore, in appropriate fora, whether states should enter into agreements and adopt legislation—

(1)to provide jurisdiction in the sending state to prosecute crimes committed in the receiving state by persons entitled to immunity from criminal jurisdiction under laws extending diplomatic privileges and immunities; and

(2)to provide that where there is probable cause to believe that an individual who is entitled to immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state under laws extending diplomatic privileges and immunities committed a serious crime, the sending state will waive such immunity or the sending state will prosecute such individual.

(c)Notification of diplomatic corps

The Secretary should periodically notify each foreign mission of United States policies relating to criminal offenses committed by individuals with immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the United States under laws extending diplomatic privileges and immunities.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 2728

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110