iplomatic Immunity

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

There are several diplomatic embassies in Lilliland, which enjoys diplomatic relations with many other countries. Diplomacy was good for the tourist business and also, since Lilliland was a neutral country like Switzerland, many diplomats needed to be reminded of that fact when it came to taking sides in certain issues.

The Lilliland shop owners started to talk among themselves about a new diplomat from San Pedro in Central America who bought a lot of items for his friends and asked that the embassy be billed for them. When the bill became due, the embassy refused to pay and had diplomatic immunity against being arrested for non-payment of the bill.

The shopkeepers didn’t mind this happening one or two times with small items and left it alone just to keep the peace. But, after it happened again and again, especially with big-ticket items, the shopkeepers said that if this continued, they could go bankrupt.

Professor Hamblin was consulted about the problem and discussed it with the Baron. The Baron never liked to hear that the merchants in Lilliland were being taken advantage of and could lose their livelihood. The Baron asked Professor Hamblin for some suggestions on how this matter could be resolved.

Professor Hamblin, with the Baron’s consent, contacted the head of all the diplomatic embassies back in San Pedro. The head was informed of the problem with buying things, charging them to the embassy, and the embassy not paying. The embassy claimed that since San Pedro was a poor country, it could not pay for the items for some time to come.

The head of state in San Pedro recalled the ambassador to Lilliland. The embassy, it was mutually agreed, would be closed for five years and a more honest diplomat would be sent to reopen it again.

The Baron asked Professor Hamblin to pay for all the unpaid merchandise that the shop owners lost from the Lilliland treasury.

The shop owners were happy and the Baron was not one hundred percent happy because it did cost the treasury some money. But it was the best way to resolve a very diplomatic problem.