268 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Commissioner was up to now somewhat of an anomalous character. Is he an Ambassador? What is he? Whom does he represent? Does he carry the privileges as the representative of a foreign ruler does? In order, therefore, again to remove this ambiguity, it has been felt that it would be desirable to include the Ambassador in the category of privileged persons. There are, for instance, within our territory representatives of the Commonwealth who have been called High Commissioners and who from a diplomatic point of view occupy the same position as Ambassadors. Consequently, whatever may be the reason for making this distinction in their designation, factually, they do represent the heads of their Governments and it is, therefore, proper that they also should receive the same kind of consideration which an Ambassador does.
The other clause which makes a change in the old section
86, is clause 86, sub-clause (4), sub-clause (c). It says that the privilege granted to the heads of the foreign government, or to their Ambassadors and High Commissioners may also be extended to such members of their retinue and their staff as may be notified by the Government of India by public notification. Here again, from the point of view of international law there does not seem to be any unanimity. One set of international lawyers have held that when you once grant immunity or a privilege to the Ambassador as the representative of a foreign State and you do it on the ground that his little colony is a little bit of his country established here, there is no ground, legally speaking, for making any distinction between the man himself and the agents through whom he operates in this country. There are other international lawyers who have said that such privileges need not be extended to everybody, but a state is free to pick and choose as to whom it shall grant these privileges. Now as this matter is not settled in terms of international law, it is felt that the best course would be for the law to give the power to the Central Government to notify whom it shall extend this privilege. It would be possible under this clause for the Foreign Department of the Government of India to make enquiries as to the practice prevalent in other countries and to make