[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 759 Referred in House (RFH)]

  1st Session
                                 S. 759


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 9, 1997

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to require 
     the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress 
                    concerning diplomatic immunity.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPORTS AND POLICY CONCERNING DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY.

    Title I, of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 
U.S.C. 4301 et seq.; commonly referred to as the ``Foreign Missions 
Act'') is amended by inserting after section 204A the following new 
section:

``SEC. 204B. CRIMES COMMITTED BY DIPLOMATS.

    ``(a) Annual Report Concerning Diplomatic Immunity.--
            ``(1) Report to congress.--The Secretary of State shall 
        prepare and submit to the Congress, annually, 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, United States Code; 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.''.

            Passed the Senate November 8, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.