Let's check this concept, what it seems to be and where it came from. I will try to keep it short
This bit comes from the legal dictionary at thefreedictionary.com:
ex·tra·ter·ri·to·ri·al·i·ty (kstr-tr-tôr-l-t, -tr-)
"In International Law, extraterritoriality exempts certain diplomatic agencies and persons operating in a foreign country from the jurisdiction of the host country. Instead, the agency or individual remains accountable to the laws of the native country. The effects of extraterritoriality extend to troops in passage, passengers on war vessels, individuals on mission premises, and other agencies and persons.
The concept of extraterritoriality stems from the writings of French legal theorist and jurist Pierre Ayraut (sic) (1536–1601), who proposed the theory that certain persons and things, while within the territory of a foreign sovereign, remained outside the reach of local judicial process " (source)
The concept of extraterritoriality stems from the writings of French legal theorist and jurist Pierre Ayraut (sic) (1536–1601), who proposed the theory that certain persons and things, while within the territory of a foreign sovereign, remained outside the reach of local judicial process " (source)
"One of the classical cases leading to the emergence of the extraterritoriality doctrine was that of a foreign sovereign visiting a friendly country. It became recognized that no local jurisdiction, whether criminal or civil, could be exercised over the sovereign. The rule was later extended to republican heads of state." (source)
Unfortunately, i seem to be unable to find this " classical case"... But then, i reckon, the good folks@Encyclopedia Britannica didn't make it up...
There seems to be a 'Definition Shift' going on with this concept.
"By the end of the eighteenth century, a significant change had occurred in the concept of extraterritoriality. Before the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), ...., the notion of territorial sovereignty had not taken definite and concrete form. Sovereignty was generally viewed as personal rather than territorial, and it was related to the theory of the personalization of laws: that a foreigner carried his own law wherever he went. It was the ruler's duty to protect those who swore personal allegiance to him. Such allegiance was usually rendered by military service, and, in the case of Asian nations, by the payment of tribute as well. Following the Treaties of Westphalia, however, the concept of territorial sovereignty collided with the notions of personal sovereignty and the personality of laws, especially when the national right of territorial jurisdiction became a basic tenet of Western international law." (source)