Sec.6.  The rule which makes foreigners amenable to the laws of the state in which they remove, does not apply to embassadors.  They are not responsible to the laws of the country to which they are sent, even when guilty of crime.  When their conduct is dangerous to the government and its citizens, all that can be done is, either to deprive them of liberty by confinement, or to send them home and demand their punishment.  As every nation has a right to treat and communicate with all others, it ought not to be deprived of the services of its representative.  Hence, the persons and property of all public ministers are held sacred and inviolable.

Sec.7.  Embassadors are entitled to the same protection in the countries through which they pass in going to, and returning from the government to which they are sent.  And to insure them a safe passage, some governments have given them passports to be shown if required.  A passport is a written license from the authority of a state granting permission or safe conduct for one to pass through its territory.  Passports, though named in our law, are not known in practice, being deemed unnecessary.

Sec.8.  If a minister at a foreign court treats the sovereign with disrespect, the fact is sometimes communicated to the government that sent him, with a request for his recall.  Or, if the offense is a more serious one, the offended sovereign refuses intercourse with him while his master’s answer is awaited.  Or, if the case is an aggravated one, he expels him from the country.

Sec.9.  Ministers at foreign governments, in their negotiations or business correspondence with those governments, sometimes consider themselves ill treated, and their own nation dishonored, and take their leave and return home; or the minister informs his sovereign, who either recalls him, or takes such other measure as he thinks the honor and interest of his nation demand.

Sec.10.  The peculiar condition of a country, the nature of the business upon which an embassador is sent, or the personal character of the embassador, may be such as to justify a government in refusing to receive him.  But to preserve the friendly relations of the two countries, satisfactory explanations ought to be made, or good reasons offered for the refusal.

Sec.11.  A minister can not bind his sovereign to any treaty or agreement, conclusively, under the authority of an ordinary credential, or letter of attorney.  He can not do so without a special power, containing express authority so to bind his principal.  Ministers act under secret instructions which they are not bound to disclose.  Even the treaties signed by plenipotentiaries, (a word signifying full power,) are, according to present usage, of no force, until ratified by their governments.