PROTECTION OF EU CITIZEN ACCORDING TO ART. 23 TFEU: DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION AS DEFINED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW?

This paper analyses Art. 23 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EuropeanUnion, which establishes the right of an unrepresented EU citizen to protection by thediplomatic or consular authorities of any EU Member State in the territory of a thirdcountry. Particular attention is paid to well-established concepts of public internationallaw, namely the diplomatic protection and consular assistance. Customary rules ofinternational law governing these two concepts are briefly interpreted within thecontext of international law and, subsequently, they are confronted with relevantprovisions of the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union with the aim toexclude the possibility of equating the regime introduced by Art. 23 with the conceptof diplomatic protectio.