Professor Colleen Graffy, Congestion Charging and Exemptions for Diplomats -- Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law (forthcoming)

Professor Colleen P. Graffy's article, Congestion Charging and Exemptions for Diplomats: "Chiseling Little Crooks" or Defenders of Diplomacy?, will be published in the  Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. The article concludes that the sanctity of diplomatic law cannot be held hostage to municipal revenue generation.

Abstract of Congestion Charging and Exemptions for Diplomats: ‘Chiseling Little Crooks’ or Defenders of Diplomacy?

The 2025 implementation of a congestion charge in New York City has reignited a high-stakes diplomatic conflict: is such a charge a "tax" from which diplomats are exempt, or a "fee" for a specific service? While the United Kingdom has long maligned dissenting missions as "chiseling little crooks," the U.S. State Department’s January 2025 mandate exempting foreign missions from NYC’s tolls provides a definitive legal posture and new “NYC Model” that challenges the U.K.’s stance. This article argues that the London Congestion Charge is functionally an unrequited tax that violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by impeding freedom of movement and the "functional necessity" of the mission. By applying internationally recognized fiscal standards (OECD/SNA) and contrasting the U.K.’s domestic statutory powers under the GLA Act 1999 with its purported “powerlessness,” this Article proposes a normative framework for urban tolls. It concludes that the sanctity of diplomatic law cannot be held hostage to municipal revenue generation and calls for a return to a uniform, reciprocal interpretation of international law to prevent a descent into mutual retaliation.