所谓领事裁判权,乃是一国通过驻外领事等对处于另一国领土内的本国国民根据其本国法律行使司法管辖权的制度,是一种治外法权。它的存在,形成对国家属地优越权的例外或侵犯。最初,在十字军东侵(11-13世纪)以后,西方国家开始在东方国家推行这种制度。当时在东方国家定居的欧洲国家商人,在他们自己中间推选出领事,处理本国商人彼此间的争议。随着历史的发展,西方国家领事权力更加扩大,到19世纪,通过不平等条约,它们把领事裁判权制度强加于亚非国家,如中国、日本、暹罗(泰国)、波斯、埃及等。 The so-called consular jurisdiction is a system of extraterritorial jurisdiction exercised by a country, such as a consular mission, by its own nationals in the territory of another country in accordance with its own laws. Its existence forms an exception or violation of the superiority of the territoriality of the State. Initially, after the Crusades (11th and 13th centuries), Western countries began to introduce such a system in the East. The merchants of European countries, who settled in the East at the time, elected consuls among themselves and dealt with the disputes among their own merchants. With the development of history, the powers of consular powers in the western countries have been further expanded. By the unequal treaties in the 19th century, they imposed consular jurisdiction over Asian and African countries such as China, Japan, Siam (Thailand), Persia and Egypt.