The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is an international treaty that defines a

framework for consular relations between independent states. A consul normally operates out of an
embassy in another country, and performs two functions: (1) protecting in the host country the interests
of their countrymen, and (2) furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two states.

The treaty provides for consular immunity.[3] The treaty has been ratified by 180 states.[1]

Contents

 1History

 2Key provisions

o 2.1Consular immunity

 3State parties to the convention

 4Application of the treaty by the United States

 5References

 6External links

History[edit]

The Convention was adopted at Vienna on April 24, 1963, the United Nations Conference on Consular
Relations, which took place at the Neue Hofburg from March 4 to April 22, 1963. Its official texts are in
the English, French, Chinese, Russian and Spanish languages, which the Convention provides are equally
authentic.[2]

Key provisions[edit]

The treaty contains 79 articles.[2] The preamble to the Convention states that customary international
law continues to apply to matters not addressed in the Convention.[2][3] Some significant provisions
include.[2]

 Article 5 lists thirteen functions of a consul, including "protecting in the receiving State the
interests of the sending State and of its nationals, both individuals and bodies corporate, within
the limits permitted by international law" and "furthering the development of commercial,
economic, cultural and scientific relations between the sending State and the receiving State."[2]

 Article 23 provides that the host nation may at any time and for any reason declare a particular
member of the consular staff to be persona non grata, and the sending state must recall this
person within a reasonable period of time, or otherwise this person may lose their consular
immunity.[2]

 Article 31 provides that the consular premises are inviolable (i.e., the host nation may not enter
the consular premises, and must protect the premises from intrusion or damage).[2]
  Article 35 provides that freedom of communication between the consul and their home country
must be preserved, that consular bags "shall be neither opened nor detained"; and that a
consular courier must never be detained.[2]

 Article 36 addresses communications between consular officers and nationals of the sending
state. The Convention provides that "consular officers shall be free to communicate with
nationals of the sending State and to have access to them." Foreign nationals who are arrested
or detained be given notice "without delay" of their right to have their embassy or consulate
notified of that arrest, and "consular officers shall have the right to visit a national of the
sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and
to arrange for his legal representation."[2]

 Article 37 provides that with the host country must "without delay" notify consular officers of
the sending state if one of the sending state's nationals dies or has a guardian or trustee
appointed over him. The article also provides that consular officers must be informed "without
delay" if a vessel with the sending state's nationality is wrecked or runs aground "in
the territorial sea or internal waters of the receiving State, or if an aircraft registered in the
sending State suffers an accident on the territory of the receiving State."[2]

 Article 40 provides that "The receiving State shall treat consular officers with due respect and
shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on their person, freedom or dignity."[2]

 Articles 58-68 deal with honorary consular officers and their powers and functions.[2]

Consular immunity[edit]

The Convention (Article 43)[2] provides for consular immunity. Some but not all provisions in the
Convention regarding this immunity reflect customary international law.[3] Consular immunity is a lesser
form of diplomatic immunity. Consular officers and consular employees have "functional immunity" (i.e.,
immunity from the jurisdiction of the receiving state "in respect of acts performed in exercise of
consular function"), but do not enjoy the broader "personal immunity" accorded to diplomats.[3]

State parties to the convention[edit]

Parties

Signatories

Non-signatory UN member states

There are 180 state parties to the convention including most UN member states and UN
observer states Holy See and State of Palestine.[1] The signatory states that have not ratified the
convention are: Central African Republic, Israel, Ivory Coast and Republic of Congo. The UN member
states that have neither signed nor ratified the convention
are: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Palau, San Marino, Solomon
Islands, South Sudan and Uganda.

Application of the treaty by the United States[edit]

In March 2005, following the decisions of the International Court of Justice in the LaGrand case (2001)
and Avena case (2004), the United States withdrew from the Optional Protocol to the Convention
concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, which confers the ICJ with compulsory jurisdiction
over disputes arising under the Convention.[4][5]

In 2006, the United States Supreme Court ruled that foreign nationals who were not notified of their
right to consular notification and access after an arrest may not use the treaty violation to suppress
evidence obtained in police interrogation or belatedly raise legal challenges after trial (Sanchez-Llamas
v. Oregon).[6] In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court further ruled that the decision of the ICJ directing the
United States to give "review and reconsideration" to the cases of 51 Mexican convicts on death row
was not a binding domestic law and therefore could not be used to overcome state procedural default
rules that barred further post-conviction challenges (Medellín v. Texas).[7]

In 1980, prior to its withdrawal from the Optional Protocol, the U.S. brought a case to the ICJ
against Iran—United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran (United States v Iran)—in response
to the seizure of United States diplomatic offices and personnel by militant revolutionaries.[8]

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Vienna Convention on Consular Relations". United Nations Treaty

Collection.

2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Vienna Convention on Consular

Relations" (PDF). United Nations Treaty Series.

3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Boleslaw Adam Boczek, International Law: A Dictionary (Scarecrow

Press, 2014), pp. 41-42.

4. ^ Jan Wouters, Sanderijn Duquet & Katrien Meuwissen, "The Vienna Conventions on
Diplomatic and Consular Relations" in The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy (eds.
Andrew F. Cooper, Jorge Heine & Ramesh Thakur: Oxford University Press, 2013), pp.
515-16.

5. ^ Andreas Zimmermann, "Between the Quest for Universality and its Limited
Jurisdiction: The Role of the International Court of Justice in enhancing the International
Rule of Law" in Enhancing the Rule of Law through the International Court of
Justice (eds. Giorgio Gaja & Jenny Grote Stoutenburg: Brill Nijhoff, 2014), p. 40.

6. ^ Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon, 548 U.S. 331 (2006).

7. ^ Medellín v. Texas, 552 U.S. 491 (2008).

 8. ^ International Court of Justice, 24 May 1980, Case Concerning United States Diplomatic
and Consular Staff in TehranArchived 13 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine

External links[edit]

 Text of the Convention

 Implications of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations upon the Regulation of Consular
Identification Cards

 U.S. Quits Pact Used in Capital Cases: Foes of Death Penalty Cite Access to Envoys – Washington
Post article by Charles Lane

 Introductory note by Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo, procedural history note and audiovisual
material on the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in the Historic Archives of the United
Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

 Lecture by Eileen Denza entitled Diplomatic and Consular Law – Topical Issues in the Lecture
Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law