CONSULAR RELATIONS

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VIENNA CONVENTION
ON CONSULAR RELATIONS
DONE AT VIENNA, ON 24 APRIL 1963¹
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CHAPTER I
CONSULAR RELATIONS IN GENERAL
Section I
ESTABLISHMENT AND CONDUCT
OF CONSULAR RELATIONS
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Article 5
CONSULAR FUNCTIONS

            Consular functions consist in :
. . .
            (k) exercising rights of supervision and inspection provided for in the laws and regulations of the sending State in respect of vessels having the nationality of the sending State, and of aircraft registered in that State, and in respect of their crews;
            (l) extending assistance to vessels and aircraft mentioned in sub-paragraph (k) of this Article and to their crews, taking statements regarding the voyage of a vessel, examining and stamping the ship's papers, and, without prejudice to the powers of the authorities of the receiving State, conducting investigations into any incidents which occurred during the voyage, and settling disputes of any kind between the master, the officers and the seamen in so far as this may be authorized by the laws and regulations of the sending State;
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CHAPTER II
FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES
RELATING TO CONSULAR POSTS,
CAREER CONSULAR OFFICERS AND
OTHER MEMBERS OF A CONSULAR POST
Section I
FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES
RELATING TO A CONSULAR POST
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Article 29
USE OF NATIONAL FLAG AND COAT-OF-ARMS

            1. The sending State shall have the right to the use of its national flag and coat-of-arms in the receiving State in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
            2. The national flag of the sending State may be flown and its coat-of-arms displayed on the building occupied by the consular post and at the entrance door thereof, on the residence of the head of the consular post and on his means of transport when used on official business.
            3. In the exercise of the right accorded by this Article regard shall be had to the laws, regulations and usages of the receiving State.

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Article 35
FREEDOM OF COMMUNICATION

            1. The receiving State shall permit and protect freedom of communication on the part of the consular post for all official purposes. In communicating with the Government, the diplomatic missions and other consular posts, wherever situated, of the sending State, the consular post may employ all appropriate means, including diplomatic or consular couriers, diplomatic or consular bags and messages in code or cipher. However, the consular post may install and use a wireless transmitter only with the consent of the receiving State.
            2. The official correspondence of the consular post shall be inviolable. Official correspondence means all correspondence relating to the consular post and its functions.
            3. The consular bag shall be neither opened nor detained. Nevertheless, if the competent authorities of the receiving State have serious reason to believe that the bag contains something other than the correspondence, documents or articles referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, they may request that the bag be opened in their presence by an authorized representative of the sending State. If this request is refused by the authorities of the sending State, the bag shall be returned to its place of origin.
            4. The packages constituting the consular bag shall bear visible external marks of their character and may contain only official correspondence and documents or articles intended exclusively for official use.
            5. The consular courier shall be provided with an official document indicating his status and the number of packages constituting the consular bag. Except with the consent of the receiving State he shall be neither a national of the receiving State, nor, unless he is a national of the sending State, a permanent resident of the receiving State. In the performance of his functions he shall be protected by the receiving State. He shall enjoy personal inviolability and shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.
            6. The sending State, its diplomatic missions and its consular posts may designate consular couriers ad hoc. In such cases the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article shall also apply except that the immunities therein mentioned shall cease to apply when such a courier has delivered to the consignee the consular bag in his charge.
            7. A consular bag may be entrusted to the captain of a ship or of a commercial aircraft scheduled to land at an authorized port of entry. He shall be provided with an official document indicating the number of packages constituting the bag, but he shall not be considered to be a consular courier. By arrangement with the appropriate local authorities, the consular post may send one of its members to take possession of the bag directly and freely from the captain of the ship or of the aircraft.
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Article 37
INFORMATION IN CASES OF DEATHS,
GUARDIANSHIP OR TRUSTEESHIP,
WRECKS AND AIR ACCIDENTS

            If the relevant information is available to the competent authorities of the receiving State, such authorities shall have the duty :
            (a) in the case of the death of a national of the sending State, to inform without delay the consular post in whose district the death occurred;
            (b) to inform the competent consular post without delay of any case where the appointment of a guardian or trustee appears to be in the interests of a minor or other person lacking full capacity who is a national of the sending State. The giving of this information shall, however, be without prejudice to the operation of the laws and regulations of the receiving State concerning such appointments;
            (c) if a vessel, having the nationality of the sending State, 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, to inform without delay the consular post nearest to the scene of the occurrence.

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Section II
FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES RELATING TO CAREER CONSULAR OFFICERS
AND OTHER MEMBERS OF A CONSULAR POST
. . .
Article 43
IMMUNITY FROM JURISDICTION

            1. Consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable to the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the receiving State in respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions.
            2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not, however, apply in respect of a civil action either :
                    (a) arising out of a contract concluded by a consular officer or a consular employee in which he did not contract expressly or impliedly as an agent of the sending State; or
                    (b) by a third party for damage arising from an accident in the receiving State caused by a vehicle, vessel or aircraft.

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Article 56
INSURANCE AGAINST THIRD PARTY RISKS

            Members of the consular post shall comply with any requirement imposed by the laws and regulations of the receiving State in respect of insurance against third party risks arising from the use of any vehicle, vessel or aircraft.

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¹   United Nations — Treaty Series, vol.596 no.8638 at 262; in force on 19 March 1967. Back