•  
  •  
 

Abstract

April 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), thus providing an excellent opportunity for the consular community to reflect on the development of consular relations law since the adoption of the VCCR and to consider what the future may hold for further development of consular law.  The VCCR is the first and only comprehensive multilateral agreement governing consular relations and is one of the most widely adopted treaties today with 175 member states.  It was drafted taking into account centuries of customary practices among diplomats and consuls and several bilateral treaties that addressed consular functions.  Its primary purposes were to codify these customary practices and to further define the work of consulates in promoting relations between states and in protecting the interests of a state and its nationals in the territory of another state.  Although the VCCR addresses many consular functions, two of the most litigated issues under the Convention are the scope of consular immunity and the right of consular notification and access.  This Article addresses developments in the law and future challenges with respect to both of these issues.

With respect to the scope of consular immunity, U.S. courts continue to define its parameters on a case-by-case basis as claims are brought against consular officers.  And new technologies present challenges to the immunities provided for consular communications.  Case law and diplomatic practice likewise continues to develop and refine the parameters of the rights of consular notification and access.  In the United States, law enforcement authorities are not always well informed regarding the right of consular notification and have frequently failed to notify foreign defendants who are arrested or detained of their right to be in contact with their consulates.  These failures have led to litigation regarding whether and how the right of consular notification may be enforced in the U.S. legal system.  This litigation has raised issues regarding whether individuals may bring a private cause of action under the treaty, what the duty to provide consular notification “without delay” means, and what remedies are available for a violation of the right.

The VCCR has been successful in regularizing consular relations in many aspects.  It also has been successful in raising awareness regarding the right of consular notification and the need for consular assistance by foreign defendants.  However, few states have taken advantage of the dispute resolution procedures provided by the treaty and remedies for violations of the treaty have been unsatisfactory to date.  Thus, more work remains to ensure that states and their consular officers are able to give full effect to the guarantees of the VCCR.

Download

Share

COinS