Vienna Convention on Consular Relations

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (or VCCR) was completed in 1963 as a multilateral treaty to codify consular practices that developed through customary international law, numerous bilateral treaties, and a number of regional treaties.

The VCCR enumerates basic legal rights and duties of signatory States, including:

*the establishment and conduct of consular relations, by mutual consent, and

*the privileges and immunities of consular officers and offices from the laws of the “receiving State” (the country where the foreign consular office has been established).

Article 36 of the VCCR requires that 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. If the detained foreign national so requests, the police must fax that notice to the embassy or consulate, which can then check up on the person. The notice to the consulate can be as simple as a fax, giving the person's name, the place of arrest, and, if possible, something about the reason for the arrest or detention.

United States

In March 2005, the United States pulled out of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which allows the International Court of Justice to have compulsory jurisdiction over disputes arising under the Convention. In June 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" [http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/05pdf/04-10566.pdf] ). In March 2008, the Supreme Court further ruled that the decision of the International Court of Justice 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" [http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-984.pdf] ).

ee also

*Diplomatic immunity
*Consular immunity
*Medellin v. Texas

External links

* Text of the Convention
** PDF of text [http://untreaty.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_2_1963.pdf]
** Scanned certified copy [http://157.150.195.4/LibertyIMS::/sidR440xKAf0B6kvZ8P/Cmd%3DXmlGetRequest%3BName%3D%2364%3BNoUI%3D1%3BF0%3D596%3BF1%3DEnglish%3BF2%3D8638%3BF3%3D261%3Bstyle%3DXmlPageViewer%2Exsl]
* “Implications of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations upon the Regulation of Consular Identification Cards” by Elsea and others [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21627.pdf]
* Washington Post article by Charles Lane - "U.S. Quits Pact Used in Capital Cases: Foes of Death Penalty Cite Access to Envoys" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21981-2005Mar9.html]