Decree of the Minister for Foreign Affairs No. 135 / 1976 Coll.
Decree of the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the Consular Convention between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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Effective from 14.10.1976
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135
DECLARATION
Minister for Foreign Affairs
of 26 October 1976
concerning the Consular Convention between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
On 3 April 1975 the Consular Convention between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was signed in Prague.
The Convention was approved by the Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and ratified by the President of the Republic. The instruments of ratification were exchanged in London on 14 September 1976.
Pursuant to Article 49 thereof, the Convention entered into force on 14 October 1976.
The Czech version of the Convention shall be published simultaneously.
Minister:
Ing. Chupek v. r.
CONSULAR CONVENTION
between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and Her Majesty Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her other holdings and territories, Head of the Community
led by the desire to further strengthen friendly relations between the two states,
Desiring to adjust their consular contacts and thereby facilitate the protection of the interests of their states, as well as the rights and interests of their citizens,
have decided to conclude the Consular Convention and have appointed for this purpose their agents:
President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic:
Dr. Miloslav Rožek, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Her Majesty, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her other holdings and territories, head of the Community (hereinafter referred to as "Her British Majesty"):
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
The Honorable Baron Goronwy-Roberts of Caernarvon and Ogwen, Parliamentary Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Community,
who have exchanged their powers of attorney and have found them in good and proper form and have agreed on the following provisions:
Definition of terms
For the purposes of this Convention:
1. "consular office" means the Consulate General, the consulate, the Vice-consulate or the consular office;
2. "consular district" means the territory designated by the consular office for the performance of consular functions;
3. "consular officer" shall mean any person, including the Head of the consular post, appointed to that office in accordance with the provisions of this Convention and entrusted with the performance of consular functions;
4. "consular staff" shall mean any person employed by the sending State at the consular office carrying out:
(a) administrative and technical services; or
(b) other services for the consular office
notified as such to the beneficiary State in accordance with Article 5;
5. "consular archives" shall comprise all official correspondence, documents and office equipment intended for official use, together with any furniture intended for their protection and storage;
6. "ship of the sending State" means any ship registered in the port of the sending State; However, this term does not include any warship.
Establishment of consular posts and appointment of consular officials and consular staff
1. The consular office may be established by the sending State in the territory of the recipient State only with its consent.
2. The seat and the classification of the consular post and the limits of the consular district shall be determined by agreement between the sending State and the receiving State.
1. The sending State shall, by diplomatic means, request the consent of the receiving State to appoint the Head of the consular post.
2. Upon receipt of this consent, the diplomatic mission of the sending State shall transmit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the receiving State a consultative patent or other document of appointment. The patent or other document shall state the full name of the head of the consular post, his nationality, class, boundary of the consular district in which he will perform his duties, and the seat of the consular post.
3. Upon transmission of the patent or other document appointing the head of the consular post, the recipient State shall, as soon as possible and free of charge, grant exequatur or other admission.
4. The Head of the consular post may take up his duties as soon as the beneficiary State has granted him an exequatur or other admission.
1. The sending State shall notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the receiving State, in writing, of the full name, nationality and rank of the consular officer who is not the Head of the Office appointed to the consular office.
2. The beneficiary State shall provide it with the relevant document confirming its right to carry out consular functions in the beneficiary State.
The sending State shall notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the receiving State in writing of the full name, nationality and post of consular staff appointed to the consular post.
1. A consulate officer may be only a national of the sending State and not a national of the receiving State or a person residing in the receiving State.
2. A consular staff member may be a national of the sending State, a national of the receiving State or a national of a third State.
The prior consent of the beneficiary State will be required in the following cases:
1. any appointment of a national of the sending State where that person has already received a permit to enter or stay in the receiving State for other purposes; However, this restriction shall not apply to a person who is already a member of consular staff or a diplomatic mission of a sending State in the recipient State;
2. the appointment by consular staff of a national of the recipient State or of a person residing in the recipient State or of a national of a third State.
The receiving State may at any time, without having to justify its decision, notify the sending State by diplomatic channels that the consular officer or consular staff is unacceptable. In such a case, the sending State shall withdraw that person or cease its activities at the consular office. If the sending State fails to comply with this obligation within a reasonable period of time, the receiving State may, in the case of the head of the consular post, withdraw the exequatur or other admission, in the case of another consular official or consular staff, refuse to recognise that person as a consular official or employee.
The receiving State shall provide protection to the consular officer and shall take the necessary measures to enable him to carry out his duties and to be granted the rights, privileges and immunities which belong to him under this Convention and the legislation of the recipient State.
1. In the event that the Head of the consular post cannot, for any reason, perform his duties or the post of Head of the consular post is temporarily vacant, the sending State may entrust a consular officer from the same consular office or from another consular office in the recipient State or a member of diplomatic staff to its diplomatic mission in that State to lead the consular post on a provisional basis. The full name of this person shall be communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the beneficiary State as soon as possible.
2. The consular officer responsible for the temporary management of the consular post shall be entitled to perform the duties of Head of the consular post in his place. It shall be subject to the same obligations and shall be granted the same rights, privileges and immunities as if it had been appointed in accordance with Article 3.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 40 (7), the appointment of a diplomatic staff member of a diplomatic mission of a sending State to a consular post in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall not affect the privileges and immunities accorded to him under his diplomatic status.
(1) Members of diplomatic staff of the diplomatic mission of the sending State in the recipient State who have been entrusted with consular functions on that mission and whose names have been communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the recipient State shall be granted the same rights and impose the same obligations as consular officials under this Convention.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 40 (7), the exercise of consular functions by persons covered by paragraph 1 of this Article shall not affect the privileges and immunities accorded to them under their diplomatic status.
1. The sending State may, within the limits in which the laws of the receiving State permit, acquire ownership, use or hire, in whatever form provided for by that legislation, land, buildings or parts of buildings for the needs of the consular post or accommodation of the consular officer or consular staff, provided that the latter is a national of the sending State. The receiving State shall provide assistance, where necessary, to the sending State in obtaining land, buildings or parts of buildings for that purpose.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not exempt the sending State from compliance with the rules on construction and zoning or other restrictions applicable to the area in which the land, buildings or parts of buildings are located.
Privileges and immunities
1. The emblem or consular shield of the sending State, together with the appropriate designation of the consular post in the language of that State and in the language of the receiving State, may be located on the building in which the consular office is situated and may also be located at the entrance or at the entrance to the consular office.
2. The flag of the sending State and its consular flag may be displayed at the consular office and at the residence of the head of the consular post.
3. The flag of the sending State may also be placed on the means of transport of the head of the consular post used in the performance of his official duties.
1. Land, building or part of buildings used exclusively for the purposes of the consular office shall be inviolable. The security or other authorities of the beneficiary State shall not enter such land, buildings or parts of buildings without the agreement of the Head of the consular post or the Head of the diplomatic mission of the sending State or of a person appointed by one of them.
2. The provisions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to the residence of the consular officer.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be interpreted in such a way as to exclude the sending State from the obligation to comply with the territorial planning or construction legislation referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 12.
1. Consular archives and documents are always and everywhere untouchable.
2. Authentic archives shall not keep documents or objects of an unofficial nature.
1. (a) The Consulate Office shall have the right to contact the Government of the Sending State, the diplomatic mission or other consular offices of the Sending State in the receiving State or in a third State. For this purpose, the consular office may use all public means of communication, as well as diplomatic and consular couriers and diplomatic and consular baggage, and may use the cipher.
(b) In the case of the consular office, the same rates shall be applied when public fasteners are used as in the case of a diplomatic mission.
2. The official correspondence of the consular post, irrespective of the means used and the baggage referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article, shall be untouchable provided that they bear a clear external indication of their official nature; the authorities of the beneficiary State may neither open nor detain them. Such baggage may contain only official correspondence and items intended exclusively for official use.
3. The beneficiary State shall grant the same rights, privileges and immunities as diplomatic couriers to persons responsible for transporting consular baggage.
4. Consular baggage may be entrusted to the captain of a ship or a civil aircraft to land at the authorised entry point of the recipient State. In no case shall the captain be considered a consular courier; However, it shall be provided with an official document indicating the number of baggage entrusted to it. After consulting the competent authorities of the beneficiary State, the consular office may authorise a consular officer or consular staff to take the said baggage directly and freely from the ship or aircraft captain or from him.
1. (a) The consular officer shall not be subject to the criminal jurisdiction of the recipient State. It shall also be excluded from civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in the cases referred to in paragraph 7 of Article 40 of this Convention and under points (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 and in paragraph 3 of Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, signed on 18 April 1961. The person of this official shall be untouchable.
(b) The provisions referred to in point (a) of this paragraph shall also apply to members of the family of the consular officer living with him in the common household, in any event, provided that the person concerned is not a national of or is not resident in the recipient State.
2. (a) A consular staff member who is not a national of the recipient State or who is not domiciled in that State shall not be subject to the criminal jurisdiction of the recipient State. The civil and administrative jurisdiction of that State shall not be subject only to acts carried out in the course of its official activities.
(b) The provisions of the first sentence of point (a) of this paragraph shall also apply to members of the family of a consular staff as defined in subparagraph (a) (4) of Article 1 who live with him in the common household, in any case provided that the person concerned is not also a national of the recipient State or has no permanent residence there.
1. In the event that a consular staff member not covered by Article 17 (2) (a) is detained or arrested or prosecuted, the recipient State shall immediately inform the relevant consular officer.
2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to a member of the consular officer's family living with him in the common household or to a member of the consular staff living with him in the common household who is a national of or residing in the recipient State and who therefore does not enjoy the immunity and integrity referred to in Article 17.
1. A consular officer and a consular staff member as defined in subparagraph (a), paragraph 4 of Article 1, if he is not a national of or is not resident in the recipient State, shall be entitled to refuse to testify as a witness.
2. A consular staff member as defined in subparagraph (a), paragraph 4 of Article 1 not covered by paragraph 1 of this Article, or a consular staff member as defined in subparagraph (b), paragraph 4 of Article 1, shall be entitled to refuse to testify as a witness in matters relating to the performance of his official duties or to submit official documents or articles.
3. Where the sending State waives the immunity referred to in Article 20, the person to whom the provisions of paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of this Article apply may, in the interests of fairness, testify as a witness:
(a) no enforcement or administrative action may be used to compel the person concerned to testify as a witness or to appear before a court for that purpose and no penalty shall be imposed against him if he or she does not testify or does not appear before a court;
(b) all reasonable steps shall be taken to prevent interference in the activities of the consular office; where that person is a consular official, such testimony may be made at the request of the Head of the consular post where it is possible and admissible, orally or in writing at the consular office or at the residence of the consular officer.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall also apply to members of the family of a consular officer or of a consular staff who live with him in the common household, in any event, provided that such a person is not a national of the recipient State or does not reside in that State.
5. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall apply to proceedings before the judicial and administrative authorities of the beneficiary State.
1. The sending State may waive any of the privileges and immunities referred to in Articles 17 and 19.
2. The waiver of privileges and immunities, with the exception of the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, shall in all cases be explicit and shall be communicated in writing to the beneficiary State.
3. Where an application to initiate proceedings is made by a person enjoying an exemption from jurisdiction pursuant to Article 17, he may not rely on such exemption in respect of actions relating directly to an application lodged by him.
4. Giving up immunity from jurisdiction in civil or administrative matters does not mean waiving immunity as regards the enforcement of decisions; this immunity must be waived separately.
1. The consular officer shall be exempt from the obligation of the armed forces in the recipient State and shall be exempt from the compulsory public service of any kind.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to consular staff and family members of consular officials and consular staff living with them in the common household, in any event provided that the person concerned is not a national of the recipient State.
1. A consular officer and a consular staff who is not resident in the territory of the recipient State shall be exempt from all obligations laid down by the law of the recipient State as regards registration of foreigners and residence permits.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to members of the family of a consular officer or consular staff living with him in the common household, provided that such a person does not reside in the territory of the recipient State.
The child of a consular officer, as well as the child of a consular staff member, provided that he is a national of the sending State and does not reside in the recipient State, shall not acquire the nationality of the recipient State solely because he is born in his territory at the time of the assignment of the consular officer or employee in that State.
1. No taxes or other similar charges of any kind shall be levied or levied by the beneficiary State:
(a) land, buildings or parts of buildings used exclusively for consular purposes, including accommodation for a consular official or employee, provided that such property is owned or hired by, or owned by, a natural or legal person acting on behalf of the sending State;
(b) transfers or documents relating to the acquisition of immovable property by the sending State exclusively for consular purposes as specified in point (a) of this paragraph.
2. The exemptions referred to in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article shall not apply to service charges.
The beneficiary State shall not charge or levy any tax or other similar charges of any kind on the acquisition, ownership, possession or use of movable property by the sending State for consular purposes, the payment of which would otherwise be subject to the law of the receiving State or to a legal or natural person acting on its behalf.
A consular officer or consular staff, unless he is a national of the recipient State, shall be exempt in the recipient State from all taxes or other similar charges of any kind which the recipient State assesses or collects from the official income, wages or pensions it receives for the performance of its duties.
1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, a consular official or a consular staff member, unless he is a national of the recipient State and is engaged in a private gainful activity in the recipient State and provided that he is a permanent member of staff of the sending State, shall be personally exempt from all taxes or other similar charges of any kind imposed or levied by the recipient State and which would otherwise be obliged to pay under the law of the receiving State.
2. However, paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to:
(a) taxes on the acquisition, ownership, use or treatment of immovable property in the territory of the beneficiary State;
(b) without prejudice to Article 26, the provisions on income taxes from other sources or the increase in capital in the territory of the beneficiary State;
(c) taxes on transfers or documents relating to them, including stamp duties introduced or levied in this context;
(d) the survivor's or heir's fees, without prejudice to Article 28.
Where a consular official or consular staff member or his family member living with him dies and leaves movable property in the recipient State, the recipient State shall not levy tax or other similar charges of any kind on such property, provided that that person was not a national of the receiving State and that such property was in the territory of the recipient State only as a result of the residence of the deceased in that State as a consular official or consular staff or as a member of the family of such official or servant.
1. All articles, including motor vehicles, imported for the official use of the consular post, shall be exempt from customs duties and other taxes and charges of any kind, levied on importation or on account of importation, to the same extent as if they had been imported for official use by a diplomatic mission of a sending State in the recipient State.
2. (a) A consular officer or consular staff, if he is not a national of the recipient State and does not pursue a private occupation in the territory of the recipient State, and provided he is a permanent employee of the sending State, shall be granted exemption from customs duties and other taxes or charges of any kind in respect of items imported for his personal consumption, including motor vehicles, to the same extent as members of the corresponding category of staff of the mission of the sending State.
(b) Point (a) of this paragraph shall also apply to members of the family of a consular officer or consular staff living with him in the common household, provided that he is not a national of the recipient State and does not pursue a private occupation in that State.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, the term "member of the relevant category of staff of a diplomatic mission 'shall mean, as regards consular officials, members of diplomatic staff and consular staff, members of administrative and technical staff.
4. Personal luggage with which a consular official or his family member who lives in the same household travel with him shall be excluded from the customs inspection to the same extent as the personal luggage of a diplomatic representative.
Subject to the legislation of the beneficiary State on areas to which access is prohibited or modified for reasons of national security, a consular officer or a consular staff member and his family members living with him in the common household may travel freely in that State.
The provisions of this Article shall not affect the formalities laid down in the laws of the beneficiary State for issuing visas or other travel documents.
All persons to whom this Convention grants privileges and immunities shall be required to comply without prejudice to such privileges and immunities with the laws of the recipient State, including transport and motor vehicle insurance rules.
Consular functions
1. The consular officer shall be entitled to perform the functions referred to in this Part. In addition, it may carry out further consular functions, provided that they do not conflict with the legislation of the beneficiary State.
2. In connection with the performance of his duties, the consular officer shall have the right to contact:
(a) the competent local authorities in their consular district;
(b) the central authorities of the beneficiary State to the extent permitted by the legislation and practice of that State.
3. A consulate official shall be entitled to perform consular functions only in his own consular district. It may perform consular functions outside this area only with the consent of the beneficiary State.
4. After informing the beneficiary State, the consular officer shall be authorised to carry out consular functions as a third State, provided that the beneficiary State does not object.
5. After informing the beneficiary State, the consular officer may act as a representative of the sending State in an international organisation. In this capacity, he shall have the right to use any advantages, privileges and immunities granted to such representative under international law.
The consular officer shall have the right in the recipient State to charge fees and rates prescribed under the legislation of the sending State for the performance of consular services.
The consular officer shall be entitled to:
1. protect the rights and promote the interests of the sending State and its nationals; for the purposes of this Convention, the term "national 'shall mean any person recognised as a national by the sending State and, if the link so permits, any legal person;
2. promote the development of trade, economic cultural and scientific contacts between the sending State and the receiving State and otherwise contribute to the development of friendly relations between them;
3. follow, by all legal means, the conditions and developments in the commercial, economic, cultural and scientific life of the recipient State, report on it to the Government of the sending State and provide information to interested parties.
1. The consular officer shall be entitled to:
(a) to accept such declarations as are to be made under the legislation of the sending State in matters of citizenship;
(b) keep records of nationals of the sending State;
(c) keep records or receive notifications of the birth or death of a national of the sending State;
(d) keep records of marriages entered in front of the authorities of the recipient State or of divorces authorised by the authorities of that State, provided that at least one of the married or divorced persons is a national of the sending State;
(e) to marry, provided that the two persons who marry are nationals of the sending State and the conclusion of such marriage is not inadmissible under the law of the receiving State;
(f) to accept declarations concerning the family status of nationals of the sending State in accordance with the legislation of that State.
2. Nothing in paragraph 1 (c), (d) or (e) of this Article shall exempt any private person from the obligations prescribed by the legislation of the beneficiary State in respect of reporting or registration with the competent authorities of that State on any matter referred to in those provisions.
The consular officer shall be entitled to issue, cancel, renew, modify and extend passports, entry, exit and transit visas and other similar documents.
1. The consular officer shall be entitled to:
(a) to compile, verify, confirm, legalise or carry out other acts which are necessary for the validity of legal acts and instruments of a legal nature or copies thereof for the need of a person of any nationality for use in or under the legislation of that State or of a national of that State for use outside that State;
(b) translate documents and verify the accuracy of the translation.
2. Where the instruments referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are necessary for use in the recipient State, the authorities of the recipient State shall recognise their validity only to the extent that they comply with the legislation of that State.
3. In exercising the rights conferred by this Article, the consular officer shall act in accordance with the legislation of the recipient State.
A consular officer shall be entitled, in accordance with the laws of the recipient State, to represent himself or through an authorised representative of a national of the sending State before the authorities of the receiving State, if he is unable, on grounds of absence or other serious reasons, to take up the defence of his rights and interests. Representation shall continue until the national has appointed a representative or has taken up the defence of his rights and interests. The consular officer may also propose to the competent authority that the hearing be postponed until the national is informed and is able to be present or represented.
When the competent authorities of the receiving State learn that a national of the sending State has died on its territory, they shall inform the competent consular officer without delay and send him a copy of the death certificate or other document certifying death.
1. (a) When the competent authorities of the beneficiary State have become aware that, in the territory of that State, the estate of the deceased person is of any nationality against which the consular officer may be entitled to represent the interests referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article or the national of the sending State, where there is no one (except the authorities of the receiving State) who would be entitled to claim the right to the administration of the property, or where there is no representative of that person, those authorities shall inform the competent consular officer of the sending State.
(b) Similarly, the consular officer shall inform the competent authorities of the beneficiary State if he becomes aware of this otherwise.
2. If the deceased who was a national of the sending State leaves the property in the recipient State, the consular officer shall be entitled to take measures himself or through an authorised representative:
(a) to protect and safeguard the property;
(b) to ensure full management of the estate.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 135 / 1976 Coll., on the Consular Convention between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 29.11.1976 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 14.10.1976 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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