Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

any official dependent whose wages are paid by the Department of State. In the latter case, state the accommodations assigned to such dependent.

Though it is not desired that this report should be accompanied by a full inventory of the property of the Government in the offices, it would be serviceable to describe generally the furnishing of each office room. (See as to furniture report, paragraph 431.)

It is expected that any change in the official quarters will be likewise reported in detail.

66. Report when new office rented. Before a new office is rented consular officers are required to report the following facts to the Department of State:

(1) The amount per annum to be expended for office rent. (2) The number, dimensions, and location of the rooms to be paid for out of the rent allowance, with diagram.

(3) Whether consul proposes to occupy as a residence or for private purposes any part of the rooms paid for out of the allowance, and if so, what part.

(4) Whether consul's residence is in the same building or is owned by the same landlord as the consular office; and, if so, what his contract for the rent of his residence is. Give number of rooms, dimensions, and location, as in case of the office rooms.

(5) Any remarks that may be necessary in explanation of the direct answers to these questions.

The approval of the Department must be awaited before closing the lease.

67. Consulate to be separate from business offices.-Consular officers, especially in important commercial and manufacturing districts, are not permitted to have their offices in the counting rooms or places of business of merchants, manufacturers, agents, solicitors, or brokers. The appropriate business of the consular officer must not fail to receive his

personal attention nor be left to be performed by such merchants or other persons or their clerks, so that the contents of invoices, which are in all cases to be regarded as confidential, become known to interested parties, to the serious injury of the persons to whom the invoices properly belong. Such practices are highly reprehensible, and are ground for serious complaint. The consular office, whether the consular officer is prohibited from trading or not, must be in a respectable location and devoted exclusively to the consular business; and no one but a duly authorized officer must be permitted to have access to the consular papers or to use the consular seals.

68. Public moneys.-If there are any public funds in the hands of his predecessor, the consular officer may take charge The outgoing officer, however, is responsible to the Government for them, and they can not be demanded as a matter of right. It is expected in any case that sufficient funds, if in the hands of the outgoing officer, will be left for the immediate needs of the office. For any moneys so transferred the outgoing officer should be careful to take proper receipts, to be transmitted with his accounts. If the funds held by the predecessor are the proceeds of the effects of an American citizen who died intestate more than a year previous to the transfer of the office which should have been remitted to the Treasury as provided by law, it is not usual to deliver them to the successor; but they should be remitted by the outgoing officer, who is responsible therefor. (Paragraph 406.)

69. Notice on entering on duties. Having entered on the duties of his office, the consular officer, if a consul-general, should immediately give notice thereof to the Department of State and to the diplomatic representative; if a consul or commercial agent, he will give like notice to the Department and to the consul-general to whom he may be subordinate,

or, if there be no consul-general, then to the diplomatic representative, if there be one. He will also inform the principal consular officers of the United States in the country, and will also send his official card to, or call personally upon, the proper local officers and the consular officers of other countries in the place, as the custom may be. He will also, before the expiration of ninety days after entering on his duties, nominate to the Department of State, through his immediate superior, or directly, agreeably to the instructions of paragraphs 97-100, suitable persons for appointment to the consular agencies in his jurisdiction and a suitable person to be vice-consul or vice-commercial agent to act in case of his temporary absence or of his relief from duty from any cause. As subordinate officers are not to be removed without cause (paragraph 44), the foregoing direction applies only to cases in which the consul determines after examination that a change is required for the good of the service.

70. Use of arms and flag.-The arms of the United States should be placed over the entrance to the consulate or commercial agency, unless prohibited by the laws of the country. Only one coat of arms will be permitted to be exposed in each port where a consular office is located, and that will be placed over the office devoted to consular business. Wherever the custom prevails, the national flag should be hoisted on such occasions as the consular officer may deem appropriate, or when it may be required for his protection or as the emblem of his authority. It is not usually necessary that it should be unfurled daily. The occasions for its display are within the judgment of the consular officer; but its use will be suggested on all national holidays of his own country and whenever it would indicate a becoming respect to the customs, festivals, or public ceremonies of the country to which he is accredited. (Paragraph 73.)

ARTICLE IV.

PRIVILEGES AND POWERS UNDER THE LAW OF NATIONS.

71. Have not privileges and immunities of diplomatic representatives. In the early middle ages, and before the establishment of more or less permanent legations, consuls appear to have enjoyed the right of exterritoriality and the privileges and immunities now accorded to diplomatic representatives. In non-Christian and semicivilized countries these privileges have, to a large degree, been preserved to them, and they have the sanction of both treaty and usage. Upon the establishment of legations, however, the exemptions and immunities granted to consuls came to be regarded as a limitation of the territorial rights of the sovereign, and they have in the process of time been restricted to such as are necessarily incident to the consular office, or have been provided for by treaty, or are supported by long-established custom or the particular laws of the place. A consular officer in civilized countries now has, under public law, no acknowledged representative or diplomatic character as regards the country to which he is accredited. He has, however, a certain representative character as affecting the commercial interests of the country from which he receives his appointment; and there may be circumstances, as, for example, in the absence of a diplomatic representative, which, apart from usage, make it proper for him to address the local government upon subjects which relate to the duties and rights of his office, and which are usually dealt with through a legation.

72. Rights and privileges sanctioned by custom and local law. Although consuls have no right to claim the privileges and immunities of diplomatic representatives, they are under the special protection of international law, and are regarded as the officers both of the state which appoints and the state

which receives them. The extent of their authority is derived from their commissions and their exequaturs. It is believed that the granting of the latter instrument, without express restrictions, confers upon a consul all rights and privileges necessary to the performance of the duties of the consular office. Generally, a consul may claim for himself and his office not only such rights and privileges as have been conceded by treaty, but also such as have the sanction of custom and local laws, and have been enjoyed by his predecessors or by consuls of other nations, unless a formal notice has been given that they will not be extended to him.

73. General privileges and rights. A consul may place the arms of his government over his doors. Permission to display the national flag is not a matter of right, though it is usually accorded, and it is often provided for by treaty. (Paragraph 70.) He may claim inviolability for the archives and official property of his office, and their exemption from seizure or examination. He is protected from the billeting of soldiers in the consular residence, and he may claim exemption from service on juries and in the militia and from other public duties. It is probable, however, that all these privileges could not be claimed for subordinate officers, espe cially for those who are citizens or subjects of the foreign state. The jurisdiction allowed to consuls in civilized countries over disputes between their countrymen is voluntary and in the nature of arbitration, and it relates more especially to matters of trade and commerce. A consul is, however, under public law, subject to the payment of taxes and municipal imposts and duties on his property in the country or on his trade, and generally to the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the country in which he resides. It is probable, if he does not engage in business and does not own real estate, that he would not be subject to arrest or incarceration, except on a criminal charge, and in the case of the commission of a crime

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »