Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization [1st ed.] 9783030428013, 9783030428020

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Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization Cami Green Hofstadter

Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization

Cami Green Hofstadter

Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization

Cami Green Hofstadter Miami, FL, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-42801-3 ISBN 978-3-030-42802-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Pivot imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

To my two sons, Bothwell and Sam, whose dual citizenship was instrumental in how they came to understand the nature of individual nations through the foreign consuls they encountered as mere children. And, to their wives, my daughters-in-law Carla and Elizabeth, whose exotic travels long before they married my beloved sons continue to add yet another perspective on the functional necessities of consuls.

Acknowledgments

It may be true that the curse of any author of a book of this nature is that she overlooks someone who helped smooth some phase of the writing process. Because of this fear, I’ve purposely not tried to include the names of every supportive librarian, who without fail managed to dig up the sometimes uncommon source material I requested. Specifically, without the assistance of those bibliothecaries who toil at Florida International University, Miami-Dade Public Library System, and the University of Miami, my task of writing a fact-filled but readable guide to the consular institution would not have been as enjoyable as it was. Above all, it wouldn’t have shown me that an indistinctive reference to “librarian” can be replaced by the refreshingly unfamiliar word of bibliothecary! The person who set me on course from the very beginning was Professor Jonathan D. Rosen (“The Losing War: Plan Colombia and Beyond”). His constant encouragement is proof that not everyone inside the academy fails to see the utility of an easy-to-read, but research-based, publication like this on a topic that could ostensibly include only theory. Showing the diversity of groups of learners who’ve already taken an interest in my approach to the role and nature of consuls are students in credit-based classes on international relations to participants in noncredit lifelong learning venues. For having me teach their students, special thanks to Dean Leonidas Bachas and Prof. Bradford R. McGuinn, both at the University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences, and Dr. Sherry Andre, Florida International University, OLLI. It’s the no-holds-barred questions

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voiced at these venues and others that helped me keep my subject matter on a practical level. Significant recognition must also go to Dr. John F. Stack Jr., Founding Dean of the School of International & Public Affairs at Florida International University who, very early, saw the value for all stakeholders of a close relationship between consuls and international affairs. Finally, I must acknowledge the many unnamed sources that provided invaluable information over many decades of my interactions with consuls. They include US State Department and other government officials; sitting and former diplomats like ambassadors; active and retired consuls; internationalists in fields such as commerce and culture; and, of course, innumerable representatives of higher education. The only regret I have is that my beloved husband, Donald, didn’t live to see this latest fruit of my lifelong passion for writing. I know how much pleasure it would have given him.

Introduction

We can barely look at a newspaper or watch TV today without some ordinary citizen or the ubiquitous politician blathering about such current topics as global interdependence between peoples and nations. Even the lofty goals of peace and cooperation can become part of the verbal volleys which, after a while, leave readers and listeners weary of ever changing the world. Sometimes there’ll even be a vague mention of local “diplomats” as if they were the only actors skilled enough to promote international understanding. But, then I noticed a consistently peculiar thing when the discussion veered into the territory of local consuls: writers and speakers didn’t know how to describe these officials or any other matter surrounding them. Were they diplomats, or not? What were they doing on location in the first place? Were they consuls, or of counsel somewhere else? From an early age, I and fellow Europeans who were born and grew up in the capital city of our respective countries got used to seeing large, shiny, and black vehicles—in my case, all Mercedes—chauffeuring someone who always appeared important. If you glanced at the rear of the passing car, you could see a white oval with the black letters CD or CC . I wasn’t more than six years or so when my father explained the meaning of these stickers. In keeping with the traditional language of international diplomacy, the former stood for Corps Diplomatique and the latter Corps Consulaire. He then went on to explain the basic difference between the two; one had to do with the diplomats affiliated with their country’s embassy in our capital. The other was for the consuls posted either at the

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consular section of the mission or at a separate consulate. His lesson stayed with me as I became increasingly fascinated with these two sets of seemingly inscrutable people. When my law school required a dissertation, my choice of topics came naturally: a discussion of the two international treaties (the first diplomatic and the second consular) recently adopted in Vienna where an agreement had been reached, two years apart, on the nature and status of diplomats and consuls. Countries had long followed customary international law for both institutions, but now it had been codified for each group into something concrete. Wasn’t this proof enough that the two branches of a nation’s foreign service were separate and distinct? The CD and the CC of my childhood had indeed been harbingers of what was to hold my future interest, although soon I knew I was going to make the consular area my main focus. That’s when I started a clumsy but enthusiastic correspondence with a professor by the name of Luke T. Lee in Washington, D.C., who at that time was the undisputable, academic expert in the subject. And, then I moved to America myself. When I accepted an appointment as consul for my former home country, my personal “mission” began. An avid people-watcher I soon noticed how civic and business leaders, academic professionals, and even local government officials were confused by the foreign consuls who were functioning in their cities. They didn’t seem to know, or even be concerned about, what I had been told as a young girl about the separateness of diplomatic and consular privilege, even though the consular presence was quite prevalent in my new American hometown. Occasionally, someone would point out that the real diplomats were attached to the embassies in Washington, D.C., and not spread out through all fifty states like the consuls but, still, it seemed like a comment that was irrelevant to the people dealing with the local consuls. After all, wasn’t everyone, regardless of profession or status, a diplomat of sorts—at a very minimum, a goodwill ambassador—for their home country. During my subsequent academic career, I was fortunate to continue to nourish my interest in the consular institution although I never formally taught the subject, only gave sporadic presentations or answered inquiries from consular colleagues, local leaders, and even out-of-state municipal officials. When I found myself annoyed by the tedium of repetitious responses, I made a time-saving effort to keep meticulous notes in preparation for concise advice which was easily understood by those who consulted me. The edited result of all that work eventually became available

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in my two prior books and one law journal article, where my pragmatic approach to the topic was designed to appeal to people with a variety of backgrounds, not theorists alone. The response to my writings validated what I believed—still do—was an ongoing need for practical information on the consular institution. When one professional reviewer observed that “American citizens are likely to be ignorant [about this subject] even though consuls may be located in their very communities,” it further inspired me to enlighten people everywhere on what it really means when someone is a “foreign consul” in the communities where they live and work. Moreover, I wanted to do it in the “informal yet authoritative” style the critic praised. Serendipitously, on the day I finished this manuscript, I was a guest at an event attended by a large number of consuls and business executives with significant credentials. When one of them took to the mike, he quite audibly referred to the consular officials in attendance as “councils,” further reinforcing my commitment to also reach beyond the academic community—just like my childhood days when my father taught me about the diplomats and consuls in our city. Except, my target was going to remain consular officials, not the diplomats mostly functioning in capitals around the world and, therefore, not holding the same practical relevance as consuls do with the general population. And, I was going to fight the assertion among some academics that a book like this must be written in the formal voice of the academy, lest it loses credibility. So, how does this text approach the topic? For one, and with the goal of educating and enlightening the broadest possible set of international constituents, the United States is no longer the designated state on the receiving end of consuls sent from abroad. It is, however, sometimes used as an illustration for what the Vienna Convention stipulates, although readers are cautioned not to take the treaty provisions as universally prevailing rules (“the last word”) because, at a very minimum, these must be modified according to other consular agreements that exist between nations. As in my prior consular writing, I’ve continued to maintain that correct terminology is vital to all knowledge. For instance, usage of the erroneous and misleading “council” or “counsel” to depict consuls and their institution prevents us from moving from an insufficient and superficial understanding to more useful insights into the functions performed by modern consuls. To avoid national biases, and in some cases keep country associations confidential, I use “Utopia” whenever a name is needed to illustrate a

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consular matter relating to a particular state. To provide for a smoother read, I’ve continued to use the masculine pronoun for a single consular official. This should in no way reflect on any gender bias, something I myself experienced as a (female) consul. Another format adjustment is in the deviations from the international treaty which adopted a hyphenated form for two consular titles and their offices. Mine is a purposeful omission, as it’s long been customary in the literature to drop the hyphen for these. Also, it avoids the bulkiness of some linguistic construction. Above all, and strictly speaking, since judicial matters are not part of the book, there’s no reason to treat even those portions of the subject that touch on legal mandates as something to be presented in a domestic court of law. Instead, my comments in that area are intended to be part of the vehicle used for prodding further into the consular institution, maybe even with the help of legal counsel, when necessary. Besides, we must not forget the concept of reciprocity in international diplomacy as it continually influences the outcomes of consular dilemmas. Ultimately, it’s what determines the way in which a nation receives and treats the foreign consuls within its borders. Finally, there are a couple of other things this text doesn’t pretend to be. While being a useful primer for globalists, it’s not a handbook for those already on the consular track of their country’s foreign service. Although some of the anecdotes I share come either from published recollections by someone currently or formerly in the career as a consul or diplomat, or from innumerable meetings with past or current consuls, or from my own experience as an honorary consul and secretary of a large consular corps, this publication looks at the consular institution as a distinct branch of a nation’s foreign service, independent of the diplomats selected for a variety of other reasons to advance the agenda of their head of state. While not targeting one category of consuls over the other, it doesn’t either seek to imitate works found in university libraries written by academics on the consular and/or diplomatic institution. Except for a couple of passing glances at history, the text does not include the application or selection process by foreign ministries around the world seeking qualified candidates to be sent abroad as consuls. Mainly, my approach to the consular institution is that of a two-way street requiring some sort of actions by the appropriate offices of each nation involved. To lay the groundwork for our understanding of it, I begin with a brief look at the historical and philological evolution of the person. This will then lead us to how legal and social considerations determine the global

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role of the modern consuls and the ways we can and should interact with them within the territory where they function. It’s my hope that I’m proving the old notion obsolete that a book of the nature I’ve described demands the combination of both formality and gravitas to be useful for everyone seeking a global perspective outside the academy. Even a serious subject like the consular institution can be presented in terms that are understandable to a wide audience of differing educational and national backgrounds, including life experiences.

Contents

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The Consular Institution

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The Consular Person

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What Consuls Do in Their Work

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Consuls in Civic and Other Organizations

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A Touch of Privileges and Immunities

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Consuls Popularized Through Time

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Notes

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Works Used

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Index

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CHAPTER 1

The Consular Institution

Abstract Worldwide and historically, consuls are initially explored in their generic sense without considering the two main consular classes consisting of career consuls or those who serve as honorary consuls. While probing the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) for its influence on the consular institution, the chapter includes a discussion on modifiers such as reciprocity, comity, universally accepted consular protocol, and domestic regulations of the receiving state. The collective term of “consul” is used without the specifics of differing ranks determined by their position as heads of consular posts and other designations of consular officers (such as consul general, vice consul). Instead, the discussion focuses on consuls as a permanent institution dedicated to international relations of a very specific nature bound by well-established rules and patterns of behavior. Although global “institutions” are quite visible through iconic physical structures like the UN building in NYC, the “consular institution” as an intangible concept that has no edifice still materializes in the myriad of consular buildings (or clearly marked divisions thereof) seen around the world: the consulates. To understand how the physical and the abstract meld together as an institution with relevance to all of us in today’s world, we must have a basic understanding of the historical consul. This noble goal is hampered by the fact that consular history is closely connected to the roots of diplomacy so that consuls are either considered the precursors to that form of international relations, or they evolved side by side with the diplomatic institution. The distinction between diplomats

© The Author(s) 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0_1

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attached to the embassy of a sending state and consuls posted to consulates sometimes far away from a nation’s capital is also made clear. Keywords Consular institution · Consular classes · Career consuls · Honorary consuls · Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) · Reciprocity · Comity · Consular protocol · Domestic regulations · Receiving state · Consular ranks · Head of consular post · Consul general · Vice consul · Consulates · Historical consul · Diplomats · Embassy · Sending state

Introduction Worldwide and historically, we look at “consuls” (at this point, this is a generic term without the specifics of differing ranks and nomenclatures for these foreign officials) as a permanent institution dedicated to international relations of a very specific nature bound by well-established rules and patterns of behavior. Although global “institutions” are quite visible through iconic physical structures like the UN building in NYC, the “consular institution” as an intangible concept that has no edifice still materializes in the myriad of consular buildings (or clearly marked divisions thereof) seen around the world: the consulates. To understand how the physical and the abstract meld together as an institution with relevance to all of us in today’s world, we must have a basic understanding of the historical consul. But, as one credible source claimed, this noble goal is hampered by the fact that these records are closely connected to the roots of diplomacy so that consuls are either considered the precursors to that form of international relations, or they evolved side by side with the diplomatic institution.

History As any study of times gone by is often replete with information that baffles and confounds, consular history is particularly so, as I just mentioned, because it’s enmeshed with the records on diplomacy. It wasn’t until nations around the world decided their official representation abroad should be organized as two distinct tracks—one for diplomats, one for consuls—that domestic records began reflecting this duality. In

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1868, France, the undisputed leader in diplomatic affairs, began requiring an entrance exam for anyone aspiring to be a consul, thereby creating a merit-based system of selection that’s the standard in most countries today. It’d take the United States till 1924 to adopt the same model, often serving as a current example for emerging new states, like the recently independent Eastern European countries that lack the traditions of an already-existing system of diplomatic and consular relations. Historians usually like to go back to somewhere in the millennia leading up to the beginning of the Common Era (more exactly in the years 5000 to 3500 BCE) to begin their search for the point when men acting like consuls can claim their place in history. Although warring tribes in China and Mesopotamia were already then sending messengers of a diplomatic nature between each other to negotiate for peace, they didn’t yet hold the diplomatic title of “ambassadors.” Nor does the term consul appear in the annals of that ancient period. As I choose among the amusing details of history (not to say, “fun facts”) I’m quite aware of having been taken to task in one of my previous writings for not pinning the birth date of the consular institution to Greek colonists a thousand years BCE. The fact is that existing literature can’t agree on that either. Some writers cautiously approach the dilemma by using a word like “precursors” (of the consular institution), but for purposes of this text, we’ll cross over the threshold to the Common Era (the “AD” centuries). Here, we find people who acted consul-like, without the title but performing tasks we now consider “consular.” The obvious question then becomes what status, if any, a backward-looking title might confer on a person. While not attempting an answer, I acknowledge instead that those “consuls” of old continue to confuse us, the modern people, with the endless variations of their historical role. For this book, I prefer to side with scholars who tie the consular roots to what’s often referred to as the “Roman period,” which covers the epoch of the Roman Kingdom, Republic, and Empire, and runs roughly from 509 BCE to 1453 AD (“Middle Ages”) when the extensive empire dissolved. One writer has used the activities from that period to categorize the “consuls” (with and without the title) as follows: consuls of traders; of the sea; as tribunals; and at sea. This brief example already draws attention to the importance of exact language since “of” (the sea) and “at” (sea) show two different historical functions, the former relating mainly to maritime conflicts and the latter to the role of a consul when traveling with caravans of ships.

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As Chapter 2 will show us, history still hasn’t put to rest other linguistic dilemmas relative to the modern consul. Although the nature of consular officials during the “Roman period” can’t be captured in a simple way, and since their duties varied with the geography of the Roman Kingdom, Republic, or Empire, it’s known that the Republic was ruled by two consuls who shared the power. Mainly, they were magistrates who presided over administrative, legislative, and judicial matters. When, in 1060, the city-state of Venice began sending consuls to major trade hubs abroad they were also given the authority as judges over fellow Venetians residing outside the Roman territory. As we’ll see in Chapter 5, a modified form of that concept of extra-territoriality is still with us today as consuls are entitled to limited privileges and immunities in the foreign country where they are posted. In 1299, after the rise of the Ottoman Empire, consuls were also asked by their home government (today’s consular parlance, “sending state”) to report on trade negotiations with the Sultan and the overall conditions in his vast land (which we mostly know as Turkey today). By 1453, when the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople from the eastern part of the Roman Empire, trade routes expanded in other directions than the east. With that, the role of the Roman representatives changed. With the coup d’état of Napoleon in 1799, the history of the consular institution took yet another turn. The “consulate” appeared as a form of government where the supreme executive power was held by three men with the title of consul. In a referendum three years later, the transformational French statesman was made “First Consul for Life,” a position he only held for two years till he crowned himself Emperor of France, the nation he ruled till he was exiled in 1814. Although not necessarily copying the Napoleonic model, other countries also concentrated the highest governmental power in one or more persons with the consular title. Paraguay (an independent nation from 1811) is but one example of this arrangement as it was periodically governed by three “Consuls of the Republic” till the mid-nineteenth century. With the tremendous growth in the industrial and maritime trades, consular officials everywhere began regaining their original importance as trade facilitators and protectors of their fellow citizens. In fact, Chapter 3 will show how those two areas of activities define how we generally understand the consular institution today, although the originally illustrious status of these “consul-type” men had started to fade at a much earlier time

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in history. For instance, beginning with the late ninth century, their role had become more honorific, such as overseeing the opening of chariot races;—here we can already see a similarity with the prominence consuls enjoy in many social circles today. Meanwhile, and just like now, ambassadors were serving as the direct personal representatives of their own sovereign to a foreign head of state dealing with top-level policy matters while consuls continued to maintain their original functions. As if to aggrandize them, French statesman Chateaubriand (before his death in 1848) stated that the time of the ambassadors had passed and that of consuls had arrived. Still, it’d take more than a century for most of the world to formally clarify and adopt separate rules for the two branches of a nation’s foreign representation;—the consular and the diplomatic service. No longer would consuls be confused with ambassadors, except by some who still today lack the knowledge and perhaps the understanding of the differences in function and protected status. As I mentioned earlier, only certain dates have been included to give some context to the history of the consular institution. Or, better yet, the genesis of a consular system that operated long before the modern formalization of it in 1963. That was the year when the delegates from ninety-five nations convened in Vienna, Austria to adopt a multilateral treaty on consular relations (the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; henceforth referred to as VCCR). Clearly choosing to stay away from any controversy involving the exact birth of the consular institution, the participants adopted a formal Preamble to this document where they recognized these interactions “between peoples” had been in existence “since ancient times.” The problem is, of course, that the concept of “ancient” is much too subjective to pinpoint an indisputable date, even within a century. The dilemma also takes us back to the unresolved philosophical question if a historical person without the actual consular title can be considered a consul in today’s meaning of the word, when there’s evidence of him having performed some functions that only retroactively resemble those of a modern consul. Like other academics, I believe that merely holding a title in days gone by doesn’t necessarily a historical consul make. If his duties were such that they simply aren’t compatible with the way in which modern consuls function, we can either look at them as an unconventional and amusing part of history or we can say that because there’s no justification for

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the functions he was expected to perform, the title-holder—regardless of what history calls him—doesn’t warrant any further scrutiny in this book. Take for example, two tidbits of history for which it’s impossible to find a parallel to the role of the consuls of today even as they strive, in the words of the Vienna delegates, to foster friendship and peace between nations, “irrespective of their differing constitutional and social systems.” That would have been a tall order for a horse and a four-year old child! In records of the past, these anecdotes have the Roman Emperor Caligula (37–41AD) deciding to make his beloved stallion a consul, and the pope having named a young boy consul to Rome in 853. History doesn’t disclose how these two consular selections—one equine, the other infantile— might have worked out for the horse or the child. Or, for the Romans. As entertaining as these tales may be, they also point us to the early reason for why a consular position was so highly valued, although it waxed and waned through the centuries. Often protégés or relatives of the emperor, Roman consuls were sometimes self-appointed or heirs to the title, and they also controlled some parts of the church. Soldiers had to swear an oath of allegiance to a consul, who, because he led legions into combat, often died on the battle field himself, leading to vacant consular positions that, because they had to be filled, led to all kinds of politicking and calls for favors. Beyond what I’ve already mentioned, there’s no reason in a book of this nature to present further arguments for or against an exact point for the birth of the consular institution as we understand it today. Still, with my brief historical timeline in the background, one question of practical consequence remains: when might the modern consular title as we apply it today have been used for the first time? The usual assumption is that this doesn’t take place until the fourteenth century, although at least one researcher pinpoints it to 1117 AD. Others are more general with their statement that “twelfth century” is sufficient. The word itself, consul, comes from a Latin transitive verb that translates into “consult” or “take counsel [from],” which is somewhat ironic considering how one early Greek historian wrote about consul-like representatives in the two centuries leading up to the beginning of the Common Era, that they were as powerful as kings. Surely, royalty from that period—in this case, with the consular analogy—didn’t need to “take counsel from” anyone.

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Widespread, But Not Universal, Rules Even though some common rules had evolved over the years, it’d take centuries for universally accepted standards to define the role of consular officials who represented their country in another nation. A 1769 commercial agreement between France and Spain is often held up as the first modern attempt at legislating consular matters, but this was a bilateral rather than a multilateral arrangement. Much more than a century passed before the time was ripe for a regional definition of the status and nature of consuls. This occurred during the Sixth International Conference of American States in Havana in 1928, when the main item on the agenda was the generic “consular agent.” Still, it would take another thirty-five years (till Vienna, in 1963) before a much larger number of nations revisited the consular institution as a whole. The difficulty of the task facing the delegates to the Vienna conference is apparent in the written record of the proceedings, which was preceded by a lengthy pre-convention process. To some it may seem like this is evidence of how nations can engage in seemingly endless debates over matters that make little sense to the uninitiated, but to others the philosophical and philological debates alone are fascinating proof of how the consular institution can be interpreted in many different ways. With the Cold War raging between the two superpowers (the Soviet Union and the United States), the eventual codification of existing customary consular law at that time was also made much more complicated by five official treaty languages (English, French, Chinese, Russian and Spanish). Still, the convention is almost universally adopted today (as of 2019, 180 nations have signed on), but contrary to what some believe, it’s not the final and absolute authority on all consular matters. Governments may— and they continue to do so—rely on other agreements to further refine or define their consular relations. Often, additional clarification is found in what’s usually called a Friendship, Commerce and Consular Treaty between two countries, and in the binding instructions by governments to their consular representatives abroad. Adopted two years after the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (henceforth, abbreviated as VCDR), the VCCR used some—but never rubber-stamped—previously debated rules on diplomats as an argument in the discussion on consuls. For instance, when the topic for the delegates was the unique group of consuls called a corps, records show that the earlier (diplomatic) convention served as a basis for their

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decision to omit any mention of it in the proposed document. Still, there’s a common—but quite mistaken—belief, even among consuls themselves, that the final version of both treaties references either the diplomatic and/or the consular corps. Regardless, both have remained groups of great interest among a variety of constituents, particularly the former that are in capitals around the world. In Chapter 4 I’ll explore the consular corps among civic organizations relevant to consuls. At this point, only one pressing distinction must be maintained between the VCDR and the VCCR: the unmistakably separate nature of ambassadors/diplomats and consuls. This partition must be kept in mind throughout the text, although today’s academic literature sometimes argues for a future of overlaps. For the moment, suffice it to give one example of shared characteristics of consuls whose career is in the foreign service of their home states and their conationals working as diplomats at one of their embassies abroad: the prohibition for both against personally profiting from any professional or commercial activity in the foreign nation where they’re posted (the “receiving state”). It can’t be emphasized enough that the VCCR, although it codified existing consular law at the time, isn’t a super-law containing all the answers needed to understand consuls and the functions they perform. Any consular dispute encountered by leaders of all kinds—and I’m not speaking of a legal case likely to end up before a judge—should be approached with the humility that comes from knowing that those treaty provisions are complemented by rules found in already mentioned bilateral or other multilateral agreements. In addition to these, or in place thereof, previously settled court cases (precedents referred to as “case law” under the common law system) may have to be considered. As I’ve already noted, the instructions consular officials receive from their sending governments may also contribute to the interpretation of a situation involving them. And then there’s the matter of customary law, reciprocity, and comity;—the last one consisting of overall civility, courtesy, and accepted protocol. The failure to apply any of these universal commands may have unexpected consequences for the conduct of diplomacy in all its forms. An illustration of the sometimes hard-to-understand, and sometimes extreme, concept of reciprocity in consular relations (and diplomatic, for that matter) was shared with a group of consuls by a high official in the government of the hosting country. A real-live scenario, it involved an arrest for drunk driving of a conational who claimed immunity for the

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position he explicitly referred to as a consulship for the nation of Utopia. As if that argument wasn’t enough, he added that his uncle, who was chief of police in Utopia, would detain five employees at the embassy of the state that arrested him unless he was released. Although immunity was granted to him, effectively based on a simple adage of reciprocity (“we’ll do this for you so you’ll do the same for us.”), the case did not have a happy ending for the consular imposter, but that’s another story.

Diplomacy This is not the place to dwell on the academic discussion about the taxonomy of diplomacies (e.g., consular v. civic diplomacy; public v. private diplomacy). Instead, and to approach the consular institution from a practical perspective, my choice is to draw a line between the very public nature of one category of foreign consuls (career) and that of other consular officers (honorary) whose dual role sometimes makes it difficult to know when and how to interact with them “diplomatically.” In other words, does each group command any special courtesies, and if so, why and how? Here again, some theorists believe the topic is too banal for the understanding of the modern consul, although history—and since 1963, the VCCR—shows the relevance of universal rules for where consuls fit in the strata of international officials such as themselves. In the situations directly affecting consuls, there’s commonly a social agreement on the many ways their position is respected by local communities including how powerful officials respond to an individual consul’s efforts to gain advantages not available to his colleagues. For instance, a consular representative at an official event might expect or even insist on a seat next to the mayor, whereas another believes his own position entitles him to that honor. Rules of civic diplomacy take the biases out of the response and can settle a dispute with tact and finesse, although more than one top-ranking diplomat (ambassador) has commented on the futility of pleasing everyone. In cities with a large group of local consuls there’s often attached to the mayor’s office a part-time protocol officer whose special focus is the official conduct in consular situations. After all, since residents of a hosting country are much less likely to interact with sitting ambassadors (or UN officials) than with consuls, the very rigid diplomatic protocol doesn’t have much practical value in sometimes distant locations from a nation’s capital. Solely relevant to this text is what

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some have disparagingly called the “lesser” significance of consular precedence, although, as we’ll see, the Vienna delegates took the basic ranking of consuls quite seriously. In a formal sense, matters of protocol were set in motion two centuries ago (1815) when, after the Napoleonic Wars, European diplomats jousted for the highest positions in the peace negotiations at the Congress of Vienna. At that time, nations were ranked according to their size, with the related but fluid notion of “influence” feeding the ongoing rivalry. To settle the order of importance—the precedence—seven rules were adopted wherein it was finally agreed that the pope no longer preceded kings and ambassadors and that each nation was to be listed alphabetically. It’s been written that the United States later made a “happy philological discovery” when, for the Peace Conference in 1907, with the help of the diplomatic language of French, its designation of “Amerique” instead of “États-Unis” moved its representatives to a perceived higher position. Even today, diplomats and consuls will pay close attention to how they are recognized as officials of their countries in receiving lines, during introductions, and at such high-stakes events as dinners hosted by a head of state. In the words of one modern authority, because some people in public life, and that would include consuls, are more influential than others, “procedural harmony” must be the goal for a universal desire to get close to those at the centers of power. A free-for-all struggle for access could only be unfair to everyone. Using the United States as an example, it fixes (as do other nations) its own protocol for a wide variety of top officials and foreign representatives although there’s no “official protocol” in the country. Among a broad set of other duties, a designated office is charged with maintaining a precedence list, the order of which may vary from administration to administration. The only purpose of the brief mention of it here is to reiterate the importance of protocol for international diplomacy. Still, the necessity of it may be best shown in how the UN handles membership and visiting dignitaries. Although seniority isn’t the determining factor of rank—like it’s in the international arena of consuls—the large size of the organization has demanded that a potentially explosive situation be resolved by set rules of protocol (which, in this case, includes alphabetizing by country). It’s frequently been said that if we can only reach an agreement on the values and ideas of overlapping cultures it’d outweigh the need for any civic formalities that are, at a minimum, part of social decorum. History

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shows us that such naïve expectations create voids that are often filled by unsophisticated, sometimes quite crude, attempts at international awareness. The solution here is what’s been called the regulating mechanism of diplomacy, which for purposes of our interactions with the foreign consuls in our communities may be referred to as civic diplomacy or, better yet, consular protocol. The tool for successfully engaging in it is an understanding of rank and precedence based on internationally accepted principles. Referring to these two concepts in 1669, Sir Temple, a British statesman, made the prophetic and still astute observation that formal rituals are for facilitating, not hindering (business). Although consular protocol or its lesser forms of rules of behavior, social etiquette and decorum, can be politicized (due to national customs, values, and even the times) it’s still the only reliable interface between the sending country and all locales with a consular presence. While assisting society in equalizing different national and ethnic backgrounds of consuls, it also provides acceptable routine solutions in situations that might otherwise induce anger and disappointment. Someone has described it as a sign-language that shows a distinguished person (for our purposes, a consul) that the country he represents is held in respect and treated with dignity. In fact, the use of precedence per se can be a significant contributing factor in the success or failure of civic diplomacy, as the following real-live incident shows: Wanting to present plans for a new international venture, a local government held a reception for community leaders. Among the handful of consuls in attendance was the Consul of Utopia, an official with a long history of illustrious service to his country throughout the world. The usual introduction of politicians was followed by an erratic recognition of the consuls by name and the countries they represented. When the presence of the Utopian consul wasn’t even minimally acknowledged, he was offended and didn’t return to hear future progress reports on the project. He had, as he later shared with his colleagues, gone to the initial event in his official capacity and not to have his personal status enhanced. Many years later, another consul put it quite succinctly and publicly at a city ceremony where he was being honored by three different mayors, “This is not about me, but my country.” On the surface of it, the idea of creating and abiding by an order of precedence for anyone, including foreign officials like consuls, seems to fly in the face of egalitarianism and twenty first century democracy. Nevertheless, the VCCR contains the international rules for the determination of rank (as does the VCDR in the diplomatic arena). Thus, all heads of

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consular posts (“in each class”), assume an order of precedence based on the date they received their formal permission to function as a consul in the receiving state. I believe the rest of the provisions shows the seriousness with which the delegates in Vienna considered consular ranking, because the relevant treaty article (16) is quite detailed with contingencies for several possible scenarios. To appreciate the rationale behind the rules, and to overcome the charge that this subject is irrelevant to understanding the consular institution, we should remind ourselves that civil society has long operated with basic rules of behavior for a plethora of inter-cultural instances. How much stronger, then, is the need for a specific touchstone for how consuls are received and understood in a nation other than their native one. In Chapter 4 we’ll consider the international rules of precedence that guide our interactions with them. At this point in our text, we haven’t yet established who these objects of special attention are, these foreign officials who are the consular institution but sometimes confound us even more by being conational residents in a foreign location. The question we must now pursue is the meaning of the generic “consul,” and the concept of mutuality as a vital component of the institution.

CHAPTER 2

The Consular Person

Abstract Before someone becomes a consul attached to a specific consular post abroad, there may either be an already-existing consulate or one in the process of being approved by the receiving state. This chapter establishes when a consul comes into being insofar as the receiving state goes. Although each sending state has its own requirements for how it selects its consuls (including a consul general and vice consul) to represent it on the territory of another state, the candidate for a certain post must still be approved by the receiving state, usually through a specially designated office (sometimes with “protocol” in its name) within that country’s foreign ministry or department of state. The requirement for consent means this is a two-way street, not a unilateral action whereby a foreign nation could establish a consulate at will in another country. Career consuls go through a thorough educational process with the home government’s foreign service, while honorary consuls chosen from local citizens residing in the area where the appointing nation wishes to open a consulate may or may not receive instruction in their role. Under the terms of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations consuls in each category are referred to as a “consular officer.” Because of a world-wide growth in the number of honorary consuls, the nature of these officials is included in this chapter with the understanding that consular titles are obscured by a great variety of existing titular references that confuse and confound potential stakeholders in consular matters. Among the titles held by a consular officer is trade or education commissioner, adjunct consul, alternate consul, consular attaché, consular correspondent, consular functionary, consular © The Author(s) 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0_2

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mandatory, consul general at large, deputy consul, deputy consul general, deputy vice consul, emissary, junior consul, and vice consul general. The length of their service within any given consular jurisdiction is contingent on many factors, such as those provided in the consul’s commission by the sending state. In addition to the organic reasons for termination of service (i.e., transfer to another consular post or retirement), a consul can also be declared persona non grata by the receiving state. Keywords Consular person · Consul · Consular post · Consulate · Receiving state · Sending state · Consul general · Vice consul · Consular candidate · Consular protocol · Career consuls · Honorary consuls · Appointing state · Vienna Convention on Consular Relations · Consular officer · Consular titles · Trade or education commissioner · Adjunct consul · Consul general at large · Deputy consul · Deputy consul general · Junior consul · Consular jurisdiction · Commission · Termination of service · Transfer · Retirement · Persona non grata

Introduction Before someone becomes a consular person attached to a specific post abroad, there may either be an already-existing consulate or a new office in the process of being approved by the receiving state. The requirement for consent means this is a two-way street, not a unilateral action whereby a foreign nation could establish a consulate at will in another country. But, when there’s already an existing diplomatic exchange of embassies on the territory of each of the two states involved, there’s also an implied consent to a consular relationship (unless otherwise stated in the initial agreement). Each nation has its own requirements for how it selects its consular representatives to represent it on the territory of another state;—some go through a thorough educational process, while others may not. The latter is particularly true with newly established nations that haven’t had the time or resources to develop an effective foreign service. Once selected for a post abroad, the person must still be approved by the receiving state, usually through a special office (sometimes with “protocol” in its name) within the foreign ministry or department of state. People unfamiliar with the accreditation process have been known to erroneously believe

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the main or sole purpose of that office is the decorum, etiquette, and formal protocol surrounding consuls (and diplomats). While, in the past, the Office of Protocol at the US Department of State did indeed handle the approval of consuls from abroad, this duty has now been assumed by the Office of Foreign Missions.

The Beginning The VCCR defines a “consular officer” as a person entrusted with the exercise of consular functions causing one writer to point out—rightfully so—that the word “entrusted” in this context could lead to the absurdity of someone performing consular duties within the territory of his home country. This is, of course, a major contradiction of the main premise of the consular institution, which is based on consuls carrying out their functions in another nation than their own. The EU (at the time of this writing, twenty-eight member states), in its own Convention on Consular Relations (ECCR), avoided this linguistic quagmire by adding the words “and admitted by the receiving State,” which highlights the bilateralism of the consular institution. Signed in 1967 and having taken effect in 2011, the treaty doesn’t lay down the process itself, but gives additional insight through definitions such as the sending state (“means the Contracting Party by whom a consular officer is appointed.”), which further establishes the mutuality of the arrangement. Here, the VCCR is silent. In addition to the full name of the new consul, the approval of the receiving state shall “as a general rule” show his category (career or honorary), class (consul general, consul, or vice consul), the consular district (the geographic reach, also called jurisdiction, or an “operational area” that may extend far beyond the city where the consulate is located), and the seat of the post (the physical location of the consulate). Subsequent changes in the above specifications (category, class, jurisdiction, and seat) also require consent. Historically, and this is still true in some nations although no longer in the United States, it’s been customary for the approval of a new consul from abroad to be given in the shape of an official document called an exequatur. The modern custom is now for the receiving state to simply respond in a less formal manner. Thus, when I was approved by the “receiving state” my ambassador simply notified me in a brief letter of the US consent. The lack of strict formality was also evident when, later, I received my certificate of commission signed by my

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foreign minister. Not only did it pale in comparison with the impressivelooking documents that some of my colleagues proudly displayed on their office wall, but the accompanying English translation unceremoniously (and incorrectly) referred to me as “Mr.” In other countries, the format of the commissioning document from the sending state to one of its consuls varies from “to whom it may concern” to a personalized certificate adorned by foil paper and golden seals. It may even be signed by a head of state, although more commonly by someone in a high government position like the minister of foreign affairs. Because the VCCR doesn’t deal with the manner of approval, it’s of no assistance with the process itself. With the United States as a mere illustration, readers from other nations may contemplate how matters specific to it may apply to their own governments with country-specific modifications. The US process began in 1780 when the Continental Congress representing the thirteen colonies sent its first consul abroad (to France) although it’d take eight years for King Louis XVI to reciprocate with his commission of a consul to the newly independent America. Since then, due to a system of federalism, the process has evolved although the conduct of foreign relations (including consular representation) remains in the hands of the central government, rather than with individual states. Today, when a foreign nation wants to open a consulate in a new location on US territory, the federal (not state) government may consider such items as the actual need by the sending state. The written justification for a new consular office may also show how essential the desired geographic area (“consular jurisdiction”) is for the petitioning nation. This is done by outlining the degree and significance of economic, commercial, scientific, cultural, or educational interests of the sending state, and the need to assist its local nationals. As mentioned before, today all fifty states are hosts to at least one consulate, with the geographic reach of some offices being anywhere from several states to a few counties, or even just one. The documentation must also contain a proposed title of the person suggested as a consular officer. This is where anyone—regardless of how exposed to international diplomacy he’s been as a government, civic, business, or educational leader—wishes the VCCR had settled the issue of consular titles in more detail. Moreover, anyone turning to the Web would soon be utterly confused by the discovery of consular titles and other terms being seized by marketers such as a rehab facility billing itself

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as “national leading provider of senior healthcare services;” the ubiquitous reference to the non-existent “consultate;” several real estate agencies (“consul”); and a restaurant (“consulate”). As we’ll see in Chapter 6, history also amuses us with the consular title applied to a species of butterflies, a typewriter, a car, a washing machine, and even designer sneakers. Unfortunately, correct titles for the personage of consuls offer little help in situations where protocol is applied. Although the VCCR ranks heads of post (as consul general, consul, vice consul), it also adds the clause that signatories may, with the approval of the receiving state, use any other title for consuls who aren’t heads of post. Hence, confusion about the nature of a person with that lower rank is often created because of unusual and hard-to-understand titular names. Here are a few examples, in no specific order other than alphabetical: adjunct consul, alternate consul, consular attaché, consular correspondent, consular functionary, consular mandatory, consul general at large, deputy consul, deputy consul general, deputy vice consul, emissary, junior consul, and vice consul general. Some trade or education commissioners with consular status also fit here. The occasionally uttered moniker for a female consul—“consulette”—is both improper and non-existent, and the commonly heard word for the office of a consul—consulate—is never a title of the person. Most recently, when an immigration attorney was quoted in a newspaper story with his use of “consular” as a noun (“a consular’s decision”), he added his lack of understanding of the consular sphere to the trove of inaccuracies that surrounds the subject. Among the two universal branches of consuls—the career and the honorary—the latter seems to be more commonly mystifying as it stands unique in many aspects, but even so it’s difficult to identify without any additional knowledge. We could, in theory at least, use as a test the international prohibition for career (but not honorary) officers against carrying out for personal profit any professional or commercial activity in the receiving state. Unfortunately, even that doesn’t conclusively determine status. Take, for instance, a consul trading in the stock market; if he makes daily adjustments to his investments, generating huge profits along the way, does this mean he must be an honorary consul? Does the situation change if, at the end of the year, he’s had an overall loss? Or is he simply a career officer violating the rules against engaging in any kind of potentially profitable business?

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Sometimes, the division between the two categories (career v. honorary) may be quite obvious although the only truly reliable way to confirm if a person represents a foreign nation as an active consul in a career or honorary position is to get proof from one or both of the governments concerned. Up-to-date names and status of honorary consuls can often be particularly hard to come by, because of notorious delays by some superior offices or even foreign embassies when asked to comply with the request for verification. Depending on political undercurrents and other matters in the sending states, the data may even be inaccurate. After all, updating vital information on a longstanding honorary consul in a small community far away from the receiving state’s seat of government may not hold any interest to a newly arrived ambassador just posted in the capital, particularly when this placement is caused by a drastic change in his home government and his focus is on the ongoing political upheaval. A recent example of the difficulty of confirming the standing of a person claiming to be a lawful consul is closely tied in with the muchpublicized efforts by the president of Venezuela to hold on to his position. The foreign service officers who had served under him found themselves having to choose sides, leading one consul general to make a public statement that he had “defected” from the prior regime to the new, presumably legitimate sovereign and that’s why he was functioning as usual. While this is not the forum for a discussion on whether that consul is the true official representative for his country or not, it surely shows how an unexpected, but very real, complexity may determine when a person is a consul or not. An older but still instructive example comes from the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1940 when the king’s personal representative (the ambassador) to President Roosevelt in Washington, refused to resign after the new rulers took control of his home country. Instead, he urged other Danish envoys and consuls around the world to follow his example and stay in their posts. While some did and others did not, the question relevant to us remains one of legitimacy: who were “the real” consular officials? Our understanding of the two universal divisions of heads of post (career and honorary) may also be muddled by the fact that they don’t stand alone in the VCCR but the treaty goes on to divide each into specific groups called classes. This leads to the existence of persons who are either consuls general, consuls, or vice consuls on the career or honorary side of the institution (my omission of consular agent is intentional

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throughout, because of infrequent usage and the resemblance to an honorary consul). The corresponding office headed by one of them is a consulate general, consulate, vice consulate. By way of one example only, an indisputably unambiguous reference would then be “honorary vice consul X” or “you’ll have to visit Mr. X at the honorary vice consulate.” As I mentioned in the Introduction, since the cumbersome treaty style of hyphenating consul general and vice consul has generally been dropped in the literature, I’ve chosen to do the same. Also, unless an exact title is relevant to a specific discussion, the generic “consul” is the word of choice. Although the above classes are quite clearly laid out in the VCCR, a widespread mistake often made by consuls themselves, is the nonsensical juxtaposition of “consuls general” with honorary consuls since this totally disregards the fact that there are plenty of honorary consuls general. At least one country received approval from the receiving state for its honorary consul to be elevated to honorary consul general, although the real goal might have been to ensure more visibility (and perhaps increased prestige) through the new designation. Surprisingly, career consuls—the highest on the ranking scale of the two categories of consular officials— have also been contrasted with honorary consuls by naming the former “non-honorary.” No wonder there’s overall confusion. If, instead of the expected approval of a consular post or person, there’s a rejection from the receiving state, there’s no obligation to give a reason for it. The outcome is simply communicated through diplomatic channels at the embassy of the consular nominee. Since consuls are not personal representatives of a foreign sovereign (like ambassadors are), refusal to accept a candidate does not usually develop into a politically charged matter. Also, it’s important to understand that all consuls must represent a recognized sovereign state. Among those who have tried but were rejected by the United States for lack of national legitimacy are so-called representatives of “the Moorish Consulate,” the “Principality of Sealand,” and the “United Dominions of Heaven.” I also recall reading about someone unsuccessfully seeking accreditation as an ambassador for an American Indian tribe. As we’ve seen, the consular institution is based on mutual agreement between two countries. Hence, there’s no such thing (although I’ve witnessed it myself) as a person unilaterally declaring himself a “consul” in a community where his status may not even be challenged. Accuracy with

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the beginning and end of any consular position may also be quite relevant, such as when someone is under suspicion of impersonating a consular official. In one case, the press asked a long-terminated honorary consul about his term of office. His brazen response was that while he had retired his commission, he was still “active;” a nonsensical statement never challenged by the journalist.

End of Functions The term of a consul may come to an end for a variety of reasons, such as when the receiving state revokes its approval or requests that a consular commission is withdrawn by the sending state. In a worst-case scenario, the consul can find himself being declared formally undesirable, a persona non grata. His home government shall then, within a reasonable time, either terminate his functions or recall him, while accepting that the designation of the current consul as an unwelcome person may be a reflection on a much larger dilemma that’s best resolved through diplomatic means. On the other hand, if a consul serving in an honorary capacity is at risk of having his acceptance withdrawn by the “receiving” state (quotation marks are appropriate in this context, since the consul is usually a citizen of the country where he functions as an honorary official), the matter is normally resolved quietly without engaging high-level diplomatic personnel. As we’ll see below, there’s no controlling for the media, though. When a consul is transferred to another country (often with an interim stay at the home office), his functions will, in that sense, “end” in the country he’s leaving. Depending on arrangements with his own government, he may retain his consular status if his foreign service contract permits. There’s no universal length of the term of office and some outcomes can depend on matters such as performance and even modern versions of nepotism and favoritism. One career consul general in a major business hub was allowed to remain for more than a decade in his position because of his kinship with the president of his home country. Meanwhile his colleagues around the world were routinely transferred between posts after serving in one place for 4–5 years. If diplomatic relations are broken off between a consul’s home government and that of the receiving state, there’s no automatic end to the term of a functioning consul. In fact, a consulate remaining open under those circumstances can serve as an avenue to the re-opening of a closed embassy. After their term formally ends, some consuls have been known to unilaterally attach emeritus after their former title. Common in the academic

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and non-profit world where it’s usually done through proper procedure, this honorific addition must not be assumed by that person himself. One consul didn’t spare any words when his post-service letterhead said he had been an honorary consul general in good standing for more than three decades and was “to this day Honorary Consul General Emeritus (retired).” We’ll never know if he genuinely equaled retirement with the self-conferred title or if the bogus honorific was ever challenged.

Security Considerations One reason for the rejection of an intended post or consul is purely a matter of practical considerations for the receiving state, maybe even selfpreservation: security. Since it’s a well-established, universal principle of international law that the hosting state is charged with the protection of consular premises and officials, the number and size of posts must be manageable from a realistic, even fiscal, standpoint. The VCCR refers to the special duty to prevent any disturbance of the peace at a career post or “impairment of (its) dignity,” although one wonders how premises can enjoy dignity in the first place. Perhaps clarifying the intent, at least in the English version of the treaty, it also directs the receiving state to take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on the consul’s person, freedom or “dignity.” Examples of threats from which consuls must be protected are the potential violence caused by demonstrations by their offices, or in some reported cases, their residences. At one time, my local police department with its limited resources had to get involved with my safety when it was my consular position (albeit honorary, and for a non-controversial country) that made a man track me down at my temporary residence where he proceeded with his loud and irrational request for “asylum from the consul.” Police officers in two cars and on one motorcycle managed to resolve this potential threat to my well-being without any further harm than my own fear of a different outcome in the future. Regardless, any situation that’s a domestic threat to a consul is a challenge to law enforcement, which must consider all its actions against potential claims of human rights and free speech violations, which may sometimes be difficult to resolve to the satisfaction of the nations involved. The receiving state may also weigh possible security risks against the diplomatic or economic benefits of allowing the establishment of consulates within its territory in the first place. Although, under some

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circumstances (to be discussed in Chapter 5) there’s general inviolability of these offices, it may sometimes be broken. As seen in the excerpt from Tequesta Journal (Chapter 4), actual bombings have been serious enough to make foreign governments even threaten to close their consulates.

Lawyers Asking About Consuls During my years as an active foreign consul in South Florida, I was at first surprised when I started receiving calls from civic organizations, municipal offices, and private individuals wanting to verify the current status of a consul. As secretary of the Consular Corps of Miami I maintained and oversaw the records of the group, but they were based on information I received from Washington and were not official. The question we struggled with as a group, but never resolved to the satisfaction of everyone with a vested interest in the answer, was always what documentation was sufficient to show active status: ID-cards issued by an embassy or a state office; a consular car license plate; a diplomatic passport from the person’s home country? Some people with the latter documentation also believed erroneously that they were automatically entitled to diplomatic status, which created an additional legal conundrum. Frequently, callers were lawyers serving as honorary consuls themselves but with little insight into the consular institution, specifically their own status under international and domestic rules. Since the consular institution hadn’t been taught at their law schools, their questions were quite like those coming from callers without any legal background. But all had one thing in common: they wanted something reasonable and yet authoritative to initially understand their dilemma. A piece I had written for an international law journal (Counsel, Consul, or Diplomat: Is There Any Practical Significance for Practitioners?, 1 U. Miami Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 143 [1991]) then became a handy lead-in for lawyers and non-lawyers to do further research on a multitude of consular issues, not all of them relating to the law but, rather, to the practical understanding of consuls. Here’s an adapted excerpt from the journal: https://repository.law. miami.edu/umiclr/vol1/iss1/9/ Picture the following: one of your major clients wakes you up at midnight with a characteristic call to action, “Sue the bastards!” The facts seem rather clear: your client entered into a contract to design and print membership directories for a group of consuls calling themselves

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“The Consular Corps of Main City.” The invoice remains unpaid by both the group’s treasurer and the consul with whom your client was dealing. In order to come to terms on this transaction, the two parties had agreed to share a friendly drink, which ended in a disagreement. As the parties left the establishment, the consul ran into the side of your client’s brand-new Cadillac. At this stage of his story your client was highly irate, and the facts became somewhat blurred. It seems the consul’s car had red, white, and blue license plates. As far as you can tell, the police arrived, whereupon the consul produced some impressive-looking documents causing the officer to say, “a diplomat, eh?” and no citation was issued. His only comment to your client was something vague about “diplomatic immunity for this distinguished counsel general.” That’s when your client loudly demanded his “counsel.” Still half asleep, you are not quite sure what a “counsel general” might be, and how you are expected to advise your angry client. With all those unpaid parking tickets by diplomats, your first thought is that they may somehow be above domestic laws. But you also remember your old international law professor saying something about diplomats and consuls being two separate legal concepts. So, which exactly is this consul? Can a selfproclaimed foreign official like this – or maybe he’s really a diplomat of some kind – cause your client harm, and then escape to his home country unscathed? Isn’t there any justice for your client? […] The first step in our hypothetical would be for counsel to informally establish whether the consul at issue has a career or honorary status. Does it matter if the consul presents a diplomatic passport or that he was in a borrowed car? Does it make a difference if the consul admits that he had a criminal intent when he damaged your client’s car? […]

What started out as a seemingly ordinary scuffle involving a car, above, may even impact foreign relations between two nations that have agreed to a consular relationship. This may be a hard concept to swallow for academic internationalists, but history is replete with evidence of what they may scoff at as inconsequential matters. One of my personal favorites involves a high-ranking diplomat at the Iranian Embassy in Washington, who (outranking a consul) held the title of “Minister.” As the story goes, when he was ticketed for speeding, he claimed diplomatic immunity for the ministerial position at the embassy. Baffled, the police officer said he’d heard of Baptist ministers, Methodist ministers, and even Lutheran ministers, but never “Iranian ministers.” Although proof isn’t available

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through official channels, the literature from the 1960s said the episode led the Shah to close the embassy in Washington, where it remained shut for the next ten years.

When Terminology Matters The scenario in the just-cited law journal article, uncomplicated but realistic in facts, drew the attention of attorneys and law students to the need for a common set of consular terms as a condition for a productive dialogue on who the modern consul is and what he does. While consistently integrating the precise words relating to the consular institution, my current book occasionally uses “foreign” as an antecedent to consul, perhaps annoying some philosophers and philologists who spot this as an inherent redundancy, since a consular relationship is of necessity based on foreign intercourse. In my research I found at least one instance, quite unclear at the outset, where this added descriptive of a consul was very much needed for clarification. It involved the wartime decrease in the number of consuls in a Nazi-controlled country, from ten in 1940 to three in 1945, but the text didn’t make it unambiguous that the reference was to consuls from abroad (“foreign”) who were received by and functioning in the occupied nation. A less careful reader would undoubtedly have interpreted the meaning to be the number of consuls who were sent to other countries from the still existing, albeit occupied, nation. Ultimately, diplomacy—whether conducted by everyday citizens, consuls, diplomats, or a myriad of city, state, and federal officials—is all about words. The correct ones in each situation, that is. Scholars and diplomats (here, consuls may be included in both groups) now see a definite link between communications and diplomacy. It seems, though, that some consuls have taken one particular form of diplomatic conveyance of information in a Note Verbale to mean a cross-over from that high-level communication between nations to the sharing between local consulates of such routine matters as the transfer of a consul to his next post. Correctly, the historical Note is intended for matters of foreign relations between nations.

A “Unique Instrument” As we saw in Chapter 1, early consular history describes the first consultype officials resembling the modern honorary consuls, so it’s evident that the roots of this “unique instrument” as one writer calls them, run

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deep although, in 1927, a committee of the League of Nations proposed that this category of consuls be altogether eliminated in order to save the “prestige” of the career consuls. Almost two centuries before that, a renowned international jurist in Switzerland had taken a similarly negative view of the honoraries when he wrote that because they were bound to have conflicting loyalties, they were disqualified from serving in that position. But more recent history makes it fair to state they’re here to stay. With a global estimate of 20,000 today, numbers alone back up a prediction of growth, and then there’s a whole chapter (III) in the VCCR dedicated to honorary consuls. In other words, there seems to be a justifiable reason for understanding this part of the consular institution. Contrary to what one academic told me, the continued geographic spread of honorary consuls around the world is relevant to more than the office holders themselves as the media alone has created a broad public interest, with many stories being written about the “dual life” of these honoraries. For instance, when less-than-a-decade-old headlines screamed (incorrectly) about the “firing” of a socialite from her honorary consular position it led to plenty of speculation about the effect her illicit affair with a general had on military relations between the nation she represented and the receiving state. Since she had served as an honorary consul who had not been “hired” she could not either be “fired,” just have her consular commission rescinded by the appointing government or her status invalidated by the receiving state. Still, with the media highlighting her role as a consul, her position suddenly became a matter of public interest in a much broader sense. Although the list of foreign consular offices by the US Department of State is quite interesting for its vast number of nations with consular representation in the nation (now topping 165), it’s not a reliable source of the exact count of career and honorary officials functioning within its territory. Numbers can always be cited in different ways, such as heads of post v. non-heads, with confusion arising from offices with consular agents v. honorary consular agents since legal writers have argued that the former equal the latter. The bit of context that I provide here must therefore be considered against that background, as must such known—but hard to count—instances of at least one consul first being in the career service but later accepting an honorary position and, after that, returning to his career. Nevertheless, looking through the records from 2016 I counted 1,238 honorary consuls in US states and territories while thirty

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years before, a State Department spokesman had told a room full of consuls that the count of the same was then 1,012. Although the ratio of honorary to career officers has remained close to 1:2, the +22% increase in the number of honoraries during that period of time shows they continue to play a significant role in the institution. The VCCR does not define the honorary category separately from “consular officer,” which includes those in the career service who are often believed to be “real” or “professional” consuls, and more impressively “diplomats.” The peculiar group of honoraries, on the other hand, has been described as “non-career consuls” or “volunteer diplomats” or “unpaid (alternatively, unsalaried) consuls” or even “non-working consular officials,” the last one a designation that doesn’t consider those who perform more or less the same tasks as their career colleagues. I have even been told of the impossibility that someone was a “legitimate consul” when, serving in an honorary position, he didn’t share the physical features of natives of the country he claimed to represent. Whatever the image, it fails to capture the true nature of these honorary consuls, on whom nations increasingly rely for their foreign representation. People often ask honorary consuls how they, too, can be appointed to the seemingly glamorous position. There’s no universal answer to this question because each “sending state” (as the VCCR defines it, although “appointing state” is a better fit for honoraries who aren’t “sent” from one country to another, like their career colleagues) ultimately decides if it wishes to assign someone to perform consular duties on its behalf. And, as stated earlier, the process is always one of mutual consent, so the receiving state decides if it wishes to approve an honorary consul, and under what conditions. For instance, a nominee for the position somewhere in the United States must be at least twenty-one years old and also reside in the area where recognition is requested, so that he—contrary to career consuls who often have supervisory duties over honorary offices in a large area of the country—cannot, for instance, reside in New York City and function as an honorary consul in Florida. Like in many other nations, the proposed title must also be one recognized by the receiving state. Some will seek an appointment in behind-the-scenes solicitations that include aggressive lobbying of foreign governments and current consuls, and in some instances, the targeted country doesn’t matter as much as the perceived honor and prestige of the consular position. Usually, the initiative comes from the sending country itself. One person told me about a surprise call from the foreign ministry of another nation, for which he had

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successfully performed a marketing task, and how this eventually led to his appointment to the honorary position. In another instance, it seemed one could not miss the online ads for an honorary consul by a small “impoverished nation.” And then there was the official website of a country searching for an honorary consul who was to be paid an annual salary of US$36,000.00. Although I requested verification of the promised pay, I was unable to confirm the veracity of it or the offer itself. A much-cited case involves a community in a US state where the head of one of the consular posts had passed away. To increase, or at least maintain, the total number of both categories of consuls in their city (at that time, twenty-two posts, headed by both career and honorary consuls), local officials turned to the out-of-state superior office for the nation in question to request a replacement for the deceased. When the federal government rejected the proposed candidate, the matter should have ended there. Instead, this was when the plot turned political as one of the honorary consuls complained to his Congressman. As I recall from my discussion with one of the officials close to the situation, the incident became an embarrassment for the individuals involved, who didn’t understand the basic nature of consular relations. Since nations that utilize honorary consuls (and not all do) for their representation abroad usually look for residents with a solid standing in their communities, and a proven record in their field of professional expertise, it’s no surprise that personal wealth and strong local connections are typical factors also considered. Historically, the maritime area provided several reliable candidates but today, the legal, financial, and business arenas are the ground from where honorary consuls are mostly drawn. Occasionally, one will also encounter honoraries from other private professions, such as those who are physicians, university professors, marketers, and public relations executives. Even politicians have been asked to accept an honorary position for a foreign nation, a request that may be complicated by the domestic laws of the receiving country. To use the United States as yet another example, a citizen holding an official federal or state position (which has been interpreted to include county and city government) may not be appointed as an honorary consul when duties in both offices are incompatible. Hence, there are instances where approval was not given to a juvenile court judge, or members of a school board or the National Labor Relations Board. One nation that prohibits its public servants from becoming honorary consuls makes an exception for academics at state-owned educational institutions. Recently, I tried to explain the rationale behind a potential conflict of interest to

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an American city commissioner, but he rejected it by saying his honorary consular position was the “highest honor” (his exact words) which the country he represented had bestowed on him and, therefore, it superseded any federal stipulations. I admit I still don’t see the logic here, particularly since the appointment as an honorary consul mustn’t be merely honorific. A lack of knowledge about the consular position isn’t necessarily overcome by a requirement that honorary appointees receive some degree of education by the governments they represent, although many nations hold regular workshops and seminars for their representatives. At a very minimum, an aspiring honorary consul should be advised that even if he’s asked, or receives an appointment notification from a foreign government, he cannot begin his consular functions until he’s approved by the receiving state. I can think of at least one time when somebody was introduced at an official event as the “new consul of Utopia.” That individual was not heard from again because the required domestic approval never came. As opposed to career consuls who are subject to constant transfers between posts, honorary consuls, on the other hand, continue to function in the same place as long as their appointment is still valid. They are usually citizens of the host country, although they may also be natives of the appointing country who’re permanent residents of the receiving state. Some serve for many decades. I myself was told at my appointment that I stood a good chance of becoming the longest-serving honorary consul for my country in the United States, because of my then-youth and the fact that no mandatory retirement age was enforced at that time. Some honoraries don’t want to give up their position after their term has come to an end or they’re being dismissed for one reason or the other. They simply continue to function locally under false pretenses, which aren’t always questioned. Although there have been some newspaper stories on this, it doesn’t seem to be a typically widespread problem. Lawmakers in at least one country might have taken pre-emptive action when they adopted a law providing fines or imprisonment for someone impersonating a consul. Whenever the topic of discussion is honorary consuls, the inevitable doubt will set in about them. Do they actually perform any work? Is it part- or full-time? Do they get paid? Are they really the official representatives, locally, of another country? With the exception of the last question (yes, they are), there’s no universal answer. The matter of pay, even any kind of fixed salary arrangement, is especially multifaceted. Although honorary consuls may be willing to support their consular activities with the

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income from their private business or profession, some get subsidies from the country they represent. It may be in the form of a small monthly salary (sometimes called a “stipend” or an “honorarium”) or they may be allowed to keep the fees charged for such services as notarization or consularization of documents. Some countries, most notably Canada at the time of this writing, offer a salary for the mostly trade-related work their honoraries are expected to perform. In the mid-1980s when the United States enacted a moratorium on new honorary consuls, one of the stated reasons was that some appointees had no accountability to the foreign nations they represented. Therefore, it was questionable if they performed bona fide consular functions. If this were not the case, could they be legitimate consuls? And then there are the situations with ambassadors who, when retiring in their home countries, are asked to be honorary consuls for either the country where they had had their previous diplomatic posts or they’re tapped for the honorary position because of their political connections and perceived skills in diplomacy. Here, former US Vice President Walter Mondale comes to mind. While other luminaries weren’t always approved in other areas of the country, the requested recognition of Mr. Mondale was successfully presented as a choice between closing of an existing career consulate for economic reasons or establishing the honorary post. Still, the requirement remains that all consuls—career and honorary—perform functions typical of their position. In the next chapter we’ll look at the work consuls engage in and as we consider the great variety of tasks, it’ll be apparent how this is due more to other factors than how the VCCR defines their functions.

CHAPTER 3

What Consuls Do in Their Work

Abstract Like consular history itself, consular functions have evolved. Generally, they follow the pattern of the overall movement of both people and goods while continually being shaped by two overriding themes: the consuls’ relationship to their conationals (such as in passport matters, and situations with detained or arrested citizens), and the promotion and protection of trade-related affairs where the interests of the sending state may be paramount. Today, more so than ever before, citizens of all ages and physical capabilities continue to venture beyond their own national borders, legally or illegally, and in sometimes overwhelming numbers, thereby creating a need for a better understanding of consular functions although the work of the modern consul varies so greatly between persons and posts that it’s impossible to create a conclusive list of individual functions. For instance, there are the situations caused by the inevitable expatriation process due to the injury or death of a conational far from home; cross-cultural marriages made common through online connections; emotional adoption and child custody cases; and a range of criminal activities where a consul’s patience and understanding of the so-called “Article 36-cases” may be tested by a large number of itinerant conationals. A wide variety of safety concerns also influences how we understand the work of consuls today, in addition to the growth in many aspects of cross-border education where the services of a consul may be requested (i.e., for the determination of the equivalency of a prior academic of professional degree, faculty and student exchanges, etc.). While the universal consular functions in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations © The Author(s) 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0_3

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are explored in this chapter, it also considers how these functions may be contingent on how a consul is categorized (career or honorary) or if he’s in the position of head of post. Although a single title may in some instances provide relevant answers, it must be considered in conjunction with permissible consular functions. Keywords Consular functions · Conationals · Passport matters · Detained or arrested citizens · Promotion and protection of trade-related affairs · Sending state · Conclusive list · Expatriation · Cross-cultural marriages · Adoption · Child custody cases · Criminal activities · Article 36-cases · Cross-border education · Equivalency of a prior academic or professional degree · Faculty and student exchanges · Vienna Convention on Consular Relations · Career or honorary consuls · Head of post

Introduction At this point in our text we know that all consuls are categorized as either career or honorary, and that each branch is then sub-divided into three classes (consul general, consul, and vice consul). Still, this knowledge does little to shed light on what they do in their work, and whether the expected duties of a consul are even contingent on the category he belongs to. With Article 5 of the VCCR being quite comprehensive on consular functions, it also applies to both career and honorary consuls although some academics have argued that functions can be used to determine what category the official belongs to, a finding that may not even be relevant when a distressed citizen needs assistance from anyone of his consuls. Besides, this manner of isolating one consular category from the other can also take us to the slippery slope of the few honoraries who’re not expected to do any consular work: would it not then follow that they aren’t the officials they and others (including the government of the hosting country) have said they are? A rhetorical question that doesn’t require an answer here. Like consular history itself, functions have evolved. Generally, they follow the pattern of the overall movement of both people and goods. For instance, the early duties of some consuls to punish those who interrupted public order in the consular jurisdiction changed with the arrival of ships from foreign ports to include the enforcement of sanitary controls, among

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the many other tasks believed to prevent the spread of the dreaded plague. Today, more so than ever before, citizens of all ages and physical capabilities continue to venture beyond their own national borders, legally or illegally, and in sometimes overwhelming numbers, thereby creating a need for new forms of consular assistance. In fact, the work of the modern consul varies so greatly between persons and posts that it’s impossible to create a conclusive list of his functions. For instance, there are the situations caused by the inevitable expatriation due to the injury or death of a conational traveling far from home; cross-cultural marriages made common through online connections; emotional adoption and child custody cases; as well as a range of criminal activities where a consul’s patience may be tested by a large number of itinerant conationals. A wide variety of safety concerns may also influence how we understand the work of consuls today. Regardless, their work has long been shaped by two broad themes: the consuls’ relationship to their conationals, and the promotion and protection of trade-related matters.

Work, in General Historically, the functions of a consul-type person could fit into two main types: the military and the political. As the role was re-defined throughout the centuries, the outcome has been a major adjustment in the work of today’s consuls. One official, when trying to protect himself from the threat of violent demonstrators against his consulate, made a statement to the local press that he had “nothing to do with political things.” He further downplayed his role by adding, “I’m just a consul.” To a large extent he was correct, because the modern consul has mostly had to cede his political role to his embassy. Still, there’s a strong argument for most areas of consular functions being influenced by politics in one form or the other. Although the VCCR is silent on political functions per se, but because it charges consuls with the promotion of “friendly relations” between the nations, it’s difficult to imagine how this historical function (and other related activities, such as the promotion of culture) can avoid any consideration of politics (particularly when the relationship between the sending and receiving states is anything but cordial). One consul, the secretary of his consular corps, took the prohibition against political activity to mean that he couldn’t sign a petition to the local government on behalf of the corps. What if the mayor’s office

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believed he shared the opinion expressed in the letter? What if local politicians were convinced he was speaking on behalf of his home government? He knew how matters involving the foreign consuls had previously been misconstrued by the press, and he was also aware of his prior training which had taught him not to engage in any political functions as part of his consular activities. He was relieved when his superior office advised him that the risk of a misinterpretation outweighed any potential benefit of his action and, therefore, he must decline signing the petition. A good start for attempting a description of the functional role of the modern consul is with the fact that 180 states have ratified the VCCR and they’re therefore duty-bound not to be in direct violation of the treaty provisions. However, Article 5 comes with thirteen sub-sections, (a) to (m), where the last one contains such a general clause as to open the door to consular work that, on the surface of it, may contradict what the other sections stipulate since it authorizes consuls to perform “any other functions entrusted to a consular post by the sending State.” Readers may even be left wondering why it was necessary for the other clauses to precede it! Regardless, the receiving state retains the right to object, and a consul’s work is also limited by the prohibition against activities forbidden by the laws and regulations of the nation where he performs his consular duties. From the standpoint of civic and government leaders dealing with foreign consuls in their communities, there’s also the often-overlooked Preamble of the VCCR which says matters not addressed in the articles of the treaty (79 in total) shall be guided by customary international law, a concept that may puzzle non-lawyers. In addition, stipulations in any bilateral treaties between the sending and the receiving states as well as instructions from a consul’s home government may determine what functions he’ll perform. But since these documents aren’t easily accessible or understandable to outsiders, they’re often ignored till the above stakeholders find themselves drawn into a dispute that may even lead to legal or high-level diplomatic consequences. For more than three decades, one globally influential megalopolis (New York City with its large UN personnel, and claims of being host to the largest consular corps in the world) has attempted helpful advice to its constituents by publishing what’s informally come to be called “the little red book.” Not only is it a register of the foreign consulates but it also includes the geographic reach of each. If the represented countries have a trade office, tourist board, investment center or other service-minded entity in the city, this is also part of the book. In some cases, there’s

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a designated consul for educational or social affairs. Overall, consular functions are recorded in a variety of ways with typical examples being “usual consular and commercial matters,” “legal services,” and “cultural and information services.” Since the data on individual country listings is self-reported by the foreign governments involved, this further confirms that the work of a consul can only be generally identified, not with absolute exactness. For consistency, I’ll begin here with the two universally accepted main types of modern consular functions mentioned earlier: assistance to conationals who, for one reason or the other, are visitors or residents of the geographic area where the consul performs his duties, and the promotion of commercial and economic relations between the sending and receiving states. The rest of the treaty functions are presented in groupings of commonality, but with one eye towards the fact that there’s no mention of at least one sector that the modern consul is highly engaged in today: education. I’ll discuss this and some adjunct topics in separate segments.

Assistance to Conationals Although the VCCR uses the overall reference to help and assist “nationals,” the term “conational” is often used in the literature, as I’m doing here because of its defining quality. This, then, is the general designation for individuals (or, as the document also says, “bodies corporate”) who are natives of the same country as the consul, although the term, when applied to honorary consuls, needs further clarification. Regardless of the fact that such consular officials may, as already stated, either hold the citizenship of the country they represent or of that where they function, they’ll be “helping and assisting” nationals of the country they represent, and in that context “conational” still describes the relationship in a useful way. It bears repeating that, strictly speaking, “sending state” is another misnomer when it refers to honoraries. More precisely, the country they represent is “the appointing state.” However, this syntactical debate is of little concern in the area of consular functions, since the VCCR does not distinguish between career and non-career consuls in terms of the work they may perform. Both also have a duty to protect “the interests of the sending state.” To put the above observations into simpler, more practical terms, we can consider the example of a typical “Mr. Jones,” who’s known as

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the consul of the fictional country of Utopia in one of the Canadian provinces. Although the general public doesn’t always need to understand or know his career v. honorary status, Utopian nationals residing in his consular territory would logically turn to him for help and assistance. Regardless of whether he’s a career or honorary official—and the question may not even be raised by any Utopian national residing within his consular territory—he has the duty to protect these conationals and perform other services for them. But before he proceeds with any assistance, he must verify citizenship of the person asking for aid. This is normally done through the show of a valid passport. Probably the most common instances of when a consul is called on by citizens of the country he represents is for passport matters. In the scenario just mentioned, Utopians in Canada would seek out Mr. Jones (or another Utopian consul who may be geographically closer) for what years ago was mostly a relatively simple process of having their passports renewed by their own consul functioning in the same location where his fellow citizens reside. Today, and if one can generalize without the benefit of an actual survey of all nations, it seems these requests have been made more cumbersome than the old ways of handling applications through the mail. Now, many countries require that passport renewal, including the relatively new biometric documents that contain a computer chip, be done at some point in the process in a face-to-face meeting with the consul, often causing applicants an extra expense and more pre-planning. Furthermore, the issuance of the actual document may be delayed through a requirement that it be checked by some government office in the home country. This somewhat circuitous route may be made more unwieldy in areas with honorary (as opposed to career) officials, since the work of them is mostly under the direct supervision of a superior office which may be located at quite a distance from where the conational is. In the transient world we live in today, it’s not uncommon that there’s a death of a conational in the territory of the consul, who’ll then have to face what may turn out to be a formidable task of determining who’s authorized to speak for the dead about funeral plans. Depending on the wishes of the survivors, he may also have to arrange with a local funeral home that’s familiar with international regulations for the transport of the body of the departed to the place or country of his choice. One honorary consul learned the hard way that his superior office could be mistaken, even with faster access to domestic records on the deceased. This happened when the consul received a message from that office that the

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“wife,” who had been traveling with her now-dead “husband,” wanted the body shipped from the consul’s territory to Place A in the homecountry. This was followed by a call from another conational who insisted since she was the lawful wife, she wanted the body at Place B. In this instance the consul was happy he could diplomatically tell both “wives” he was duty-bound to defer to his superior officials. Pre-death, a consul is also tasked with protecting the interests of conationals lacking “full capacity.” More than one such official has had to intervene on behalf of a comatose traffic accident victim. Since the VCCR makes matters like these “subject to the practices and procedures” in the receiving state, many consuls have found it practical to keep a record of attorneys with their specialties, for situations like this and others. Here, honorary consuls who’re practicing attorneys in their private, nonconsular capacity can profit from guiding potential clients to their offices. One consul was told by his appointing state that monetary gains from occurrences like this were an expected side-benefit from the honorary position which otherwise brought little direct compensation. Among consular functions of “an administrative nature” is a variety of documentary services such as pension certificates proving the beneficiary is still alive, registration of births or deaths, or notarization of other estate-related records. To authenticate a document, a consul may add an “Apostille” which is accepted by all nations ratifying the international convention of the same name. Although the VCCR is silent on a consul’s role in marriages between conationals, and because every receiving state has its own laws relating to a valid marriage, there’s no universal rule for when and if a consul may perform a marriage for one of his countrymen. The same is true with being a wedding witness, a rather common request since consuls by their mere presence bring a certain panache to the ceremony. At the time of my own marriage to an American citizen in a European capital, the local US consul said he wasn’t allowed to be a formal witness to the ceremony so, instead, he participated in a staged photo-op as if he were swearing me in as a future citizen of his country. One honorary officer who was also a notary in his assigned consular jurisdiction, told me he received frequent requests for performing a wedding and when he declined (if for no other reason than time restrictions), the conational would erroneously argue that it was a consular duty to do so. Besides, as he was often told, if the captain of a ship could do it so should a consul, an erroneous analogy to his jurisdiction over the sending state’s vessels and aircraft, and their crews. This confusion

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between two “masters” of their own jurisdiction (one consular, the other maritime) warrants a brief clarification. As history has already shown us, the early functions of a consul included his vast authority over seagoing vessels belonging to the sending state. Today, it comes as no surprise that demands from insurance companies for better safety measures, and the role of international maritime organizations and seafarer unions have eliminated or modified the old consular duties relative to merchant vessels. Still, under the VCCR, local authorities in the receiving state may be permitted to hand over their investigative authority over incidents that took place during a voyage, so that the consul may take statements and examine the ship’s papers. Disputes between the master, officers and the seamen may also be settled by him to the extent this is authorized by the laws and regulations of the sending state. Reams have been written about the duty of consuls to protect their conationals who’ve been arrested or detained on criminal charges. A prime example of a VCCR provision that mustn’t be read and applied by itself in an isolated manner, Article 36 has led many a consul to the legal predicament of what’s been called “Article 36-cases” because of two specific rules contained therein. The first puts the burden on local authorities to inform the consular post when they have a conational in custody, without delay. The second establishes the right of a foreign national being held not to have his consul informed of the arrest or detention. The seeming tension between these two directives may be resolved by local law enforcement advising the detainee of his rights under Article 36, provided this is done “without delay.” It also raises the possibility of a bilateral agreement relevant to this kind of a situation between the two countries: is it then permissible, or even wise, for local authorities to contact the local or closest consulate of the person in custody to inquire about a treaty provision without disclosing they’re holding a national? The history behind the VCCR shows Article 36 was such a sensitive topic that it threatened the successful conclusion of the whole convention. Among several sticking points was the interpretation of “without delay,” a requirement that could adversely affect consular assistance in arranging for effective legal representation and even interpreters. Sometimes, a detainee is too overcome by shame and embarrassment to be capable of making rational decisions, or he may have a genuine desire to personally deal with his predicament. The fear of repercussions from their home governments may also make conationals of a consul request that he not be informed. Additionally, there’s the matter of local law

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enforcement being overwhelmed in certain locales with a great number of incidents involving foreign visitors. For instance, stampedes at venues like soccer stadiums or concert halls sometimes lead to fans being criminally charged with causing the injury or death of others. A common complaint by natives is then that foreign visitors to these events should not be entitled to any special treatment, like a visit by their consul, since they are subject to the same laws as any local residents. Consular officials drawn into these situations are then often faced with the additional dilemma of how to diplomatically explain their role while showing respect for local authorities anxious to showcase the consequences of criminal behavior in their jurisdiction. When the rights of the sending state—acting through its consular representative—have been breached, there may also be possible diplomatic repercussions. This is, however, not the place to consider remedies or any other matters of law and diplomacy relating to those episodes.

Promoting Commercial and Economic Relations As already stated, this promotional part of the consul’s work comes with deep historical roots dating back to the early beginnings of the consular institution when consuls were primarily functioning as trade protectors. So, one might have believed that the delegates at the Vienna conference would have reached consensus as a matter of routine on how to word these long-established commercial and economic relations. But the final text (Article 5, sub-sections b and c) shows otherwise: it now separates the commercial and economic topic by referencing relations (between the sending and receiving states) and life (in the receiving state). And in both areas (relations and life) consuls are expected to “further the development” while “ascertain(ing) … conditions …” in the commercial and economic life of the receiving state. Just to make sure the economic and commercial message is not withheld or gets lost, consuls are also expected to “report thereon to the sending state” as well as give information to “persons interested.” The extent and frequency of the first charge depend on the instructions from the home government, while the information services of any consular office can keep staff so busy that it affects the effective performance of other functions. Long gone are the days when the main business and economic concern of consuls was related to shipping, and trading in geographically limited territories. The modern consul must stay abreast of developments in such

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specialized areas as, for instance, investment banking, IT, biotechnology, and environmental matters, all of which may shape economic relations between his home government and the receiving state. Also, with security high on the priority list of any foreign office today, it’s usually no longer a matter of a local individual just dropping in on a consul with commercial inquiries, or for any other trade leads for that matter. The consul general of one major country recently told me that he, and other consuls, expects any guests at the consulate to have done their homework in advance so the office staff can make timesaving, pre-meeting preparations. Visitors must also understand the basics of the consular institution so that, among many other things, they know that—unlike embassies—local consulates cannot independently pursue major trade policies on the highest diplomatic level. Here, I must again make a separate note on honorary consuls. Sometimes they are appointed to their positions based on a foreign government’s needs in a specific trade or commercial area. Thus, attorneys with special expertise in the law of such matters as joint-ventures, investment banking, and all forms of direct foreign investment often make good candidates for foreign nations wishing to have a consular presence without the expense of establishing a career post. Other areas where lawyers with prior practice experience can be effective honorary consuls are IT, ICT (information and communication technology), renewable energy, treatment of wastewater, biotechnology, and the clean technology relating to building products, etc. The list is merely an illustration of the variety of needs that the modern consul can be asked to fulfill beginning with the usual trade inquiries that pass across his desk. The above observation about honorary consuls, sweeping as it may seem, is in stark contrast to the nature of some career consular officers, whose professional track in the foreign service of their home countries usually doesn’t take them beyond the subject areas that their career demands. Although they’re not permitted to be concurrently in a private profession, prior expertise in certain fields would bring potentially useful skills to anyone sent abroad to promote commercial and economic relations between the sending and the receiving states. Wherever there’s a career consul with the additional title of “trade commissioner,” this is a clear sign of the importance of trade a foreign government has placed on his functions.

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Movement of Goods and People The sub-header I selected for this group of consular functions doesn’t include the commercial movement of goods as part of the trade matters previously discussed; here, there’s only a brief reference to the notarial functions some consuls perform relative to the transport of goods. A consul’s involvement with these activities is evidenced in the requirement of some foreign governments for a certificate of origin for goods to be exported to his home country. Often called a “consular invoice,” the document usually comes with a fee attached to it. This notarial transaction (“consularization”) is also common in other international trade matters, such as for letters of credit or powers of attorney. Another deliberate omission in this section is the fact that when there’s movement of people there’s migration of ideas and, therefore, culture across the borders. For this, I’ve chosen to create a separate sub-section in Chapter 4 for the many facets of “culture” in which consuls act through the civil society organizations where their participation is sometimes quite aggressively sought. When it comes to the movement of people across the globe, many a consul has bemoaned the fact that some of their conationals, often with special problems caused by age or physical handicaps, may take unnecessary risks when traveling abroad and, hence, end up in situations from which even their consul in the foreign location can’t rescue them. When these cases involve lost or stolen passports consuls may be kept quite busy with re-issuing these documents, even on a temporary basis purely for the purpose of getting a stranded citizen-tourist home. One consul likes to share how a young lady from his country visited a night-club in the metropolis where he was posted. Naively, she hung her pocketbook with the passport on the back of a chair when someone asked her for a dance. When her partner returned her to her seat, the bag was gone. In shock over how someone could be so dishonest (“not like at home”) she could only muster some vague protests when the consul later explained the process and the fees involved in getting an emergency passport for the trip home. Any plans she had for stopping off in a third country had to be cancelled. Variations of this scenario are endless and can consume a large amount of time of the consul, not only during the height of the travel season, but also when people move about for purposes of studying abroad or in search of employment opportunities. Not all foreign governments

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are good at getting word to their traveling citizens of how to protect themselves against thefts of passports, or other crimes, so these crises continue to add to the consular workload. Usually, consulates have an emergency replacement process in place but situations with other missing travel documentation also come fraught with the often-complicated work of making practical arrangements for getting a conational safely home when he’s just been robbed or otherwise lost his money. If the sending state doesn’t have a way of quickly transferring funds for the return trip, or the consul isn’t authorized to advance monies, being a creative problem-solver is a real advantage. A much-appreciated convenience can occur when the national airline of the consul’s country has a direct route from some point in the foreign nation. One consular officer still speaks of how he convinced a judge to release one of his conationals from jail specifically based on a consular promise to have the fellow escorted to his national airline for the nonstop flight home. The problem was that the conational detainee, held on charges of disorderly conduct, removed all his clothing when told about his pending release, and simply refused to leave. In desperation, the jail called the consul who—because he spoke the language of the inmate— managed to turn him into a meek compatriot willing to obey instructions. But the work of the consul wasn’t over until he confirmed to the court that the arrestee had left the country. Visa matters are different than passport issues. Usually a stamp in a passport, a visa is designed to give a conditional permit for a foreigner to enter, stay, or exit the country of the consul. Although he, serving in an official capacity, may have full discretion in issuing (or denying) a visa to someone, the applicant is still subject to approval by an immigration official at the border of the consul’s country. Honorary consuls normally don’t have to authority to issue visas, so they can only give advice on the process. When it comes to visas entitling someone to depart from a country, history has shed light on the infamy of these life-saving documents for those Jews in Nazi-occupied Germany who were fortunate enough to obtain what was an explicit “exit visa” from a quasi-official, who sometimes had no consular status.

Education Across the Borders Here again, the sub-header isn’t fully reflective of the nature of the topic to be discussed as it’s too comprehensive to capture relevant consular functions. Yet, it serves as an armature to which I’ve attached examples

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of consular involvement, including information from a quaint piece in a newspaper from the mid 60s in a US city showing the kind of forwardthinking which we equal with some of the new global concepts of today. This is where a group of businesspeople got together to consider plans for building a “center for diplomats [sic!]” to house consulates that would aid the local university’s new department of international studies. The story also shows a belief that consuls would help bring more grants to the institution. Although these pioneers didn’t immediately succeed in their efforts, the mayor continued to press for a larger consular presence in his city so that the university could be “number one in America in the area of international studies.” Whatever way we define it, today’s multibillion-dollar business of global education is a part of the commercial cross-border movement of people, helping to boost the economy in local communities and whole nations. In addition to consuls being a potential source of revenue for the institutions of higher education, their physical office—the consulate—can be a natural first link for administration and faculty seeking to identify the nations where successful recruitment can take place. One consul spoke of regular visits at his consulate by university representatives anxious to get their promotional material in front of a foreign official who they believed would share it with the right instances in his home country. This kind of scenario doesn’t target only smaller nations with a rising need for a populace educated in global issues and foreign languages, but it’s an ongoing effort by institutions everywhere and of every size. Some have designated international studies departments (even an extensive “division for global affairs”), often with special tracks leading to innovative competencies needed by a contemporary workforce that faces critical worldwide issues like terrorism, the environment, and a changing economy. Faculty exchanges between countries are mostly routine today, with professors not only teaching from a worldwide perspective, but cooperating in areas like international research projects, online sharing of class materials and other resources, where consuls may either have been instrumental in their inception or have continued their involvement. To meet the needs of internationally diverse campuses, faculty members also encourage, even organize, study-abroad programs for their students. Sometimes, members of the local consular corps are invited to give oncampus presentations, and they’re often popular visitors to student organizations showcasing country-specific culture and consumer goods. With the natural connections to their embassy in the capital of the nation where

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they serve, consuls can also be quite influential in whatever other role they assume in the growing sphere of “academic globalism.” Some professors and at least one university president, have even served as an honorary consul for a foreign nation, thereby truly having an insider’s perch from where they can promote exchanges between the sending and receiving states. One educational area where universities often look to a local consul for advice is in determining the equivalency of a prior academic or professional degree from abroad. A full evaluation process done by an agency specializing in this subject considers the educational system in the country represented by the consul and compares it to that of the community where the relevant consul is functioning at the time of the request. In cases where it’s only a matter of certifying the accuracy of alreadytranslated transcripts, some consuls will do so while others will provide translation services for a fee. Some consuls are eager to understand local admissions processes and will, on request provide a list of professional evaluation agencies with great credibility with admissions offices. Others show little or no interest; in fact, some consuls have been known to be so ethnocentric as to proclaim the educational system of their sending nation superior to that of the receiving state, even when lacking resources like running water or electricity would point to real hardship situations for any non-citizen student wanting to study in their country. Although some foreign governments instruct their local consuls to get involved in the evaluation of certificates from both nations, these officials are not substitutes for a well-reputed evaluation agency, which is familiar with educational systems around the world and whose work products are accepted by colleges and universities everywhere. Because these service providers often visit local consulates to familiarize consular officials with their operation and discuss the common ground of promoting international education, it’s no surprise, then, that a competitive commercial business has grown in this field. Many consuls maintain an ongoing relationship with a worldwide professional association of international educators whose members meet annually to discuss issues of global education. Consuls attending these conventions will hold private meetings with educators, as well as give public presentations. One consul (not on the faculty anywhere) recalls how, when a meeting was held in a nation’s capital, one of the embassies invited the top leadership of the organization to an elaborate reception at the chancery for the specific purpose of having its education officer—a

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consul—lay the foundation for universities in the receiving state becoming more receptive to accepting students from his country. Another consul still talks about how university representatives, not just oenophiles, were invited to the tropical home of a consul whose country is known for its good wines. As the guests quickly found out, the real purpose of the evening event was to explore future educational connections with the help of a group of some selected consuls. A brief mention is warranted here of two international education areas below the university level where there’s often active involvement of consuls: The International Baccalaureate program, and grade schools that use another teaching language than that of the receiving state. While any support by a consul, such as helping with a supply of appropriate books from his home country, might not be a traditional consular function it’s still an optional part of a consul’s work and a definite contribution to the community where he performs the rest of his more traditional functions. Although the word “education” and/or its derivatives don’t appear anywhere in the VCCR, the previously mentioned European document (ECCR) contains a surprisingly long list of “interests,” including “educational matters.” I believe if the universal convention were reconvened today, delegates would want to include the topic to reflect what’s now an established area for accepted functions of a consul. But since we already know that the interpretation of treaty rules, even the ones with a more extensive reach than the continental provisions, doesn’t exclude other functional activities (as long as they’re lawful in the receiving state) we look for a fit for “education” in already existing regulations. Because a consul who, in one way or the other, engages with learning institutions in the country where he’s posted may indeed be furthering the educational aspect of commerce, economics, culture, or the sciences, one or all of those umbrella terms in the VCCR (“commercial, economic, cultural and scientific”) justify a consul’s active support of education and the previously discussed “friendly relations.” As the treaty puts it, consuls are also expected to give information to “persons interested” so this is further evidence of the consular incentive to promote a global component in education everywhere.

CHAPTER 4

Consuls in Civic and Other Organizations

Abstract In the introductory words of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consuls are explicitly charged with the promotion of “friendly relations” with another nation, “irrespective of their differing social systems ” (author emphasis). To that end, consuls will routinely appear in a variety of organized groups where they will interact on a twoway street with someone or something in the consular jurisdiction. This “something” is frequently a civil society organization, defined as a body of people driven by a common mission that often complements the functions of a consul. Among a multitude of such associations, which include charitable foundations, this chapter targets those that seek to advance culture (through linkage with such programs as Sister Cities), tourism, and commerce (i.e., chambers of commerce and trade associations). The potential conflict between consul-sanctioned cultural promotion and propaganda is briefly discussed. Since national flags can be an emotional symbol of a foreign country’s standing in the consular territory, a basic guideline to their display is included. Customary international rules for consular precedence are explored in this chapter due to their special significance as a platform from where to engage in civic diplomacy and for the smooth operation of organizations with consular participation. Discussed with some of the selected venues is the dual persona of an honorary consul functioning either in his civilian role in a private profession or as a foreign consul representing another nation. The chapter concludes with a review of the history and prevailing misperceptions behind a unique, universal group

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of shared interest to consuls as well as to the communities where they function: the consular corps (often led by a consul in the role of dean). Keywords Civic and other organizations · Vienna Convention on Consular Relations · Promotion of “friendly relations” · Social systems · Consular jurisdiction · Civil society organization · Functions · Charitable foundations · Sister Cities · Tourism · Commerce · Chambers of commerce · Trade associations · Propaganda · National flags · Consular precedence · Civic diplomacy · Civilian role · Private profession · Consular corps · Dean

Introduction In the previous chapter, I outlined a wide array of consular functions, none of which are performed in a vacuum, although some people argue that US consuls have complete discretion in visa matters and are therefore the sole masters of that functional area. While that may be true, consuls mostly perform their work on a two-way street that leads to interaction with someone or something. This “something” is the civil society organizations, by the people for the people, where consuls can engage in some of their previously stated functions. Although the target groups are sometimes described as a “third sector” of society (separate from activities by governmental and commercial interests, as some claim), the only thing necessary for our understanding of their relationship to the consular institution is that civic organizations are defined here as a body of people driven by a common mission, which in many cases complements the functions of a consular official. Ultimately, and in the introductory words of the VCCR, it’s about consuls promoting “friendly relations” with another nation, “irrespective of their differing social systems ” (my emphasis). In the multitude of groups just mentioned, I’ve chosen to consider those that seek to advance culture, tourism, and commerce. So as not to get lost in a semantic discussion about other kinds of civil society organizations in the jurisdiction where these foreign officials function, I’m only making a brief reference to such bodies as charities and social clubs. The academic association has already been mentioned in Chapter 3, and because consular functions do not include traditional political activities,

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groups of activists and consumers, or community foundations and cooperatives (all common among civic organizations) aren’t included either. For some of the selected venues, I’ve also included the dual persona of honorary consuls functioning either in a civilian role or as a foreign official. And, although the fluid subject of relational and social interactions fits in with any of the three main categories above (albeit, not as an “association” in itself), I’ve treated it as a separate sub-topic that’s a necessary, special vehicle for the smooth operation of the organizations with consular participation. For reasons that’ll become evident below, I’ve also included in this chapter a uniquely universal group of common interest to consuls and their communities: the corps.

Consuls as Cultural Promoters As I already noted, the VCCR is quite specific in confirming cultural functions, although a full description of them is impossible because of the great assortment of activities. Although there’s no universal agreement on what constitutes “culture” it’s been said that there’s cultural competition between nations and that we persuade each other through all kinds of cultural events, including the areas limited by at least one academic to education, literature, visual and performing arts, and music. The wide spread of events that consuls choose to support is often reflected in the resources or community contacts available to them, as well as their individual interests. For instance, some consular officers will enthusiastically bring in native dancers to perform locally; others host speakers and film presentations. One who was stationed in a major metropolis volunteered to a journalist how proud he was of his country’s film industry, known for its two Oscars, and how he intended to especially promote this part of what he called an important “cultural industry.” Referring to his consulate as a “promotion center” he also spoke of organizing regular breakfasts to provide more visibility for his local conationals. Some consuls have invited noted scholars or speakers from their sending countries, only to have a difficult time finding a suitable audience for them, or with some other disastrous outcome. Otherwise intellectually stimulating lectures can be ruined by such factors as poor linguistic skills or the unfamiliarity of the consul with local customs. Because a career consul will leave a location after his term of office is over, there’s little at stake for him, so he may take a risk by placing someone from his home

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country on an unsuitable platform because he may still get credit at his home office for the event. Together with the charge to promote “friendly relations” between the sending and the receiving states, a separate article in the treaty tells consuls to learn “by all lawful means” about the cultural “life” in the receiving state; arguably, a more undefinable concept than the cultural “relations” that the treaty also refers to. In either instance, cooperation with a variety of community groups can be vital to bring new cultural awareness by linkages to a consul’s home country. Among these organizations are the national headquarters or local chapters of the Red Cross, Rotary, Peopleto-People, Jaycees, the United Nations Association, and several Jewish advocacy groups, to mention just a few. Another association that’s particularly known for its partnership with local consuls is Sister Cities. It’s not uncommon for a consul to see a proliferation of sister city agreements between the city where he’s stationed and other parts of the world, while noticing a deficiency in the number relating to his own country. One consul was quoted in the press as saying he alone had sparked fourteen sister city projects during one of his postings. Another, more recent consul in the same community said it was only a natural step for him to refer to already existing synergies when he successfully proposed new sister cities as a logical cultural bridge for his host city. Sometimes mainly for reasons of prestige or the publicity that goes along with a consular presence, charitable associations will invite consuls, such as the local chapter of a major foundation did when they asked every consul in that city to be guests at a fund-raising event. Here, honorary consuls must be considered separately from their career colleagues since the former are permanent residents of their community and, as such, are more motivated to be financial contributors to a local charity. Career consuls, on the other hand, have little incentive to be donors of more than their time. Also, because their own culture may not support charitable giving and they’re subject to frequent transfers from one post to the next, they don’t have the same allegiance to a geographic area like honoraries do. As some writers have pointed out, the line between consul-sanctioned cultural promotions and indoctrination may be thin, but consular activities relating to both can still contribute to the economic and social wellbeing of residents in many a poor community. I recall how the United States established a post-war “information center” in the still-recovering

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Finnish capital to promote American culture. It was there that I learned new intercultural skills as I attended lectures and other free events— always with a generous amount of “American food”—and where I helped myself to extravagant, glossy material that included a wall-sized map of the States. It was also there that I met one of the consuls from the US Embassy, who invited me to experience other parts of his culture, such as special 4th of July events and language classes, while making sure I also had information about affordable charter flights to New York City. And then there was the major American public relations coup featured all over the national media: the free showing of a documentary on JFK’s life. Still, the issue of cultural promotion versus propaganda crops up in instances stirred by cultural reminiscing in local communities, as it did in a large school district in the United States. With a father who was a refugee from Cuba, a child brought home a book from the library at his public elementary school that depicted life as beguilingly beautiful in the totalitarian state. The widespread outrage and a subsequent lawsuit eventually led to the book staying off the school’s library shelves. Under similar circumstances involving another country, the local consul for that nation would, no doubt, have had plenty to say about having any cultural promotion of his country censored, but in this case there was no consular involvement because Cuba had already closed its local consulate. If nations are serious about their international reputation in the area of cultural diplomacy, they shouldn’t overlook the potential influence of honorary consuls. Since they’re permanently established in their communities and are often socially prominent, positive outcomes of consulsponsored activities can often be attributed to their personal or business connections, as well as their own keen sense of the cultural needs and interests of their society. Also, they may be careful about putting their longtime standing in the community on the line by going to great length to supervise how their “foreign” culture is presented and integrated locally. Regardless, all consuls will benefit from including cultural activities in the reports they file with a superior office or their ministry back home. One consul confessed he tended to exaggerate the importance of some venues, knowing that he’d score extra points in the professional evaluation of his accomplishments.

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Tourism The VCCR does not contain the term tourism;—even less “touristic,” which is the curious term used in the convention (ECCR) adopted by the Council of Europe. As my discussion on consular functions already indicated, “travel” is the universal treaty term relating to passports and visas. It also includes the freedom for members of a consular post to freely travel throughout the receiving state (subject to certain laws and regulations). But promotional activities relating to travel or tourism are also an essential part of a consul’s cultural functions. For that purpose, many governments establish separate centers in capitals and other major cities around the world. In some cases, the head of those offices has the title “consul” and there’s at least one known case where the chief, stationed in a sizable national capital, was given the legal status of a diplomat. These promotional offices, although not equal to a membership organization per se, but with a governing board that represents a wide array of “products and services,” often expect the participation of their consuls everywhere. Thus, one consul shares how he was asked to give a welcoming speech to a gathering of travel agents invited to a special presentation on his country. The same consul was also asked to pursue a relationship with a well-known travel writer, whom the tourist officials had long tried to entice to visit specific sites in their country. On the subject of travel and tourism functions, a confusing situation— not to say a conflict of interests—may arise when a consul is actively involved with a tourist organization and there’s no mention of his position as either honorary or career. There have been incidents where a consul attends an event in his private role as a travel agent (not an unusual profession in itself for an honorary consul) but presents himself or is introduced simply as a “consul” (usually followed by his country), much to the consternation of members of the hosting organization. While the career position of a consul should be easy to ascertain in these circumstances (because he can’t claim membership through a private profession such as a travel agent), the attending public may not know a career official isn’t permitted to be otherwise gainfully employed in the receiving state while in the service of the sending country. This means that a consular member of the group is then an honorary consul unless otherwise indicated. It’s the responsibility of him to clarify when needed.

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Chambers of Commerce As the previous chapter emphasizes, commercial activities are a major part of consular functions. Chambers of commerce—bilateral or otherwise— are a definite part of the civic organizations with which a consul may associate. Historically, these private groups may have played a significant role in the conduct of traditional consular activities relating to trade, like the Swedish Chamber of Commerce did. Established in 1651, it oversaw and regulated such matters as bulk trading deals for almost two-hundred fifty years till the duties were assigned to a government office. Today, there are innumerous bi-national chambers (not just from Sweden) in cities around the world, to promote commerce between two countries. Usually, they are replete with conationals already engaging in trade and investment activities, but also others with a stake in the success of the chamber. Sometimes it seems every local law firm will have a representative member in these organizations, at least when they’re doing legal work for a nation with great potential for commercial growth in the local community. Some chambers offer a complimentary membership to the relevant consul, while others expect him to pay the dues (often with the misunderstanding that funds from his home government are easily available for a purpose like this). Others just invite the local consul as a guest at their events. Like with the civic organizations focused on travel and tourism, situations will arise when members of a chamber of commerce don’t understand the dual role of a fellow member who alternates between his consular and private characters. I believe the only solution to this ongoing problem is education. While current government officials and trade representatives (often monitoring, if not directly connected to, trade associations) as well as local community leaders can self-learn, future generations will gain from basic instruction on the consular institution when it’s taught on a college or university level.

Relational and Social Interactions Regardless of the nature of relational events or the social interactions with a civil society organization in which a consul is involved in his official capacity, some rules are necessary for smoothing the interplay between a

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consul and his hosts. Maybe the gravitas of “precedence” and “etiquette” is best evidenced in the literal reference to each term in the diplomatic treaty (VCDR), although scholarly writers commonly ignore both as being too prosaic for institutions of higher education and, therefore, of no relevance to any relational interactions with consuls. Consuls are of a different mind. At official events, they expect the respect and acknowledgment ascribed to the country they represent. The consular treaty (VCCR) takes a somewhat different linguistic approach than the diplomatic one. While the delegates at the consular convention did settle on the term “precedence” for ranking consuls, they didn’t invoke the concept of “etiquette.” Still, the ranking rules weren’t adopted just as an isolated exercise in vanity, since rank as the basis for precedence of the heads of post occupies one whole article in the treaty. In addition, there are specifics on how precedence is set between those consuls who are not heads of post, and what information needs to be communicated to the receiving state for this purpose. As I mentioned in Chapter 1, the generally accepted rule, which is laid down in international praxis and affirmed in the VCCR, is that heads of post rank in each class (consul general, consul, vice consul) according to the date when their service lawfully began in the receiving country. In another reminder from prior text (Chapter 2), many countries grant their permission in an informal manner, but it’ll always include a starting date, which is an obviously relevant factor for the ranking system. I also noted that the matter of precedence comes with many contingencies for several possible scenarios, showing how seriously the delegates in Vienna took the topic. Regardless of the category heads of post belong to (career or honorary), they take precedence over consular officers who are not such heads. The treaty also specifies that career heads outrank honorary heads in each class, and it includes detailed rules on acting heads;—further evidence of the diligence with which the delegates considered the topic of rank and, therefore, precedence. Before the VCCR, it was common that sending states designated their own head of post. In at least one post-convention instance, this outdated custom was used to create the peculiar situation of one long-time honorary consul (with an extensive law practice) being named the head, although the country he represented had a notably active career post in the same city. A situation like that would test the composure of any civic

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organization wanting to appear savvy in the rules of consular protocol and etiquette. Fortunately, civilized society can usually find compromises that satisfy the parties in most situations. Except with a common trigger of displeasure: the display of a consul’s national flag. As a symbol of the sending state, a flag may by its mere presence evoke strong emotions among a consul’s conationals and local critics alike. Although the VCCR permits (with certain restrictions) the flying of the flag of the sending state at consulates and residences, security concerns have made many consuls forego such displays. Global politics can also wreak havoc with flags among the best-intended hosting officials, such as when one nation doesn’t recognize the existence of another and insists on the removal of the offending flag. I, myself, have witnessed such a scene. The only solution was then to remove all flags, not just the one under dispute, from the official display in the hall reserved for the event. Since nations may have different rules for how and where their flags may be flown, we can only consider the generalities although one rule may be near-universal: in a line of flags, the one of the hosting country takes the place of honor to the far right of other flags (this equals the far left when seen by an observer). Additionally, the sizes and height of poles must be equal. My previous publications have covered the flag aspect of civic diplomacy in greater detail but are generally outside the parameters for this book. Table-sized versions of these symbols, which are unique to each nation, may seem as a harmless way of recognizing other states, but in a world with frequent disapproval of outsourcing the manufacturing to other countries, even this kind of a less conspicuous display may not be as well-received as hosts had hoped. I, too, used to believe that smaller flags were not as prone as those on full-sized poles to cause a negative reaction, but I was wrong. For instance, I recall one event where the local Boy Scouts troop was scheduled to perform the customary American parade of flags. When the organization realized it didn’t have poles of equal size it compromised with table-sized versions of the foreign flags as the scouts did their traditional presenting of the colors with the host country’s regulation-size flag. When one of the consular guests angrily remarked how the receiving state was singled out for all the fanfare, I knew hosts were doomed to be criticized, regardless of their sincere intent to practice good diplomacy. Since then, I’ve lost count of the times when all flag-displays were eliminated, even the tabletop variety.

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As seen in the just-mentioned example and in my prior comments, consuls expect (even to a fault) their countries to be acknowledged with respect. Ultimately, that’s the purpose of protocol although the more commonly found rules of etiquette may be a more useful platform for the conduct of diplomacy. At official events, they include such seemingly trite matters as proper introductions, forms of address (to recognize the official position of a consul), seating arrangements, placement in a receiving line, and even matching the correct country to a consul. I’ll never forget the occasions when I was introduced as “ambassador” attached to an equally incorrect country. Another frequent misuse of terms is “head of (a diplomatic) mission,” transposed from the correct consular equivalence of “head of post.”

Consuls in Their Own Groups By now, it should be no surprise to readers that imprecise terminology is a real obstacle when trying to understand the consular institution. Among the commonly heard, or printed, misnomers for the groups of consuls that correctly is a corps of consuls, there’s the ever-present corpse with the hard p and s, seemingly made more credible by a head of state pronouncing it that way. Additionally, one runs across the inevitable error of core and corp. When preceded by such conjectures as consulate, counselor, or even counsellar, the meaning of the corps becomes absurd. Add to this misguidance another name of the group, inappropriately favored by some consuls themselves: the diplomatic corps. In fact, and as I previously stated, delegates at the two Vienna conventions rejected the proposal both for a diplomatic and consular corps, as well as naming the senior member of either one a dean (the French doyen). Still, without any support in the VCCR and subsequent literature, the term consular corps remains in customary usage, although the original meaning of it and its leader has been diluted through incorrect usage. Drawing a parallel to the diplomatic corps, which has an important ceremonial presence in capitals around the world, groups of consuls in any given location will automatically come into being as a consular corps. From a legal standpoint, there’s no action required to “create” it, nor can it be broken up or eliminated. Membership is by fact (consular status), not discretionary so that a legitimate consul could somehow be rejected (for instance, through a vote by other consuls). Some groups prefer not to abide by traditional rules that consider the highest-ranking consul the

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spokesperson (the dean of the corps) but places the leadership role in the hands of someone named a president, a secretary-general, a liaison, or whatever term agreed upon by the group. In at least one known instance, that person had no official status or other attachment to a consulate. Confusion often arises when only a bloc of a consular group becomes known as a corps (such as the African, Latin, or European corps), or it makes public the names of both an elected president and a traditionally positioned dean. The major newspaper in one metropolis, when reporting on a schism between the two just mentioned leaders, quoted the dean as saying (erroneously) that the VCCR “is clear on the deanship” (which the treaty doesn’t address) and on “the order of precedence” (which it does address for heads of post). Eventually, the president resigned from his role and the dean regained his position as top spokesperson of the corps. Scenarios like the one above confirm that consuls can take matters relating to their role in local communities quite seriously, and often the narratives they like to share aren’t necessarily accurate depictions of what they do and why they were sent to a particular post in the first place. When a dean fails to explain the nature and role of the consular corps he represents, and shapes the group’s heritage to his own preference, the public tends to believe him because of the perceived stature of his position. But as the following observation of the Consular Corps of Miami shows, the history of any consular group can be too subjective for an unbiased truth. Still, using Miami and Florida as a historical laboratory for establishing the origin of what some believe is the third-largest consular corps in the United States will shed a bright light on the historical essence of groups of consuls in other communities. Above all, it’ll bring perspective to the universal nature of this piece of the consular institution. Tequesta Journal LXXVII, 2017: A Corps of Foreign Consuls. (Excerpt adapted) In today’s global world it’s impossible to picture any major city without a consular corps, but fifty years ago several consuls threatened to pull their offices – even their homes – out of Miami and, indeed, the whole state of Florida. The impending move was caused by the alleged failure of city, metro and federal officials to prevent suspected anti-Castro terrorists from blowing up consular targets and not being caught. Even though Mexico was the prime target among thirty-eight bombings in one year alone,

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other non-Latin countries maintaining diplomatic relations with Cuba felt vulnerable and were willing to at least pay lip-service to a move-out. Quaint as this possibility may seem today, imagine if you can, the present group consisting of around one-hundred accredited consuls who represent more than seventy countries in the Miami area alone, wanting to pull up stakes; -and that excludes a large number of non-consular support personnel and over twenty separate trade offices. If this were to happen, the media would certainly spring into action as the Miami News did with an editorial in 1968, boldly headlining its message to the city fathers, “Keep Consular Corps.” Regardless of the power of the media, the corps is now not only a permanent fixture in Miami but its members are also major contributors to the commercial, financial, cultural and educational exchanges in which the city and the state are engaged. Indeed, the group formed by local consuls is one to which many local civic, business, and educational leaders aspire to belong, – as (honorary) consuls themselves! Although there’s no indisputable definition of what constitutes a “consular corps” we still need a workable concept of the term to understand the nature of this group. To begin with, one asks, is one member sufficient to form a “corps?” Proceedings from meetings with a Florida official makes mention of the “Consular Corps of [state capital]” although there was only one consul with a physical office in the city! Another dilemma: can a group be considered historically existing in a city before its incorporation? And what about those out-of-state consulates with functional jurisdiction over a place like Miami: are these consuls members of the Miami corps? One state compilation of “the Consular Corps of Florida” included offices as far away as Houston because consuls at that location had jurisdiction in our state too. Closer to home, there’s the long-standing question of the consuls with offices in Ft. Lauderdale (Broward County), a city contiguous to Miami (Dade County): should/could they also be considered members of the Consular Corps of Miami when they have official consular oversight over both counties? My research was made complicated by the print media; corpse, corp, cops, and consulor are but a few examples of the consistent confusion. While Europeans are often familiar with the Corps Consulaire (abbreviated as CC on auto license plates), it seems Americans mostly recognize a “corps” from news about the press corps (at the White House) or the Army’s corps of engineers (post-hurricane relief work), and many insist on pronouncing (and writing it) it as a corpse (hard “ps”) like President Obama did in a speech where he mentioned a Navy corpsman. Adding more frustration to my research was also the fact that most stories relating to local consuls were initially written by a society editor,

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without the serious approach by business editors of today. In the rare case where the head of the post was a woman, it was easier to treat a story about her as a social appendage to her husband (“Mrs. John Smith”) than to give her credit for being the consul general of her home country. And a story about a hotel owner, rewarded with the position of honorary consul for having lavishly hosted important visitors from the sending country did little to enlighten the public about the meaning of a consular position. Then there were the attention-grabbing blurbs in the news, such as one consul lying dead from a heart attack in his home for five days before being discovered missing. Another consul succumbed to a heart attack on the dance floor, presumably in a happy state of mind. More amusing is the story about a consul who called the local police about a burglary at his home but ended up being arrested for growing marijuana in his backyard. All of these officials held career positions for their countries. […] Germany presents a good example of how a consulate evolves to meet local needs and, hence, affects the nature of the local consular corps. In the beginning of the Holocaust-related restitution process to local Jews, the German government first appointed honorary consuls – with one specifically selected for his “compassionate nature” – but today the country is represented in Miami through a large career consulate general. […] The roots of the Consular Corps of Miami are primarily with Spain, dating to 1842. That’s the year when a Spanish consulate was established at the closest point between the Spanish possession of Cuba and mainland Florida: Key West (US territory since 1822, and the Southernmost tip of America). In 1903, only a year after the island gained its independence from Spain, Cuba went on to establish its own consulate in that same outpost. To give context to the timeline, it had been only seven years earlier (1896) that Miami had been officially incorporated and although local newspaper clippings from 1914 are subject to interpretation (“Cuban Vice Consul here”) there’s a presumption that Cuba had a physical consulate in Miami at that time. Five years later, there was a specific announcement in the press that the city now had a Cuban consulate. Because of overall confusion with the whole concept of a consulate at that time, I believe that the newly independent nation of Cuba didn’t have a bricks-and-mortar office in Miami until 1926 when the consul moved into a neo-classical villa that was repeatedly covered in the press as the “first Cuban consulate.” Today an art gallery and exhibition hall, it’s often featured as one of the best places for ghost-spotting in Miami (the consul’s wife, who died from complications of an amputation, reportedly shows up as a one-legged woman).

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Philosophy, etymology, and semantics continue to get in the way of pinpointing an exact date for the establishment of the Consular Corps of Miami. For instance, there’s the French Heritage Trail Guide (a publication by the Florida Department of State) that cites a French source setting the founding date in Florida of a consulate of France as “ca. 1847” (two years after Florida became a state), located in Apalachicola, a British trading post southwest of the state capital. If the geographical territory of these early consulates – the French around 1847 and the Spanish/Cuban in 1886 – could be verified as extending down south to Miami, the roots of the consular corps would clearly run much deeper than initially imagined. Additional clues for how to determine when the Consular Corps of Miami came into being are found in the official document on functions promulgated by the government of Cuba for its Florida consulate. In addition to responsibilities such as travel, tourism and other public relations functions, the office was charged with reporting to its government matters of “political, social and economic interest in Key West and south Florida.” Any maritime issues involving Cuban vessels “within the consular jurisdiction” were also included. It’s exactly within those quotes that the sprouting of the first roots of the Consular Corps of Miami lies. Because the physical location of a consulate doesn’t in itself define the geographical territory it has been approved for, we again look to American history for guidance, if not absolute answers. Only two years after the country was founded, but with Florida not being a state yet, the first foreign career consulates – the French – were operating in port cities throughout the land. It’s quite possible, as time went on, that the geographical reach of other foreign nations with established consulates in a major city like New York went so far as Miami, even before its incorporation as a city in 1896. Consuls attached to such northern offices with supervision over areas a thousand miles away could then be considered as belonging to that group of consuls regardless of the name of it. In other words, for purposes of defining that corps, it may be immaterial where the office is physically located. Perhaps 1965 is a major milestone in the history of all consular groups throughout Florida as that was the year when an official apology was made for the state having been previously “derelict” in recognizing its consuls. Predicting a new era of friendship and goodwill, Florida was then proclaimed “internationally conscious.” Further strides in the globalization of the state through the growing presence of foreign consuls within its territory took place in the decade beginning in 1978 when these officials were named “Partners in Progress.” All consuls with jurisdiction in Florida – some coming from as far away as Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta – were then invited to what had been

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designated as the Florida Consular Corps Day during the legislative session in the capital. […] Because of a basic semantic dispute on who should be recognized as a “Florida consul” (the extent to which we must consider the geographical reach of out-of-area consulates) and a disagreement on what a consular corps really is (is one consul sufficient to call itself a “corps,” as was the case with the Florida capital?), the exact year for when any consular corps in Florida came into being is subjectively based on historical facts. The only thing certain is that the roots meld with those of other institutions, both on a local and state basis, and even the foreign relations of the country where it’s located.

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CHAPTER 5

A Touch of Privileges and Immunities

Abstract A search through the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations for “privileges and immunities” (appearing together, not separately, throughout the treaty) shows a topic so filled with legal technicalities as to fall outside the stated scope of this book. Nevertheless, a few discussed matters of law have a practical purpose for all local communities with a consular presence. Therefore, the concept of functional immunity is explained against the rationale behind consular privilege and consular immunity that extends to official archives and documents. When members of the “general public” with varying educational backgrounds are faced with a written or spoken reference to consular privileges and immunities, they’ll routinely claim knowledge about perceived special rights related to consular vehicles which they have observed in their communities. And yet, there’s typically a difference in their minds between the privilege of complimentary parking as a distinctive right or an exclusive advantage for consuls, and something else that looks like consular immunity to them, but is often believed to be so complete that these officials are thought to be above the law. The chapter sheds particular light on two sub-topics of great practical significance in all communities where consuls are not exempt from local jurisdiction: third-party claims for damages arising from a car accident, and a breach of contractual obligations by a consul.

© The Author(s) 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0_5

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Keywords Vienna Convention on Consular Relations · Privileges · Immunities · Functional immunity · Consular archives · Consular documents · Consular vehicles · Third-party claims for damages arising from a car accident · Contractual obligations

Introduction A search through the VCCR for “privileges and immunities” (consistently appearing together, and not separately) shows a topic so filled with legal technicalities as to fall outside the scope of this book, although a few matters of law have a practical purpose for all local communities with a consular presence. Hence, this chapter briefly reviews such concepts as consular immunity from jurisdiction and personal inviolability along with affiliated privileges, which may not necessarily be a part of societal awareness. And yet, if you mention one of the head-lined terms, preceded by “consular,” to a random set of members of the “general public” (meaning those without a law degree, and of varying educational backgrounds), they’ll be quick to talk about all kinds of special rights relating to consular vehicles that they have observed in their communities. Typically, you can discern a difference in their minds between the privilege of complimentary parking as a special right or advantage for consuls, and that “something else” that looks like immunity to them, often believed to be so complete that these officials are thought to be above the law. But if you mention license-plate matters to someone in the academic community, you’re likely to get a different reaction. They’ll frequently say that, just like ranking and protocol issues, anything related to consular vehicles (such as tickets for moving violations, or unpaid parking fines) is irrelevant to the consular institution. Cities with budgetary shortfalls due in part to the loss in parking revenue may be of a different mind, though, since some public policymakers take into consideration research done on this topic by the respected US National Bureau of Economic Research (established in 1920). One outcome shows diplomats with the most parking violations were those who represented high

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corruption countries and nations with “less favorable views” of the host country. The possibility of consular parking issues influencing international diplomacy on some micro-level may be far-fetched but still very real, as claims of special privileges seem ongoing. Some consular groups even nurture close relations with local mayors and chiefs of police, along with other municipal and state officials, to negotiate complimentary parking for consular vehicles at airports and other municipal facilities.

Privileges, Immunities, and Inviolabilities In addition to the stories floating around business and other community circles about consuls and their free parking, there are those apocryphal tales of “diplomats” (even when it’s known to the listener that the subject is consuls) committing all kinds of other legal infractions and “getting away with it.” As one consular official said in public (obviously not being bothered by the fact that the law distinguishes between diplomats and consuls in the first place), “as diplomats, we can’t be fined for illegal parking.” Some people have also been overheard saying that the main reason they’d like to be appointed to an honorary position is for “the free parking.” Other honoraries are more magnanimous when they say service in that position is a privilege, a reward in itself. Regardless, a privilege is generally in the nature of a courtesy (although some call it favoritism) and not a legal right to be argued before a judge. Immunity from jurisdiction of the courts in the receiving state means that these judicial bodies may not pass judgment on foreign consuls legitimately functioning within its territory, although the right of these officials to claim immunity is far from absolute. Historically, this brings to mind the extra-territoriality of some of the early “consuls” who, working abroad, were allowed to apply the laws of their sending state to disputes involving conationals, rather than these being subject to the domestic laws of the foreign territory. But in keeping with a pragmatic approach to a complicated legal topic, a cursory examination of the inviolability of the

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person and, by extension, his offices, archives, and documents (including electronic data), may be sufficient for a very basic understanding of consular immunities. Although it is a universally accepted rule of law (codified in the VCCR) that consular officers enjoy complete immunity for acts they perform as part of their consular functions , the problem begins with the fact that “function,” as we’ve already seen, is a term not easily defined. In addition to the duties laid down in treaties or established by customary law, and any special directives a consul receives from his sending government are also part of the official functions he’ll perform. The problem here is that the latter documents are no longer so readily available as they’ve become more and more classified over the years, which means consulates or their superior offices are not as willing as they might have been in the past to disclose whatever instructions exist. And, since some honorary consuls don’t even receive any guidance or training on functions at the time they are appointed, they may not even know if and when they’re performing a truly legitimate “consular function” whenever there’s a claim against them. Another problem may arise when the sending government’s instructions to its consuls stationed abroad are so unambiguous as to exclude any adjustment for individual situations. This was the case with one nation’s decree on the mandatory issuance of a passport to a conational who requests it. Not only was the document produced, but the consul delivered it to his fellow citizen who quickly returned to the homecountry;—away from local charges of murder. When the consul (who remained in his territory, rather than leaving the receiving country himself) was charged with the felony of assisting a criminal, he successfully claimed immunity because he was performing a legitimate consular function. Although the previous chapter contained the many variations of what constitutes a legitimate (or “genuine”) consular function, some writers have interpreted the general clause in the VCCR (Article 5 m) to mean an extension to the “official functions” concept. While legal scholars, philologists, or just your every-day philosopher, could probably spend days on

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the dilemma of a consular versus official function, I’ve chosen to use the terms interchangeably in favor of a pragmatic approach to claims by consuls for immunity from prosecution of traffic infractions and the usual parking fines. Here again, the United States is used as an example since it’s made it abundantly clear that the operation of an automobile is not a consular function, even when the facts seem unusual. When a consul was arrested for blocking a fellow motorist and then assaulting her with a firearm, the court denied him immunity although he claimed to be transporting “sensitive consular documents.” Another useful observation from the legal opinion in this case is that the purpose of the trip was immaterial. Other consuls, when stopped by traffic police, have unsuccessfully claimed immunity not only because of their own “diplomatic status” (available only when attached to their embassy) but because they were chauffeuring their ambassador (whose immunities are broader than those of consuls). Quite relevant to local communities where consuls move about in their cars is the specific VCCR article that denies immunity when there’s a third-party claim against them for damages arising from an accident caused by their vehicle (or “vessel or aircraft”). Some receiving states (and again, we look to the United States) now require proof of automobile insurance from all career consuls before the recognizable redwhite-and-blue license plate is issued by the federal government. The distinction in consular category is important, since the vehicles of honorary consuls aren’t permitted to be marked in this unique way. As we recall from Chapter 2, these consular officers are permanent residents or citizens of the receiving state and are, therefore, treated “trafficwise” like anyone else in the community even though they, too, may be identified through special auto plates at the discretion of the individual states. These insignia must, however, be distinguishable from the federal design. Another situation with practical implications for individuals collaborating with consuls is when both parties wish to enter into a written agreement, such as for the purchase or lease of a car or real property. What if the signing consul pleads functional immunity after he fails to fulfill his financial obligation, or any other contractual duty? Although consuls might be wise to take the legal advice given by a practitioner

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to avoid the lengthy and costly process involved with court proceedings by finding other means for settling a dispute, the worry of dealing with consuls has caused some civilians to shun away from entering into any contractual arrangement with them. Presumably, they are not aware of the VCCR, which tells us that a consul will be held to the stipulations in a contract unless he signed it “expressly or impliedly” as an agent of his sending state. Some bilateral treaties further reinforce this point.

Inviolability of Consular Offices and Archives As we’ve already seen, the receiving state has an obligation to protect the consular person and his office, the consulate. The universal right to be free from intrusion, which in the modern world includes electronic surveillance, is referred to as “inviolability” (of the office) in the VCCR. The treaty includes circumstances under which the principle may be breached, such as when a fire or rioting by outsiders threatens the well-being of others, and the consulate is housed in a large structure containing other offices. Whereas embassies are mostly detached buildings where potential destruction can be contained, consulates may sometimes be a small part of a civilian’s private premises that aren’t subject to the same inviolability although, if authorization to enter is easily available, the dilemma is resolved. If consent from the head of post (or from a superior office, like the embassy) cannot be had, or is refused for some reason, permission can sometimes be assumed. The above inviolability extends protection to the consular “archives,” which include such items as the usual official papers and correspondence, and also books and films, and maybe surprisingly, cabinets storing these articles. They are at all times inviolable, as are the consular bags in which they may be transported. Archives belonging to an honorary consul don’t enjoy the same protection, unless they are kept separate from his private and business papers. These legal safeguards also include freedom of communication with conationals and local authorities. They aren’t designed for the personal benefit of individuals but rather to jointly and reciprocally ensure the continuation of the consular institution. Above all, these concepts of law enable consuls to effectively perform their functions.

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Inviolability of the Consular Person Without stepping deeply into the subject of criminal activities, I’ll only touch upon the question of potential consular immunity from charges of a crime. Against the seemingly common (but erroneous) belief that diplomatic immunities for these acts somehow shield consuls, too, the VCCR instructs that a consul can be arrested or detained only in the case of a grave crime, following a decision by a competent judicial authority. However, the treaty doesn’t give us any guidance on what constitutes that kind of legal wrongdoing. Sometimes, matters of this nature are quickly resolved through diplomatic avenues so that the offending foreign consul is sent home, away from the reach of the jurisdiction of the authorities in the area where he had purportedly committed the criminal act. Any arrest or detention must be conducted without undue hindrance to his consular activities and observing the dignity of his office. If called as a witness, he’s obligated to testify, but there’s no penalty if he declines. Under no circumstance, does he have to give evidence on his consular functions or provide official correspondence and documents.

Taxes, and Asylum Suffice it to say a book of this nature can and will only briefly mention the vast area of consular taxation, which includes such matters as taxes for personal income, sales and purchases, and real estate. With a cautionary reference to any bilateral treaty that’d clarify issues of this nature, we might still take note of the VCCR clause providing exemption from taxes on “consular premises and the residence of the career head of post” when the sending state owns the property. Usually, these agreements provide great details on other taxes with perhaps the main matter of interest being that consuls are not double taxed for the income they make in the service of their sending country. One honorary consul, in a meeting with government officials embarrassed his colleagues by arguing that all consuls, regardless of category, be exempt from import duties and sales taxes on consumable

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goods. His primary concern turned out to be the customs duties he had paid for the purchase of liquor to be used for “official entertainment” purposes. Both requests for an exemption were quickly dismissed as being completely without any legal or customary support. When it comes to requests for asylum through a consul, we again move with caution. Although consuls—particularly honoraries—rarely face this kind of plea, at least one speaks of being awakened in the middle of the night by local police authorities holding an inebriated foreign national who was asking for asylum at the consulate. The consul correctly referred the matter to the central government of the receiving state rather than considering the matter a part of his expected duties, in which case the topic would have been appropriately discussed in the chapter on consular functions. Incidentally, the term asylum appears nowhere in the text of the VCCR;—or the diplomatic treaty for that matter. As we acknowledge a degree of privileges and immunities for these foreign officials called consuls, we’re again reminded that all rights are modified by treaties, customary law, and that powerful principle of reciprocity. Eliminating the image of an exclusive class of people who receive favored treatment over others, the VCCR may have anticipated this kind of misconception when it included the explicit duty of all persons to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state. In addition, the sending state may waive any or all special rights of its consuls.

Concluding Thoughts As we return to the VCCR, but this time to the frequently overlooked Preamble, we consider my earlier reference to privileges and immunities contributing to the “development of friendly relations among nations.” Surely this leaves a reader puzzled over how any special status of consuls can enhance the way nations interact with each other. The answer lies in the rationale behind these legal protections. Without some degree of immunity, these officials could be subject to haphazard and capricious treatment by local authorities causing the whole

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purpose of the consular institution to be jeopardized. The universal principle of reciprocity could then lead to an endless circle of retaliation and retribution between the sending and receiving states, none of which serves the respectable goal of “friendly relations between nations.”

CHAPTER 6

Consuls Popularized Through Time

Abstract While consular functions continue to evolve to reflect global changes in the ease of movement of people and property, and in all areas where technological advancement has changed consular relations, one thing has remained the same: a degree of confusion surrounding consuls and how they spend their days at the consulate, sometimes even stoked by some diplomatic superiors who’ve described consuls as incompetent, corrupt, and frequently intoxicated. What is undeniable is the fact that inherent with the consular institution is a certain amount of cosmopolitanism and international prestige that often attracts the public’s attention to a commercial product or service when manufacturers and service providers commandeer the consular name for their marketing purposes. Even collectors of memorabilia keep the public’s fascination with consuls alive, by continually trading in items with a consular branding. The allure of the modern consul is also reflected in such areas as music, literature and art that have stood the test of time for their creativity, if not always for their consular accuracy. Admittedly inspired by personal preference, a selection of consular narratives concludes this book. Keywords Consuls popularized · Mystique surrounding consuls · Consular institution · Cosmopolitanism · International prestige · Consular name for marketing purposes · Consular branding · Consular narratives

© The Author(s) 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0_6

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Introduction Much time has been spent in this book on that evasive concept of functions of the modern consuls. Their work has evolved, and continues to do so, to reflect global changes in the ease of movement of people and property, and in all areas with technological advancement where the transmission of information is the least of it. But one thing has remained the same, and that’s a degree of mystique surrounding consuls, only tempered by conflicting impressions that often lead to an exaggeration of their importance and speculation on how they spend their days at the office, the consulate. Sometimes the opposite has been true, which means government, civic, business, or educational leaders who deal with the foreign consuls on a local basis don’t even find it necessary to understand their role, functions, and influence. What is undeniable, though, is the fact that inherent with the consular institution is a certain amount of cosmopolitanism and international prestige that may draw the public’s attention to a commercial product or service incorporating the consular title in its name. Even collectors of memorabilia have added to the public’s fascination with these officials. Among the sought-after items of today is a line of portable typewriters named Consul, first manufactured in 1953. They were followed in 1961 by Ford Motor Company’s launch of a mid-size car with the same name. Promising Brazilians a better laundry experience than before, Whirlpool then named a line of its washing machines for the Latin American market Consul while Steve Madden, iconic fashion designer of on-trend men’s and women’s shoes, maximized the potential of one line of footwear by using the same consular meme. But all of the brandings with a consular title pale in comparison with the Consul class of the brush-footed butterfly family, which apparently has been fossilized for millions of years. The allure of the modern consul is also reflected in more meaningful areas like music, literature and art that have stood the test of time for their creativity, if not always for their consular accuracy. My own attraction to this phenomenon is expressed in my choice of examples, below. I’ve also included a few selected personal narratives, all presented in no particular order.

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Consular Mirage In 1950, when Gian-Carlo Menotti’s opera The Consul had its world premiere in Philadelphia reviewers were quick to note that, in spite of the title, the plot revolves around a consul who never appears on stage. It doesn’t take long for the audience to empathize with the female protagonist, a political dissident desperate for an exit visa that only the consul can issue. Questions like, “Have you ever seen the consul? Does he speak, does he breathe?” hang heavily in the air (or the libretto, as the case may be) as the illusion of a coldblooded consular functionary is set to the operatic music. The endless wait is only punctuated by a magician performing his tricks before the waiting characters in the reception area. Under the hypnotic spell of the illusionist they believe they are at a ball, till the secretary (the consular gatekeeper, if you will) singingly upbraids the trickster, “Don’t you know how to behave in a consulate?” Re-assuring the lady who’s there for her exit visa (“You won’t have to wait very long.”), the assistant then leads us to believe there’s a happy ending to this consular drama. But still no consul. He’s inside with a “very important visitor” who—spoiler alert—turns out to hold the sad outcome of the opera in his hands. Sometimes the general public looks at the local consuls as imaginary people who are hard to meet and understand. Some are just like in the opera, protected by an overzealous secretary or today’s bulletproof glass, while other consuls are overworked and simply have to make a conscious decision to become invisible. Some consulates employ guards, who have been known to refuse entry to non-citizens. As a consul I had many occasions when, for self-preservation, I had to avoid receiving somebody in my office when the individual misunderstood the role of a consul, particularly that of an honorary consul like myself, and believed all of us had unlimited funds to dole out to suffering conational residents and tourists alike. I also recall many requests by members of the public who just wanted to drop into the consulate to share their happy or not-so-happy experience somewhere in Scandinavia or to ask for my help in tracing their roots. One person even called to request an invite for him and his family to my next consular reception based on, as he argued, his ancestral ties to the overall geographic region from where I hailed. If I had been like the magician in Menotti’s opera, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, perhaps I could

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have created my own illusion of existence and hypnotized him and the rest of the public into believing I could fulfill their wishes.

The Futile Wait More than 100 years ago Puccini wrote Madama Butterfly, an opera casting an American consul in Nagasaki in a supporting role to the betterknown US naval officer, Lt. Pinkerton. Called the opera’s “moral compass” by one reviewer, Consul Sharpless is charged with talking the lieutenant out of marrying the Geisha in the title-role. After all, the consul reminds his conational, he’s engaged to an American girl who’s waiting for him back home. But the consular advice doesn’t impress the lieutenant, who has already rented a house for himself and Butterfly. The wedding goes on, and shortly thereafter, the groom leaves Japan. Several years later, enter Consul Sharpless again. Asked by Pinkerton to explain to Butterfly that he has no plans to remain in Nagasaki since he’s now married to his American sweetheart, the now-cowardly consul demurs when the Geisha tells him she’s given birth to the lieutenant’s son. After a few operatic twists, we learn that Pinkerton and his new wife want to adopt the boy and Butterfly agrees on the condition that he comes himself to get his child. The plot unfolds without any more memorable input by the consul, and the opera ends, not unexpectedly, in death. Not of the consul but of Butterfly. Heavy on Japanese marriage tradition and social customs, Madama Butterfly has been criticized for being stereotypical and sexist. Still, it remains one of the most beloved operas of all times. Although Consul Sharpless is not the main protagonist, he adds a dimension of a consul’s work that should appeal to all of us who don’t want to see these officials as mere bureaucratic puppets but as humans with a heart. Some consuls have even publicly shared their own memory of being put in situations that required a humanitarian approach. One of my favorites is the story about a consul’s tenderness and compassion with which he offered creative assistance to an emotionally disturbed conational (a survivor of one of the war-time camps) who believed his brain was inundated with laser beams designed to destroy him. The consul convinced the victim that chemical formulas and random numbers scribbled on a piece of cardboard would protect the sufferer from further injury, and he left a happy man, returning every six months for an update of the secret codes.

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A Case of Real Scotch A consular relationship doesn’t usually come with a high pecuniary value attached to it, although some may claim it to be priceless, because when nations break off diplomatic relations between each other, it’s consuls who fulfill the role of keeping the door ajar for future interaction. In practical terms, this means that even when politics forces the closing of an embassy, a consulate may still function. In Graham Greene’s intriguing novel The Honorary Consul, the name character becomes the subject of a botched political kidnap in Argentina. One of the villains wants to keep the honorary consul because, as he says, “he’s a member of the diplomatic corps” (correctly, that would of course be the consular corps). “No, he isn’t,” says the protégé, who’s trying to save the honorary consul’s life. “An Honorary Consul is not a proper consul…What on earth can you ask in return for (him)? Perhaps a case of real Scotch?” Quite often the public thinks of consuls—and diplomats, for that matter—as men about town, who go from party to party hoisting a glass of liquor, all under the guise of being engaged in international relations, of course. Greene describes his consular protagonist as a lazy drunk, and that may naturally be true for this particular person, but what stands out in the story relative to the consular institution is the statement that he was allowed to import a luxury car duty-free every two years. If it were believable—he’s, after all, an honorary consul with very limited privileges—I wish the author had increased the ransom for the consul to a brand-new Cadillac instead of just a meager case of Scotch. Today, duty-free imports are mostly regulated by reciprocal agreements, but a very brief reference to the VCCR will be of interest here. According to the treaty, consuls may import duty-free articles for the official use of the consular post. To gain the same benefit for personal items “intended for consumption” (bottles of Scotch certainly fit here) the quantity must typically not exceed that which is “necessary for direct utilization by the persons concerned.” It seems one case of whiskey falls well within those limitations. Nevertheless, the abuse of privileged treatment relative to import duties has given fodder to stories about members of the foreign service (diplomats and career consuls, alike) as sybarites, if not directly dishonorable people. I think of one representative of a small foreign nation who reportedly imported twelve grand pianos during his posting in a European capital. His argument that they were duty-free

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items didn’t convince local authorities who also found that he had sold these musical instruments at a great personal profit. After reading The Honorary Consul, my thoughts returned to my earlier comments about how police had come to my rescue at my consular residence. At that time, although I hadn’t read the book yet, the possibility of being taken hostage did cross my mind and apparently that of the local law enforcement. But there hadn’t been talk of a case of Scotch, of that I am sure. Fortunately for me, and as far as I know, nobody ever tried to put any kind of value on my consular worth although the President of Finland did thank me for my services with the Order of the White Rose.

As a Hero Consular titles come in many shapes and forms, but mainly the titleholders share in the same universal functions. Chiune Sugihara was a vice consul of Japan, who performed the assigned official tasks for his country in Lithuania during WWII. Sometimes during this period, he started hand-writing transit visas to six thousand Jews from Poland and Lithuania, thereby saving them from certain death. Even though his government forbade him to issue these documents, which gave permission to the refugees to travel across Japanese territory to other countries, he continued to follow his own conscience. When the consulate closed, he returned to Japan where, in 1947, he was put through the shameful process of forced retirement from his foreign service position. It’d take till the year 2000 before his “courageous and humanitarian” conduct was posthumously recognized by his government, while officials also denied that he had been asked to resign. Almost sixty years later, I attended a lecture on this hero, this man who’ll always remain one of the Righteous Among the Nations, so named by Israel to honor the courageous people who saved Jews from certain annihilation during the Holocaust. With the speaker continually referring to him as “council,” I again reflected on the need for education to eliminate that term from talks about consuls. Indeed, this was a unique man who wasn’t one of many, as in a member of a council . He deserves better.

Ghosts and Art Just like any other person, consuls can inadvertently become functionaries in high-level dramas, which they never planned for. In the previous excerpt from the Tequesta I shared the story how the first Cuban consulate

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in Miami (1926) peacefully transitioned into the art gallery and exhibition hall it’s today, and how the serenity of the late consul’s office and home is shattered only when his wife reportedly shows up as a one-legged apparition. There’s no report by ghost-spotters of the consul himself, although the lush tropical vegetation of his backyard garden, filled with cages of the exotic birds he loved, might well have lured swarms of other shadowy figures. In 1976, the seed for a ghost-chasing effort of a different kind was planted although not by the Cuban consul. That’s the year when a piece of art of unknown provenance (i.e., the record showing the history of prior ownership) was donated to the teaching museum at the University of Miami. A tiny wood painting called The Holy Trinity, Seat of Mercy, this 500-year old work by German artist Georg Pencz had previously hung quietly since 1959 in the Miami Beach mansion of its owner, Claire Mendel, who just a year earlier had been tapped by the German government to be the new honorary consul in Miami. A year after his consular appointment, a position he was to hold for the next twenty years, he purchased the Trinity in Munich. When he passed away at the age of 97, he took with him any feeling he might have had about the missing provenance of the tiny painting. Soon, the mystery would engage a couple of other consuls in a series of actions that was by then spreading throughout the world. Since the late 90s, alliances like the US Commission on Holocaust Assets have actively been working with museums around the world on making the public aware of art looted by the Nazis from 1932–1945. When the lead curator at the Polish National Museum in Warsaw spotted the Holy Trinity in Miami where it was now on display in Villa Vizcaya, the century-old former Deering estate on Biscayne Bay, it didn’t take long before he was personally poring over a crack in the painting. In 2001, under the curious eye of the young honorary vice consul of Poland and using the latest technology to compare the chink with an already existing one on a photo from his national museum collection material, he declared the Holy Trinity the possession of the Polish people. In February 2002, with Consul Mendel long gone, the principals of each museum held a repatriation ceremony with the Polish consul general in New York City. At least in this case, the old Holocaust ghosts of ownership were laid to rest when the National Museum of Poland proudly featured the long-lost Holy Trinity in an exhibit of its cherished paintings

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by the better-known Albrecht Dürer, the tutor of Georg Pencz. And, to think at least three consuls played a critical part in the journey!

“Hollywood, Here We Come!” The famous line above is from a 1954 episode in the iconic TV-sitcom I Love Lucy and it recalls the story about a German consul who had been sent to Los Angeles in 1933. George Gyssling, the man soon to be known as “Hitler’s Hollywood consul,” arrived at his new post with specific instructions from his home government to monitor how the movie studios depicted Hitler and the Nazi regime. Cuts of offensive parts had to be made, and films considered “detrimental to German prestige” would be banned in his country, causing a major loss to the Hollywood movie industry that mostly depended on foreign distribution. Der Fuehrer, a movie buff with a surprising fondness for American cinema, had already forbidden any films that offended him but now it was up to his consul in Los Angeles to threaten screenwriters, producers and studio owners with consequences while ostensibly performing the normal functions of a consul. From the standpoint of the traditional consular duties discussed in Chapter 3, Consul Gyssling was duty bound to provide specific services and protection to his fellow citizens from Germany. That meant anywhere in Los Angeles and not just in one section of it, particularly the limited area that would later be nicknamed La La Land: -Hollywood. Almost eighty years later, and clearly intrigued by his role in the early movie industry, at least two widely-read American publications would incorrectly refer to him as either “consul to Hollywood” (as if any country limits its consular district to the center of one industry) or “foreign counsel ” (as if he somehow acted in an advisory role—foreign, no less—to the movie studios), conveniently overlooking that the consul’s constituency included all fellow Germans, regardless of religion or political persuasion. But, while he considered recent Jewish refugees as his own conationals, they, on the other hand, shunned the consul nicknamed the “most hated Nazi in Los Angeles.” Although there’s no evidence of Gyssling publicly describing the film industry as “Jewish-dominated” or making other antisemitic statements, a formal request to have him deported was filed. Even his personal physician denounced him, while his ambassador apologized to the US government. Gyssling simply continued as he had in his consular role till 1941 when

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President Roosevelt broke all diplomatic relations with Germany. He had no choice but to return home, where he was promptly interrogated by the Gestapo for having been “soft” on the Jews and engaging in other suspicious matters. Once he was cleared of these charges, he managed to get a new consular posting, but this time in Merano, Italy. Like other Nazi officials after the War he was then imprisoned by US officials but was eventually released into retirement, where he died in 1965. Today, Consul Gyssling lives on, not just in the annals of consular history but in the American world of the performing arts. Although he can never again be Hollywood-bound in real life, the man, who in another time might have been known as the Olympic bobsledder from Germany (1932, Lake Placid, New York), is now a main character in a recent stage production called The Consul, The Tramp, and America’s Sweetheart. In this screwball comedy (“suggested by true events”), Gyssling’s task is to make the studio head stop the mustachioed Charlie Chaplin from mimicking Hitler. But what the play doesn’t mention is the dual life of the consul. History has now shown that he was a double agent, who fed information about Nazi war efforts to a Jewish friend in Illinois, a subsequent US brigadier general who passed it on to the American government. Indeed, this was a foreign consul who, during his service abroad, surreptitiously gave counsel to an enemy of his own country, the very same nation that had vowed to annihilate all Jews, including the relatives of executives and actors at the Hollywood studios producing many of Hitler’s favorite movies. Historical nuggets like these may leave us questioning if it’s even possible to distinguish between instructions to consuls that may seem, at first glance, to be “legitimate” in nature and those directives hidden under the cloak of classified material from the home government. As I conclude this book, the question still lingers if it’s at all possible for us as members of the international community to fully understand the work of the modern consul.

Notes

As I indicated in the Introduction, the genesis of this book dates to decades-old research I began as a law student. Some source material used then and in subsequent years when I continued to engage myself in the consular institution, comes from past but not obsolete tomes on consuls and is supplemented by more recent writings, including feature stories on these foreign officials who regularly speak about their work to reporters from such business-oriented papers as Miami Today. In addition, I consulted my large supply of painstakingly kept personal notes from my discussions with US State Department officials and the many consular officers I’ve encountered in a great variety of venues over many years of my own engagement with “the Cause” (which is to provide a readable guide to current and future globalists on the meaning of these officials we call “consuls.”). Because the stated goal of this text was to make it straightforward, even enjoyable, without the usual legalese or academic jargon surrounding the subject, and because it’s designed to reach across a readership of differing educational and professional backgrounds, I made the conscious choice of omitting foot- or end-notes. Instead, what follows is a list of the source material I drew from (with the exception of the hand-notes mentioned above), without concern about the strict citing format of academic writers.

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0

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NOTES

Readers who feel short-changed on a particular aspect of the topic and wonder what source to check for more information will benefit from my system of listing titles of books or journal articles ahead of the authors’ names. To contribute to the overall user-friendliness, the year of publication, but without the publishing house, is always included. Online bookstores, libraries, and other research venues have made it easy for any reader, regardless of skills, to locate the material mentioned. As always, it’s advisable to consider the source of any selected publication, as opposed to blindly relying on online information that doesn’t necessarily make a clear distinction between a consular official and a diplomat, such as an ambassador, attached to his nation’s embassy in the capital of the receiving state. The two Vienna Conventions are a particularly useful starting point for understanding the difference.

Works Used

A Corps of Foreign Consuls: Looking at Its Miami Roots (2017). Hofstadter, C. G., Tequesta Journal (LXXVIII). A Diplomat’s Handbook of International Law and Practice (1988). Sen, B. American Consul: A History of the United States Consular Service 1776–1924 (2015). Kennedy, C. S. Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service (2008). Kopp, H. W. & Gillespie, C. A. Counsel, Consul, or Diplomat: Is There Any Practical Significance for Practitioners? (1991). Green, C., 1 U. Miami Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 143. Consular Affairs and Diplomacy (2011). Ed: Melissen, J. & Fernandez, A. M. Consular Dimension of Diplomacy (1983). Ed: Herz, M. F. Consular Law and Practice (2008). Lee, L. T. & Quigley, J. Defying Orders, Saving Lives: Heroic Diplomats of the Holocaust (2007). Holbrooke, R., Foreign Affairs (May/June). Diplomat: The World of International Diplomacy (1974). Clark, E. Diplomatic Corps as an Institution of International Society (2007). Ed: Sharp, P. & Wiseman, G. Diplomatic Corps’ Role in Constituting International Society (2007). Sharp, P. & Wiseman, G., Chapter 13 in Diplomatic Corps as an Institution of International Society (above). Esprit de Corps: Sketches of Diplomatic Life in Stockholm, Hanoi, and New York (2007). Wiseman, G., Chapter 12 in Diplomatic Corps as an Institution of International Society (above).

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0

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European Convention on Consular Relations (1967). Retrievable at: https://rm. coe.int/1680072311. For a discussion, go to: https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/311576884_The_Contribution_of_the_European_Convention_ on_Consular_Functions_to_the_Development_of_International_Law. Foreign Consular Offices in the United States (2016). Office of Protocol, Department of State, Washington, DC. Foreign Consuls Among Us: A Guide to Citizen Diplomacy (2013). Hofstadter, C. Foreign Consuls Among Us: Local Bridges to Globalism (2015). Hofstadter, C. Guide to Diplomatic Practice (2009). Satow, E. M. Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America (2017). Ross, S. J. Honorary Consul (1973). Greene, G. Honorary Consuls: A Booming Trade (2013). The Economist (August 31). Honorary Consuls in an Era of Globalization, Trade, and Investment (2011). Stringer, K. D., Chapter 3 in Consular Affairs and Diplomacy (above). Honorary Consuls: Life Among Canada’s Volunteer Diplomats (1989). Allen, G. Maclean’s, Vol. 102(5). Local Consuls Are Bridges to Foreign Economies (November 22, 2015). Hofstadter, C. Miami Herald. Retrievable at: http://www.miamiherald.com/ news/business/biz-monday/article45700416.html. Many Past Lives of the Consul (1974). Leira, H. & Neumann, I. B., Chapter 9 in Diplomat: The World of International Diplomacy (above). Miami Today (2017–2019), newspaper profiles of consuls and their functions. New York City Register of Foreign Consulates and Associated Government Offices, a/k/a “the Little Red Book” (1995). Compiled by NY City Commission for the UN, Consular Corps and International Business. Services to US Citizens (1983). Kennedy, C. S., Chapter 5 in Consular Dimension of Diplomacy (above). Toward a New Public Diplomacy: Redirecting US Foreign Policy (2009). Ed: Seib, P. Transformation of Consular Affairs: The United States Experience (1974). Hamilton, D., Chapter 6 in Diplomat: The World of International Diplomacy (above). Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963). Retrievable at: https://legal. un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_2_1963.pdf. Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961). Retrievable at: https:// legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_1_1961.pdf.

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Vizcaya Urges Return of Painting (September 29, 2001). Retrieved at: https:// www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-09-29-0109290165-story.html. What Is a Consul? (1993). Green, C. in Practical Protocol for Floridians. Compiler: Morris, A., Clerk Emeritus, Florida House of Representatives.

Index

*Note: The following treaties are cited in an abbreviated reference format: European Convention on Consular Relations (ECCR), Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) C Civil society organizations, 48, 53 Charitable, 50 Service-minded, 34 Sister Cities, 50 Conationals, 8, 35 Advancing monies to, 42 Arrest or detainment, 38 Assistance to, 33, 35, 42, 66 Comatose, 37 Cross-cultural marriages, 37 Death of, 33, 37 Emergency passport, 41 Expatriation, 33 Verification of citizenship, 36 Consul, personage of, 15, 17 Agents, 7, 18, 25 As humanitarians, 76, 78

Career v. honorary, 9, 13, 15, 17, 18, 23, 40 Categories, 15, 32 Classes, 15, 18, 32 Consulship, 9 Eonomic significance, 16 Education of, 14, 28, 66 From abroad, “foreign”, 24 Generic, 1, 19 Head of post, 11, 25, 54, 56 Honorary, 19, 24–29, 52 Impersonating a consul, 19, 20, 28 Officer, 13, 15 Personal profit, 8, 17, 37 Prestige of, 19, 25, 26, 50, 73 Sent to other countries, 24 Term of office. See main subject, below Titles. See main subject, below

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 C. G. Hofstadter, Modern Consuls, Local Communities and Globalization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42802-0

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INDEX

Unfavorable view of, 74 Consular corps, 7, 56, 58, 77 Bricks-and-mortar office as historical evidence, 59 Case study, Florida, 57–61 Corps Consulaire (CC), ix, 58 Dean (doyen), 56 Liaison, 57 President, 57 Secretary-general, 56 Consular dilemmas, resolution of, 9, 11 Case law, customary law, 8, 34, 66 Civility, comity, courtesy, decorum, rituals, 8, 10, 11 Diplomatic repercussion, 39 Flag disputes, 55 Hypothetical, law journal excerpt, 22 Instructions, home government, 7, 8, 34, 37, 66, 80, 81 Protocol, 8, 10, 11 Rank, precedence, seniority, 8–12, 17, 54 Reciprocity, xii, 1, 8, 70 *VCCR and *VCDR: Etiquette and protocol, 54 Consular institution, 2, 5, 22, 74 Consulate, office, 19, 40, 68, 74 Consular district, 15, 80 Consulate general, 19 Dignity of, 21, 69 Honorary consulate, 19 Honorary consulate general, 19 Honorary vice consulate, 19 Jurisdiction, 15 Vice consulate, 19

Seat of post, 15 Cultural promotion, 49 Country-specific, 43 Film industry, 49 Indoctrination, 50 Linkage to other organizations, 50 Propaganda, 51, 83 Speakers, 49 Travels, 52

D Diplomacies, 9 Civic, 9, 11 Cultural, 51 In communication, 24 Protocol, 11 Regulating mechanism, 11

E Education Across Borders, 42, 43, 45 Academic globalism, 44 Department of international studies, 43 *ECCR, 15, 45 Evaluation agency, 44 Faculty and student exchange, 31, 43 Grade schools, 45 Grants, 43 International Baccalaureate, 45 Source of revenue, 43 *VCCR, 45 Exchange of embassies, 14 Ambassador, 5, 8, 9 Corps Diplomatique (CD), ix

INDEX

Diplomat, x, 7, 9, 23, 52 Diplomatic relations, 20, 77 Goodwill ambassador, x Note Verbale, 24 Representing head of state, 5, 19

F Functions, 33, 35, 45 Adoption and child custody, 33 Assistance, conationals. See main subject, above Asylum, VCCR exclusion, 70 “Article 36”- cases, 38 Bona fide, 29 Commercial and economic activities, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41, 53 Cultural promotion. See main subject, above Documentary services, 37, 41 End of, 20 “Entrusted” to, 15, 34 Informational, “persons interested,” 45 Impact, foreign relations, 23 Incompatibility of, 27 Instructions, specific, 34 Maritime matters, 38, 60 Military relations, 25, 33 Notarization, 37 Passports and visas, 41, 42, 75, 78 Political, 34, 55, 60 Prohibited, 17, 34 Promotion of friendly relations, 33, 45, 70 Registration of births/deaths, 37 Tourism and travel, 52

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VCCR, Preamble and enumeration, 34, 45 H History, 2, 9, 32, 33 Congress of Vienna, 10 Consular corps, case study, 57–61 Consul-like representatives, 3 Consuls of the Republic, 4 First Consul for Life, 4 Florida Partners in Progress, 60 Ottoman Empire, 4 Peace Conference, 1907, 10 M Media, 20, 25, 58 Business and society editors, 58 Power of, 51, 58 Publicity through consuls, 50 P Popularized, 74–81 As a hero, 78 As a moral compass, 76 Branding, 17, 74 Hollywood style, 80 In literature, 77 In music, 75, 76 Marketers, 16, 27 Nazi looted art, 79 Privileges and Immunities, 65–68 Criminal acts, 69 Duty-free imports, 77 Electronic surveillance, 68 Freedom of communication, 68

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INDEX

Functional immunity, 67, 68 Giving evidence, 69 Grave crime, 69 Immunity denied, 67 Inviolability, 22, 68 Offices and archives, 68 Privilege or favoritism, 65 Taxes, 69, 70, 77 Travels in receiving state, 52 Protection, consuls and premises, 21 Balancing rights of the public, 21 Demonstrations, 21, 33 Physical threats, 22, 57 Security for flag displays, 55

S States, 19 Appointing state, 26, 35 Contracting Party (ECCR), 15 Differing social systems, 47 High corruption countries, 64–65 National legitimacy, 19 Receiving state, 12, 14, 15 Sending state, 35 Utopia, xi, 36

T Term of office, 20, 25 Appointment and dismissal, honorary, 26, 28 Foreign Service contract, 20 Implied consent, consulate, 14 Mutual agreement, 19 Persona non grata, 20 Recall, 20

Refusal to resign, 18 Rejection by receiving state, 19 Termination, 20 Transfer, 14, 20, 28 Verification of status, 18, 25, 34 Terms, miscellany, contextually mis applied, 24 Consular as noun, 17 Consulor, 56, 58 Consulette, 17 Consultate, 17 Cops, 56, 58 Core, 56, 58 Corp, 56, 58 Corpse, 56, 58 Council, xi, 78 Counsel, ix, xii, 6, 23, 26, 81 Counsel general, 6, 23 Counsellar, 56 Head of mission, 56 Nonsensical juxtaposition, 19 Non-working officials, 26 Titles, 16, 17, 19 Bogus honorific, 21 Consul, generic, 2, 7, 12 Consul general, 18 Consul-like without title, 3, 6 Education officer, 35, 44 Emeritus , 20, 21 “Foreign” as antecedent, 24 Honorary, 18 Mishmash, in usage, 13, 14, 17 Proposal of, 16 Self-conferred, 21 Trade Commissioner, 40 Vice consul, 18

INDEX

Treaties and Cooperative Agreements, not super-laws, 8 Bilateral, multilateral, 8, 34 *ECCR, 1967, 15, 45

Sixth International Conference on American States, Havana, 1928, 7 *VCCR (1963), x, 5 *VCDR (1961), x, 7

Florida partnership, 1978, 60 Friendship, Commerce and Consular Treaty, 7

V Vehicles, 22, 23, 63–65, 67

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