The role of the consul in international law : established notions revisited, novel aspects discussed

Abstract

This work aims at giving an overview of the history, procedures and dynamics of the world of the consul seen through the legal lens. It also focuses in detail on certain aspects which have so far not been tackled. The work is divided into eight chapters. Chapter 1 relates a short history of the consular institution. Chapter 2 briefly describes the official iter for the appointment of consuls. Chapter 3 deals with consular privileges and immunities, limitedly to the missi category, purposely to avoid, at this stage, the controversy regarding the nondifferentiated application of privileges and immunities to the two categories of consuls. Chapter 4 covers the functions of the consul, save for assistance to nationals and the notarial function which are afforded a separate chapter each. Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to the consul's function to assist nationals and offers an ample discussion of cases brought before the International Court of Justice. Chapter 6 targets two objectives: first it analyses the notarial function of the consul; secondly this analysis is conducted from the unusual vantage-ground of a Maltese student - unusual in the sense that Malta, like Scotland, Louisiana, and Quebec, is a mixed jurisdiction, since the Maltese juridical system is moulded both by the civil law and the common law traditions. Chapter 7 is a study of two Conventions relating to the protection of foreign interests by consuls. One of these Conventions is very recent, and the present probably is the first legal analysis of it in the English Language. In discussing the honorary consul, the closing chapter, numbered 8, is almost an excursus, for it combines many points already raised throughout the entire work. The Conclusion attempts to converge the main trusts of the work, and to submit that the Vienna Consular Convention does not preclude or inhibit further developments in consular law.