Suchergebnisse

Consular relations — Premises of mission — Whether forming part of territory of receiving State — Rejection of fiction of extraterritorialityConsular relations — Social security — Right of members of mission to make voluntary contributions in receiving State — Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963, Article 48 — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

Some of the most heated events related to the 2017 Turkish referendum, which significantly amended the country's constitution, did not take place in Turkey but in several European countries where a large number of Turkish citizens reside. The tension escalated when the Netherlands barred a plane carrying the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs from landing on Dutch soil and then prevented the Turkish Family and Social Policies Minister from accessing the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam. This triggered what has been described as an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between two NATO allies. Turkey vigorously claimed that the Netherlands' behaviour breached the law of diplomatic and consular relations. The Netherlands, in turn, defended its actions, stating that they did not amount to a violation of international law. The present article will first provide an overview of these events and introduce the claims that were made by each side. Secondly, this article will briefly analyse the relevant treaty provisions and customary rules to ascertain whether Foreign Ministers enjoy a special status while visiting a third country and whether consular premises can legitimately be used to carry out political activities, ultimately challenging Turkey's claims that the Netherlands violated international law.

Summary
Consular relations have been recognized as an integral part of people-to-people contact 'since ancient times', as stated in the preamble to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the 1967 codification of existing practice in consular relations. This article questions whether the legal and policy framework reflected in the Convention remains relevant in the twenty-first century as the demand for consular services has grown. It describes how international law and practice have evolved since 1967 with respect to consular relations, and argues that the time is now ripe to promote a more comprehensive international framework to support consular relations, which could be incorporated into a Model Consular Code ('the Code'), which would build on existing successful initiatives to address problems confronting consular clients. The article focuses on the range of services provided by consular officers for their citizens abroad, whether routine or complex.