Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963:

54 Indians on death row in foreign jails, focusing on the case of Nimisha Priya, a Malayali sentenced to death in Yemen. It also discusses the efforts by Kerala’s NoRKA-Roots agency to appoint legal consultants abroad to support Keralites involved in serious legal cases overseas.

Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963:

About:

• The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) is a key international treaty that establishes the legal framework governing consular relations between independent states.
• It formalizes various consular practices developed through customary international law and bilateral agreements.
• The Convention was adopted on 24 April 1963 during the United Nations Conference on Consular Relations held in Vienna, Austria.

Key Provisions:

• Total Articles: The treaty comprises 79 articles and the preamble confirms that customary international law continues to apply to issues not explicitly covered by the Convention.
• Article 5 – Consular Functions: Lists 13 principal duties of consuls, including protecting the interests of their home country and its citizens abroad, assisting nationals in distress, and fostering friendly relations between the sending and receiving states.
• Article 23 – Persona Non Grata: The host country can declare any consular officer persona non grata at any time. The sending country must then recall that person, or else the individual loses consular immunity.
• Article 31 – Inviolability of Consular Premises: The receiving state must respect the consulate’s premises and cannot enter or damage them without consent.
• Article 35 – Freedom of Communication: Consular communications with their home country are protected; consular bags cannot be opened or detained, and consular couriers cannot be arrested or detained.
• Article 36 – Communication with Nationals: Consular officers have the right to communicate with, visit, and assist their detained or arrested nationals in the host country.
• Article 37 – Notification: The receiving state must promptly inform consular officers if a national of the sending state dies, a guardian is appointed, or a vessel or aircraft of the sending state is involved in an incident.
• Article 40 – Protection of Consular Officers: The receiving state is responsible for ensuring consular officers are treated with respect and protected from any attack on their person, freedom, or dignity.
• Articles 58-68 – Honorary Consuls: These articles define the role, functions, and privileges of honorary consular officers, who perform limited consular duties.