1970-HKRS28-8-37_Part01 — Page 47

(c) "head of consular post" means the person charged with the duty

of acting in that capacity;

(d) "consular officer" means any person, including the head of a consular post, entrusted in that capacity with the exercise of consular functions;

(e) "consular employee" means any person employed in the adminis-

trative or technical service of a consular post;

( "member of the service staff" means any person employed in the

domestic service of a consular post;

(g) "members of the consular post" means consular officers, consular

employces and members of the service staff;

(b) "members of the consular staff" means consular officers, other than the head of a consular post, consular employees and mem- bars of the service staff

(0) "member of the private staff" means a person who is employed exclusively in the private service of a member of the consular post,

✪ "consular premises" means the buildings or parts of buildings and the land ancillary thereto, irrespective of ownership, used exclu- sively for the purposes of the consular post;

(k) "consular archives" includes all the papers, documenta, cor- respondence, books, films, Lapes and registers of the consular post, together with the ciphers and codes, the card-indices and any article of furniture intended for their protection or safe- keeping

2 Consular officers are of two categories, namely career consular officers and honorary consular officers. The provisions of Chapter II of the present. Convention apply to consular posts headed by carcer consular officers; the provisions of Chapter III govern consular posts headed by honorary consular officers.

3. The particular status of members of the consular posts who are nationals or permanent residents of the receiving State is governed by Article 71 of the present Convention.

CHAPTER 1-CONSULAR RELATIONS IN GENERAL..

ARTICLE 5.

Consular functions.

Consular functions consist in t

(o) protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, both individuals and bodies corporate, within the limits permitted by international law;

(b) furthering the development of commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between the sending State and the receiving State and otherwise promoting friendly relations between them in accordance with the provisions of the present Convention;

(c) ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in the commercial, economic, cultural and scientific life of the receiv- ing State, reporting thereon to the Government of the sending Suate and giving information to persons interested;

(d) issuing passports and travel documents to nationals of the send- ing State, and visas or appropriate documents to persons wishing to travel to the sending State;

(c) helping and assisting nationals, both individuals and bodies cor

porate, of the sending State;

(f) acting as notary and civil registrar and in capacities of a similar kind, and performing certain functions of an administrative nature. provided that there is nothing contrary thereto in the laws and regulations of the receiving State;

(g) safeguarding the interests of nationals, both individuals and bodies corporate, of the sending State in cases of succession mortir cause in the territory of the receiving Stale, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the receiving State;

(A) safeguarding, within the limits imposed by the laws and regula- tions of the receiving State, the interests of minors and other persons lacking full capacity who are nationals of the sending State, particularly where any guardianship or trusteeship is required with respect to such persons;

(i) subject to the practices and procedures obtaining in the receiving State, representing or arranging appropriate representation for nationals of the sending Slate before the tribunals and other authorities of the receiving State, for the purpose of obtaining. in accordance with the laws and regulations of the receiving State. provisional measures for the preservation of the rights and interests of these nationals, where, because of absence or any other reason, such nationals are unable at the proper time to assume the defence of their rights and interests;

() transmitting judicial and extra-judicial documents or executing letters rogatory or commissions to take evidence for the courts of the sending State in accordance with international agreements in force or, in the absence of such international agreements, in any other manner compatible with the laws and regulations of the receiving Slate;

(k) exercising rights of supervision and inspection provided for in the laws and regulations of the sending Stale in respect of vessels having the nationality of the sending State, and of aircraft regis- lered in that State, and in respect of their crews:

() extending assistance to vessels and aircraft mentioned in sub- paragraph (k) of this Article and to their crews, taking staternents regarding the voyage of a vessel, examining and stamping the ship's papers, and, without prejudice to the powers of the authorities of the receiving State, conducting investigations into any incidents which occurred during the voyage, and settling disputes of any kind between the master, the officers and the seamen in so far as this may be authorized by the laws and regulations of the sending Stałc

(m) performing any other functions entrusted to a copsular post by the sending State which are not prohibited by the laws and regula. tions of the receiving State or to which no objection is taken by the receiving State or which are reformed to in the international agreements in force between the sending State and the receiving State.