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Consular Relations Act


Published: 1970

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Consular Relations Act


1988 Revised Edition






C
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CONSULAR RELATIONS ACT

Consular Relations Act CAP. 159 Arrangement of Sections




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CONSULAR RELATIONS ACT

Arrangement of Sections
Section
1 Short title, interpretation. .................................................................................5
2 Application of Vienna Convention. .................................................................5
3 Restriction of privileges and immunities. ........................................................7
4 Agreements providing for additional or reduced privileges and

immunities. ......................................................................................................7
5 Civil Jurisdiction concerning service on board ship or aircraft. ......................7
6 Jurisdiction over offences committed on board ship. ......................................8
7 Detention on board ship for disciplinary offences. ..........................................8
8 Nationality of children of consular officers, etc. .............................................8
9 Refund of customs duty on hydrocarbon oils. .................................................9
10 Priority of Telecommunications. .....................................................................9
11 Right of diplomatic agents and consular officers to administer oaths

and do notarial acts in certain cases. ..............................................................10
12 Evidence.........................................................................................................10
13 Privileges and immunities to certain Commonwealth and Irish officers. ......10
14 Commonwealth and Irish consular officers. ..................................................11
15 Orders in Council...........................................................................................12
16 Application of certain provisions of Vienna Conventions on

Diplomatic Relations. ....................................................................................12


SCHEDULE 1 13

PROVISIONS OF VIENNA CONVENTION HAVING THE FORCE OF
LAW IN THE KINGDOM OF TONGA...............................................................13

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CHAPTER I-CONSULAR RELATIONS IN GENERAL .....................................14

CHAPTER II-FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES RELATING
TO CONSULAR POSTS, CAREER CONSULAR OFFICERS AND
OTHER MEMBERS OF A CONSULAR POST.................................................17

CHAPTER III-REGIME RELATING TO HONORARY CONSULAR
OFFICERS AND CONSULAR POSTS HEADED BY SUCH OFFICERS ........25

CHAPTER IV-GENERAL PROVISIONS ..........................................................27

SCHEDULE 2 28

PROVISIONS FOR GIVING EFFECT TO OTHER AGREEMENTS ................28

SCHEDULE 3 28

PROVISION OF VIENNA CONVENTION ON DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
1961 HAVING THE FORCE OF LAW IN THE KINGDOM OF TONGA ...........28

Consular Relations Act CAP. 159 Section 1




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C
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CONSULAR RELATIONS ACT

Act 7 of 1970

AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON
CONSULAR RELATIONS AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES

Commencement [22nd December, 19701; 1st August 1972]

1 Short title, interpretation.
(1) This Act may be cited as the Consular Relations Act.

(2) For the purposes of section 5, 6 or 7 of this Act a ship and for the purposes
of section 5 an aircraft, shall be treated as belonging to a State in such
circumstances as may be specified by an Order in Council under that
section; and different circumstances may be so specified with respect to
different States and different classes of ship or aircraft.

2 Application of Vienna Convention.
(1) Subject to sections 3and 4(2) of this Act, the provisions set out in

Schedule 1 to this Act (being Articles or parts of Articles of the Vienna
Convention on Consular Relations signed in 1963) shall have the force of
law in the Kingdom and shall for that purpose be construed in accordance
with subsections (2) to (10) of this section.


1 Sections 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 came into force on-this day.



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(2) In those provisions —

“authorities of the receiving State” shall be construed as including any
police officer and any person exercising a power of entry to any premises
under any enactment;

“grave crime” shall be construed as meaning any offence punishable (on
a first conviction) with imprisonment for a term that may extend to 5
years or with a more severe sentence;

“Ministry for Foreign Affairs” shall be construed as meaning a Ministry
of the Tongan Government;

“national of the receiving State” shall be construed as meaning a Tongan
subject within the meaning of the Nationality Act. (Cap. 59)

(3) The reference in paragraph 2 of Article 17 to any privileges and
immunities accorded by customary international law or by international
agreements shall be construed as a reference to any privileges and
immunities conferred under the Diplomatic Privileges Act. (Cap. 161)

(4) The references in Article 44 to matters connected with the exercise of the
functions of members of a consular post shall be construed as references
to matters connected with the exercise of consular functions by consular
officers or consular employees,

(5) For the purposes of Article 45 and that Article as applied by Article 58 a
waiver shall be deemed to have been expressed by a State if it has been
expressed by the head, or any person for the time being performing the
functions of head, of the diplomatic mission in Tonga of that State or, if
there is no such mission, of the consular post concerned.

(6) Article 48 shall not affect any agreement made between the Kingdom and
any other State before the commencement of this Act and shall not be
taken to prevent the making of any such agreement after the
commencement of this Act.

(7) Articles 50, 51, 52, 54, 62 and 67 shall be construed as granting any
privilege or immunity which they require to be granted.

(8) The reference in Article 57 to the privileges and immunities provided in
Chapter II shall be construed as referring to those provided in Section II of
that Chapter.

(9) The reference in Article 70 to the rules of international law concerning
diplomatic relations shall be construed as a reference to the provisions of
the Diplomatic Privileges Act. (Cap. 161)

(10) The references in Article 71 to additional privileges and immunities that
may be granted by the receiving State or to privileges and immunities so
far as these are granted by the receiving State shall be construed as

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referring to such privileges and immunities as may be specified by His
Majesty by Order in Council.

3 Restriction of privileges and immunities.
If it appears to His Majesty that the privileges and immunities accorded to a
consular post of the Kingdom in a territory of any State, or to persons connected
with such a consular post, are less than those conferred by this Act on a consular
post of that State or on persons connected with such a consular post, His Majesty
may by Order in Council withdraw such of the privileges and immunities so
conferred from all or any of the consular posts of that State or from such persons
connected therewith as appears to His Majesty to be proper.

4 Agreements providing for additional or reduced privileges and
immunities.
(1) Where any agreement made, whether before or after the passing of this

Act, between the Kingdom and any other State or which extends to the
Kingdom provides for according to consular posts and persons connected
with them privileges and immunities not accorded to them by the other
provisions of this Act, His Majesty may by Order in Council exercise,
with respect to the consular posts of that State and persons connected with
them, the powers specified in Schedule 2 to this Act so far as may be
necessary to give effect to that agreement.

(2) Where any agreement made, whether before or after the passing of this
Act, between the Kingdom and any other State or which extends to the
Kingdom provides for according to consular posts and persons connected
with them some but not all of the privileges and immunities accorded to
them by the other provisions of this Act, His Majesty may by Order in
Council provide for excluding, with respect to consular posts of that State
and persons connected with them, any of those privileges and immunities
which are not provided for by the agreement.

5 Civil Jurisdiction concerning service on board ship or aircraft.
His Majesty may by Order in Council make provision for excluding or limiting
the jurisdiction of any court in the Kingdom to entertain proceedings relating to
the remuneration or any contract of service of the master or commander or a
member of the crew of any ship or aircraft belonging to a State specified in the
Order, except where a consular officer of that State has been notified of the
intention to invoke the jurisdiction of that court and has not objected within such
time as may be specified by or under the Order.

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6 Jurisdiction over offences committed on board ship.
(1) His Majesty may by Order in Council make provision for securing that,

where an offence is alleged to have been committed on board any ship by
the master or a member of the crew and the ship belongs to a State
specified in the Order, proceedings for the offence instituted otherwise
than at the request or with the consent of a consular officer of that State
are not entertained by any court in the Kingdom, unless —
(a) the offence is alleged to have been committed by or against a

person who is a Tongan subject, or against a person other than the
master or a member of the crew; or

(b) the offence is one involving the tranquillity or safety of a port, or
the law relating to safety of life at sea, public health, oil pollution,
wireless telegraphy immigration or customs or is of any other
description specified in the Order; or

(c) the offence is one comprised in the definition of “grave crime” in
section 2(2) of this Act.

(2) For the purposes of this section, an offence which affects the property of
any person shall be deemed to have been committed against him.

(3) For the purposes of this section, any document purporting to be signed by
or on behalf of a consular officer and stating that he has requested or
consented to the institution of any proceedings shall be sufficient proof of
that fact unless the contrary is shown.

7 Detention on board ship for disciplinary offences.
His Majesty may by Order in Council designate any State for the purposes of
this section; and where a State is so designated, a member of the crew of a ship
belonging to that State who is detained in custody on board for a disciplinary
offence shall not be deemed to be unlawfully detained unless —

(a) his detention is unlawful under the laws of that State or the
conditions of detention are inhumane or unjustifiably severe; or

(b) there is reasonable cause for believing that his life or liberty will be
endangered for reasons of race, nationality, political opinion or
religion, in any country to which the ship is likely to go.

8 Nationality of children of consular officers, etc.
(1) A person born within the Kingdom at any time after the coming into

operation of this section shall not be a Tongan subject by birth if he is the
child of a person who, at that time —

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(a) was serving within the Kingdom as a member of a consular post of
any State; and

(b) was a national of that State;

unless he is the child of a father who at that time was a Tongan subject.

(2) In this section “member of a consular post” has the same meaning as, by
virtue of Article 1 in Schedule 1 to this Act, it has in that Schedule, except
that it does not include an honorary consular officer, nor, where a consular
post of any State is headed by an honorary consular officer, any member
of the post who is not in the full-time service of that State.

9 Refund of customs duty on hydrocarbon oils.
(1) The Prime Minister may authorise the Controller of Customs to make, if

he or they think fit, arrangements for securing the refund of Customs duty
paid on any hydrocarbon oils which are —
(a) bought in the Kingdom; and
(b) used for such purpose that, had they been imported for that use,

exemption from customs duty thereon would have been required to
be granted by virtue of Article 50 in Schedule 1 to this Act or by
virtue of an Order under section 4(1) of this Act.

(2) Any arrangements made under this section may impose conditions subject
to which any refund is to be made.

(3) Any amount refunded under arrangements made under this section shall
be defrayed —
(a) if the arrangements are made by the Prime Minister, out of moneys

provided by Parliament; and
(b) if the arrangements are made by the Controller of Customs, out of

the moneys standing to the credit of the General Account of the
Controller of Customs.

10 Priority of Telecommunications.
Nothing in section 6 of the Telegraph Act (Cap. 99), or in regulations under
section 3 of the said Act shall prevent the giving of priority to messages from
consular officers and replies thereto so far as may be necessary for the purpose
of giving effect to any agreement made, whether before or after the passing of
this Act, between the Kingdom and any other State.

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11 Right of diplomatic agents and consular officers to administer oaths
and do notarial acts in certain cases.
(1) A diplomatic agent or consular officer of any State may, if authorised to

do so under the laws of that State, administer oaths, take affidavits and do
notarial acts —
(a) required by a person for use in that State or under the laws

thereof; or
(b) otherwise required by a national of that State but not for use in the

Kingdom except under the laws of some other country.

(2) His Majesty may by Order in Council exclude or restrict the provisions of
the preceding subsection in relation to the diplomatic agents or consular
officers of any State if it appears to Him that in any territory of that State
diplomatic agents or consular officers of the Kingdom are not permitted to
perform functions corresponding in nature and extent to those authorised
by that subsection.

(3) In this section “diplomatic agent” means the head of the diplomatic
mission of the State concerned or a member of the diplomatic staff of
such mission.

12 Evidence.
If in any proceedings any question arises whether or not any person is entitled to
any privilege or immunity under this Act, a certificate issued by or under the
authority of the Prime Minister stating any fact relating to that question shall be
conclusive evidence of that fact.

13 Privileges and immunities to certain Commonwealth and Irish
officers.
(1) His Majesty may by Order in Council confer —

(a) on persons in the service of the Government of any Commonwealth
country or of the Republic of Ireland (other than persons on whom
immunity is conferred by this Act) holding such offices or classes
of offices as may be specified in the Order, being offices or classes
of offices appearing to His Majesty to involve the performance of
duties substantially corresponding to those which, in the case of a
foreign sovereign Power, would be performed by a consular officer;

(b) on a person for the time being recognised by His Majesty's
Government as the chief representative in the Kingdom of any State
or province of any Commonwealth country or of the Republic of
Ireland (in this section referred to as “a state representative”);

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(c) on members of the staff of any such person as is mentioned in the
preceding paragraphs;

any immunities and privileges which are conferred by or may be
conferred under this Act, and the Order may provide for extending, in
relation to premises, official archives, communications, documents and
personal property of persons on whom any immunities and privileges are
or may be conferred under this section, and in relation to any fees and
charges levied by them, the provisions of Articles 31 to 39 and 51 in
Schedule 1.

An Order in Council made under this section may exclude from any
immunities and privileges conferred by it persons who are permanently
resident in the Kingdom or are comprised within the definition of
“national of the receiving State” in section 2(2) or any class of such
persons.

(2) His Majesty may by Order in Council exercise with respect to any person
referred to in subsection (1) of this section and with respect to his
premises, residence and communications the powers specified in Schedule
2 to this Act.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding subsections —
(a) a person recognised by His Majesty's Government as the chief

representative may waive any immunity conferred by or under this
section on himself or on a member of his staff or on a person in the
service of the Government of the country which he represents;

(b) a State representative may waive any immunity conferred under this
section on himself or on a member of his staff.

(4) His Majesty may by Order in Council provide that this section shall cease
to apply to, or shall be modified in its application to, any country on the
ground that country is failing to accord corresponding treatment to the
Kingdom.

14 Commonwealth and Irish consular officers.
(1) If consular officers are appointed —

(a) by His Majesty's Government to serve in any other country within
the Commonwealth or in the Republic of Ireland; or

(b) by the Government of any other country within the Commonwealth
or of the Republic of Ireland to serve in the Kingdom;

any enactment passed before the passing of this Act which confers any
function on consular officers shall be construed in accordance with the
following provisions of this section.

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(2) References (however expressed) in any such enactment to a consular
officer shall be construed, subject to any provision made under subsection
(3)(a) of this section, as not including a consular officer appointed as
mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section.

(3) His Majesty may by Order in Council make provision —
(a) for requiring references to a consular officer in any enactment

passed before the passing of this Act to be construed as including a
consular officer appointed as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this
section (or as including a consular officer so appointed in any
country or place specified in the Order) or for the exercise by a
consular officer so appointed (or so appointed in any such country
or place) of any functions conferred by the enactment on some
other officers;

(b) for making in the Shipping Act or the Consular Conventions Act,
such adaptations of any provision referring to a consular officer of a
foreign State as appear to Him to be necessary or expedient to make
the provision applicable to consular officers appointed as
mentioned in subsection (1)(b) of this section and to dispense with
any requirement as to the conclusion of a consular convention.

15 Orders in Council.
(1) Any statutory instrument made under the foregoing provisions of this Act

shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the
Legislative Assembly.

(2) Any power to make an Order conferred by this Act includes power to vary
or revoke such an Order by a subsequent Order.

16 Application of certain provisions of Vienna Conventions on
Diplomatic Relations.
Subject to sections 3 and 4(2) of this Act, for the purposes of paragraphs 4, 5 and
6 of Schedule 2 the Articles set out in Schedule 3 (being Articles of the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961) shall have the force of law
in the Kingdom.2





2 See also section 4(1) of the Diplomatic Relations Act. (Cap. 158)

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SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 1

Section 2

PROVISIONS OF VIENNA CONVENTION HAVING THE FORCE OF LAW IN
THE KINGDOM OF TONGA

ARTICLE 1
Definitions

1. For the purposes of the present Convention, the following expressions
shall have the meanings hereunder assigned to them:
(a) “consular post” means any consulate-general, consulate, vice-

consulate or consular agency;
(b) “consular district” means the area assigned to a consular post for

the exercise of consular functions;
(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
administrative or technical service of a consular post;

(f) “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
employees and members of the service staff;

(h) “members of the consular staff” means consular officers, other than
the head of a consular post, consular employees and members of the
service staff;

(i) “member of the private staff” means a person who is employed
exclusively in the private service of a member of the consular post;

(j) “consular premises” means the buildings or parts of buildings and
the land ancillary thereto, irrespective of ownership, used
exclusively for the purposes of the consular post;

(k) “consular archives” includes all the papers, documents,
Correspondence, books, films, tapes and registers of the consular

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post, together with the ciphers and codes, the card-indexes 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 career 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 I-CONSULAR RELATIONS IN GENERAL

ARTICLE 5
Consular functions

Consular functions consist in:
(a) 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
receiving State, reporting thereon to the Government of the sending
State and giving information to persons interested;

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

(e) helping and assisting nationals, both individuals and bodies
corporate, 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 mortis causa
in the territory of the receiving State, in accordance with the laws
and regulations of the receiving State;

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(h) safeguarding, within the limits imposed by the laws and regulations
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 State 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;

(j) 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 laws and regulations of the receiving
State;

(k) exercising rights of supervision and inspection provided for in the
laws and regulations of the sending State in respect of vessels
having the nationality of the sending State, and of aircraft registered
in that State, and in respect of their crews;

(l) extending assistance to vessels and aircraft mentioned in
subparagraph (k) of this Article and to their crews, taking
statements 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 authorised by the laws and
regulations of the sending State;

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

ARTICLE 15
Temporary exercise of the functions of the head of a consular post

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1. If the head of a consular post is unable to carry out his functions or the
position of head of consular post is vacant, an acting head of post may act
provisionally as head of the consular post,

2. The full name of the acting head of post shall be notified either by the
diplomatic mission of the sending State or, if that State has no such
mission in the receiving State, by the head of the consular post, or, if he is
unable to do so, by any competent authority of the sending State, to the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State or to the authority
designated by that Ministry. As a general rule this notification shall be
given in advance. The receiving State may make the admission as acting
head of post of a person who is neither a diplomatic agent nor a consular
officer of the sending State in the receiving State conditional on its
consent.

3. The competent authorities of the receiving State shall afford assistance
and protection to the acting head of post. While he is in charge of the post,
the provisions of the present Convention shall apply to him on the same
basis as to the head of the consular post concerned. The receiving State
shall not, however, be obliged to grant to an acting head of post any
facility, privilege or immunity which the head of the consular post enjoys
only subject to conditions not fulfilled by the acting head of post.

4. When, in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, a
member of the diplomatic staff of the diplomatic mission of the sending
State in the receiving State is designated by the sending State as an acting
head of post, he shall, if the receiving State does not object thereto,
continue to enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities.

ARTICLE 17
Performance of diplomatic acts by consular officers

1. In a State where the sending State has no diplomatic mission and is not
represented by a diplomatic mission of a third State, a consular officer
may, with the consent of the receiving State, and without affecting his
consular status, be authorised to perform diplomatic acts. The
performance of such acts by a consular officer shall not confer upon him
any right to claim diplomatic privileges and immunities.

2. A consular officer may, after notification addressed to the receiving State,
act as representative of the sending State to any intergovernmental
organisation. When so acting, he shall be entitled to enjoy any privileges
and immunities accorded to such a representative by customary
international law or by international agreements; however, in respect of
the performance by him of any consular function, he shall not be entitled
to any greater immunity from jurisdiction than that to which a consular
officer is entitled under the present Convention.

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CHAPTER II-FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES RELATING TO
CONSULAR POSTS, CAREER CONSULAR OFFICERS AND OTHER

MEMBERS OF A CONSULAR POST

SECTION I-FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES RELATING TO A
CONSULAR POST

ARTICLE 31
Inviolability of the consular premises

1. Consular premises shall he inviolable to the extent provided in this
Article.

2. The authorities of the receiving State shall not enter that part of the
consular premises which is used exclusively for the purpose of the work
of the consular post except with the consent of the head of the consular
post or of his designee or of the head of the diplomatic mission of the
sending State. The consent of the head of the-consular post may, however,
be assumed in case of fire or other disaster requiring prompt protective
action.

………………………………………………….

4. The consular premises, their furnishings, the property of the consular post
and its means of transport shall be immune from any form of requisition
for purposes of national defence or public utility. If expropriation is
necessary for such persons, all possible steps shall be taken to avoid
impeding the performance of consular functions, and prompt, adequate
and effective compensation shall be paid to the sending State.

ARTICLE 32
Exemption from taxation of consular premises

1. Consular premises and the residence of the career head of consular post of
which the sending State or any person acting on its behalf is the owner or
lessee shall be exempt from all national, regional or municipal dues and
taxes whatsoever, other than such as represent payment for specific
services rendered.

2. The exemption from taxation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article
shall not apply to such dues and taxes if, under the law of the receiving
State, they are payable by the person who contracted with the sending
State or with the person acting on is behalf.

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ARTICLE 33
Inviolability of the consular archives and documents

The consular archives and documents shall be inviolable at all times and
wherever they may be.

ARTICLE 35
Freedom of communication

1. The receiving State shall permit and protect freedom of communication on
the part of the consular post for all official purposes. In communicating
with the Government, the diplomatic missions and other consular posts,
wherever situated, of the sending State, the consular post may employ all
appropriate means, including diplomatic or consular couriers, diplomatic
or consular bags and messages in code or cipher. However, the consular
post may install and use a wireless transmitter only with the consent of the
receiving State.

2. The official correspondence of the consular post shall be inviolable.
Official correspondence means all correspondence relating to the consular
post and its functions.

3. The consular bag shall be neither opened nor detained. Nevertheless, if the
competent authorities of the receiving State have serious reason to believe
that the bag contains something other than the correspondence, documents
or articles referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, they may request that
the bag be opened in their presence by an authorised representative of the
sending State. If this request is refused by the authorities of the sending
State, the bag shall be returned to its place of origin.

4. The package constituting the consular bag shall bear visible external
marks of their character and may contain only official correspondence and
documents or articles intended exclusively for official use.

5. The consular courier shall be provided with an official document
indicating his status and the number of packages constituting the consular
bag. Except with the consent of the receiving State he shall be neither a
national of the receiving State, nor, unless he is a national of the sending
State, a permanent resident of the receiving State. In the performance of
his functions he shall be protected by the receiving State. He shall enjoy
personal inviolability and shall not be liable to any form of arrest or
detention.

6. The sending State, its diplomatic missions and its consular posts may
designate consular couriers ad hoc. In such cases the provisions of
paragraph 5 of this Article shall also apply except that the immunities
therein mentioned shall cease to apply when such a courier has delivered
to the consignee the consular bag in his charge.

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7. A consular bag may be entrusted to the captain of a ship or of a
commercial aircraft scheduled to land at an authorised port of entry. He
shall be provided with an official document indicating the number of
packages constituting the bag, but he shall not be considered to be a
consular courier. By arrangement with the appropriate local authorities,
the consular post may send one of its members to take possession of the
bag directly and freely from the captain of the ship or of the aircraft.

ARTICLE 39
Consular fees and charges

1. The consular post may levy in the territory of the receiving State the fees
and charges provided by the laws and regulations of the sending State for
consular acts.

2. The sums collected in the form of the fees and charges referred to in
paragraph 1 of this Article, and the receipts for such fees and charges,
shall be exempt from all dues and taxes in the receiving State.

SECTION II-FACILITIES, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES RELATING TO
CAREER CONSULAR OFFICERS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF A

CONSULAR POST

ARTICLE 41
Personal inviolability of consular officers

1. Consular officers shall not be liable to arrest or detention pending trial,
except in the case of a grave crime and pursuant to a decision by the
competent judicial authority.

2. Except in the case specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, consular
officers shall not be committed to prison or liable to any other form of
restriction on their personal freedom save in execution of a judicial
decision of final effect.

ARTICLE 43
Immunity from jurisdiction

1. Consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable to the
jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the receiving
State in respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions.

2. The provisions of paragraph i of this Article shall not, however, apply in
respect of a civil action either:

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(a) arising out of a contract concluded by a consular officer or a
consular employee in which he did not contract expressly or
impliedly as an agent of the sending State; or

(b) by a third party for damage arising from an accident in the
receiving State caused by a vehicle, vessel or aircraft.

ARTICLE 44
Liability to give evidence

1. Members of a consular post may be called upon to attend as witnesses in
the course of judicial or administrative proceedings. A consular employee
or a member of the service staff shall not, except in the cases mentioned in
paragraph 3 of this Article, decline to give evidence. If a consular officer
should decline to do so, no coercive measure or penalty may be applied to
him.

2. The authority requiring the evidence of a consular officer shall avoid
interference with the performance of his functions. It may, when possible,
take such evidence at his residence or at the consular post or accept a
statement from him in writing.

3. Members of a consular post are under no obligation to give evidence
concerning matters connected with the exercise of their functions or to
produce official correspondence and documents relating thereto. They are
also entitled to decline to give evidence as expert witnesses with regard to
the law of the sending State.

ARTICLE 45
Waiver of privileges and immunities

1. The sending State may waive, with regard to a member of the consular
post, any of the privileges and immunities provided for in Articles 41, 43
and 44.

2. The waiver shall in all cases be express, except as provided in paragraph 3
of this Article, and shall be communicated to the receiving State in
writing.

3. The initiation of proceedings by a consular officer or a consular employee
in a matter where he might enjoy immunity from jurisdiction under
Article 43 shall preclude him from invoking immunity from jurisdiction in
respect of “any counter-claim directly connected with the principal claim.

4. The waiver of immunity from jurisdiction for the purposes of civil or
administrative proceedings shall not be deemed to imply the waiver of
immunity from the measures of execution resulting from the judicial

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decision; in respect of such measures, a separate waiver shall be
necessary.

ARTICLE 48
Social security exemption

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, members of the
consular post with respect to services rendered by them for the sending
State, and members of their families forming part of their households,
shall be exempt from social security provisions which may be in force in
the receiving State.

2. The exemption provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply also
to members of the private staff who are in the sole employ of members of
the consular post, on condition:
(a) that they are not nationals of or permanently resident in the

receiving State; and
(b) that they are covered by the social security provisions which are in

force in the sending State or a third State.

3. Members of the consular post who employ persons to whom the
exemption provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article does not apply shall
observe the obligations which the social security provisions of the
receiving State impose upon employers.

4. The exemption provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not
preclude voluntary participation in the social security system of the
receiving State, provided that such participation is permitted by that State.

ARTICLE 49
Exemption from taxation

1. Consular officers and consular employees and members of their families
forming part of their households shall be exempt from all dues and taxes,
personal or real, national, regional or municipal, except:
(a) indirect taxes of a kind which are normally incorporated in the price

of goods or services;
(b) dues or taxes on private immovable property situated in the territory

of the receiving State, subject to the provisions of Article 32;
(c) estate, succession or inheritance duties, and duties on transfers,

levied by the receiving State, subject to the provisions of paragraph
(b) of Article 51;

(d) dues and taxes on private income, including capital gains, having its
source in the receiving State and capital taxes relating to

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investments made in commercial or financial undertakings in the
receiving State;

(e) charges levied for specific services rendered;
(f) registration, court or record fees, mortgage dues and stamp duties,

subject to the provisions of Article 32.

2. Members of the service staff shall be exempt from dues and taxes on the
wages which they receive for their services.

3. Members of the consular post who employ persons whose wages or
salaries are not exempt from income tax in the receiving State shall
observe the obligations which the laws and regulations of that State
impose upon employers concerning the levying of income tax.

ARTICLE 50
Exemption from customs duties and inspection

1. The receiving State shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as
it may adopt, permit entry of and grant exemption from all customs duties,
taxes, and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and
similar services; on:
(a) articles for the official use of the consular post;
(b) articles for the personal use of a consular officer or members of his

family forming part of his household, including articles intended for
his establishment. The articles intended for consumption shall not
exceed the quantities necessary for direct utilisation by the persons
concerned.

2. Consular employees shall enjoy the privileges and exemptions specified in
paragraph 1 of this Article in respect of articles imported at the time of
first installation.

3. Personal baggage accompanying consular officers and members of their
families forming part of their households shall be exempt from inspection.
It may be inspected only if there is serious reason to believe that it
contains articles other than those referred to in subparagraph (b) of
paragraph 1 of this Article, or articles the import or export of which is
prohibited by the laws and regulations of the receiving State or which are
subject to its quarantine laws and regulations. Such inspection shall be
carried out in the presence of the consular officer or member of his family
concerned.

ARTICLE 51
Estate of a member of the consular post or of a member of his family

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In the event of the death of a member of the consular post or of a member of his
family forming part of his household, the receiving State:

(a) shall permit the export of the movable property of the deceased,
with the exception of any such property acquired in the receiving
State the export of which was prohibited at the time of his death;

(b) shall not levy national, regional or municipal estate, succession or
inheritance duties, and duties on transfers, on movable property the
presence of which in the receiving State was due solely to the
presence in that State of the deceased as a member of the consular
post or as a member of the family of a member of the consular post.

ARTICLE 52
Exemption from personal services and contributions

The receiving State shall exempt members of the consular post and members of
their families forming part of their households from all personal services, from
all public service of any kind whatsoever, and from military obligations such as
those connected with requisitioning, military contributions and billeting.

ARTICLE 53
Beginning and end of consular privileges and immunities

1. Every member of the consular post shall enjoy the privileges and
immunities provided in the present Convention from the moment he enters
the territory of the receiving State on proceeding to take up his post or, if
already in its territory, from the moment when he enters on his duties with
the consular post.

2. Members of the family of a member of the consular post forming part of
his household and members of his private staff shall receive the privileges
and immunities provided in the present Convention from the date from
which he enjoys privileges and immunities in accordance with paragraph
1 of this Article or from the date of their entry into the territory of the
receiving State or from the date of their becoming a member of such
family or private staff, whichever is the latest.

3. When the functions of a member of the consular post have come to an
end, his privileges and immunities and those of a member of his family
forming part of his household or a member of his private staff shall
normally cease at the moment when the person concerned leaves the
receiving State or on the expiry of a reasonable period in which to do so,
whichever is the sooner, but shall subsist until that time, even in case of
armed conflict. In the case of the persons referred to in paragraph 2 of this
Article, their privileges and immunities shall come to an end when they
cease to belong to the household or to be in the service of a member of the

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consular post provided, however, that if such persons intend leaving the
receiving State within a reasonable period thereafter, their privileges and
immunities shall subsist until the time of their departure.

4. However, with respect to acts performed by a consular officer or a
consular employee in the exercise of his functions, immunity from
jurisdiction shall continue to subsist without limitation of time.

5. In the event of the death of a member of the consular post, the members of
his family forming part of his household shall continue to enjoy the
privileges and immunities accorded to them until they leave the receiving
State or until the expiry of a reasonable period enabling them to do so,
whichever is the sooner.

ARTICLE 54
Obligations of third States

1. If a consular officer passes through or is in the territory of a third State,
which has granted him a visa if a visa was necessary, while proceeding to
take up or return to his post or when returning to the sending State, the
third State shall accord to him all immunities provided for by the other
Articles of the present Convention as may be required to ensure his transit
or return. The same shall apply in the case of any member of his family
forming part of his household enjoying such privileges and immunities
who are accompanying the consular officer or travelling separately to join
him or to return to the sending State.

2. In circumstances similar to those specified in paragraph 1 of this Article,
third States shall not hinder the transit through their territory of other
members of the consular post or of members of their families forming part
of their households.

3. Third States shall accord to official correspondence and to other official
communications in transit, including messages in code or cipher, the same
freedom and protection as the receiving State is bound to accord under the
present Convention. They shall accord to consular couriers who have been
granted a visa, if a visa was necessary, and to consular bags in transit, the
same inviolability and protection as the receiving State is bound to accord
under the present Convention.

4. The obligations of third States under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article
shall also apply to the persons mentioned respectively in those paragraphs,
and to official communications and to consular bags, whose presence in
the territory of the third State is due to force majeure.

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ARTICLE 55
Respect for the laws and regulations of the receiving State

2. The consular premises shall not be used in any manner incompatible with
the exercise of consular functions.

3. The provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article shall not exclude the
possibility of offices of other institutions or agencies being installed in
part of the building in which the consular premises are situated, provided
that the premises assigned to them are separate from those used by the
consular post. In that event, the said offices shall not, for the purposes of
the present convention, be considered to form part of the consular
premises.

ARTICLE 57
Special provisions concerning private gainful occupation

2. Privileges and immunities provided in this Chapter shall not be accorded:
(a) to consular employees or to members of the service staff who carry

on any private gainful occupation in the receiving State;
(b) to members of the family of a person referred to in subparagraph (a)

of this paragraph or to members of his private staff;
(c) to members of the family of a member of a consular post who

themselves carry on any private gainful occupation in the receiving
State.

CHAPTER III-REGIME RELATING TO HONORARY CONSULAR OFFICERS
AND CONSULAR POSTS HEADED BY SUCH OFFICERS

ARTICLE 58
General provisions relating to facilities, privileges and immunities

1. Articles 35, 39, paragraph 3 of Article 54 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of
Article 55 shall apply to consular posts headed by an honorary consular
officer. In addition, the facilities, privileges and immunities of such
consular posts shall be governed by Articles 60, 61 and 62.

2. Article 43, paragraph 3 of Article 44, Articles 45 and 53 shall apply to
honorary consular officers. In addition, the facilities, privileges and
immunities of such consular officers shall be governed by Articles 66
and 67.

3. Privileges and immunities provided in the present Convention shall not be
accorded to members of the family of an honorary consular officer or of a

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consular employee employed at a consular post headed by an honorary
consular officer.

ARTICLE 60
Exemption from taxation of consular premises

1. Consular premises of a consular post headed by an honorary consular
officer of which the sending State is the owner or lessee shall be exempt
from all national, regional or municipal dues and taxes whatsoever, other
than such as represent payment for specific services rendered.

2. The exemption from taxation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article
shall not apply to such dues and taxes if, under the laws and regulations of
the receiving State, they are payable by the person who contracted with
the sending State.

ARTICLE 61
Inviolability of consular archives and documents

The consular archives and documents of a consular post headed by an honorary
consular officer shall be inviolable at all times and wherever they may be,
provided that they are kept separate from other papers and documents and, in
particular, from the private correspondence of the head of a consular post and of
any person working with him, and from the materials, books or documents
relating to their profession or trade.

ARTICLE 62
Exemption from customs duties

The receiving State shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as it may
adopt, permit entry of, and giant exemption from all customs duties, taxes, and
related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services on the
following articles, provided that they are for the official use of a consular post
headed by an honorary consular officer: coats-of-arms, flags, signboards, seals
and stamps, books, official printed matter, office furniture, office equipment and
similar articles supplied by or at the instance of the sending State to the consular
post.

ARTICLE 66
Exemption from taxation

An honorary consular officer shall be exempt from all dues and taxes on the
remuneration and emoluments which he receives from the sending State in
respect of the exercise of consular functions.

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ARTICLE 67
Exemption from personal services and contributions

The receiving State shall exempt honorary consular officers from all personal
services and from all public services of any kind whatsoever and from military
obligations such as those connected with requisitioning, military contributions
and billeting.

CHAPTER IV-GENERAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 70
Exercise of consular functions by diplomatic missions

1. The provisions of the present Convention apply also, so far as the context
permits, to the exercise of consular functions by a diplomatic mission.

2. The names of members of a diplomatic mission assigned to the consular
section or otherwise charged with the exercise of the consular functions of
the mission shall be notified to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the
receiving State or to the authority designated by that Ministry.

………………………….

4. The privileges and immunities of the members of a diplomatic mission
referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall continue to be governed by
the rules of international law concerning diplomatic relations.

ARTICLE 71
Nationals or permanent residents of the receiving State

1. Except in so far as additional facilities, privileges and immunities may be
granted by the receiving State, consular officers who are nationals of or
permanently resident in the receiving State shall enjoy only immunity
from jurisdiction and personal inviolability in respect of official acts
performed in the exercise of their functions, and the privilege provided in
paragraph 3 of Article 44.

2. Other members of the consular post who are nationals of or permanently
resident in the receiving State and members of their families, as well as
members of the families of consular officers referred to in paragraph 1 of
this Article, shall enjoy facilities, privileges and immunities only in so far
as these are granted to them by the receiving State. Those members of the
families of members of the consular post and those members of the private
staff who are themselves nationals of or permanently resident in the
receiving State shall likewise enjoy facilities, privileges and immunities
only in so far as these are granted to them by the receiving State.

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SCHEDULE 2

Section 4(1)

PROVISIONS FOR GIVING EFFECT TO OTHER AGREEMENTS

1. The like exemption from dues and taxes may be extended to the residence
of any member of a consular post as is accorded under Article 32 in
Schedule 1 to this Act to the residence of the career head of a consular
post.

2. Paragraph 1 of Article 49 in that Schedule may be extended to members
of the service staff.

3. Paragraph 2 of Article 50 in that Schedule may be applied as if it were
among the Articles mentioned in paragraph 2,\of Article 58 in that
Schedule, as if the reference to consular employees included members of
the service staff and also such members of the families of consular
employees or of members of the service staff as form part of their
households, and as if the words “in respect of articles imported at the time
of first installation” were omitted.

4. Articles 29 and 31 in Schedule 3 to this Act (inviolability and immunity
from jurisdiction and arrest of diplomatic agents and exemption from duty
to give evidence) may be extended to members of a consular post and
members of their families forming part of their households.

5. Article 22 in Schedule 3 to this Act (inviolability and protection of the
mission) may be extended to consular premises and paragraph 1 of Article
30 in that Schedule (inviolability of private residence) may be extended to
the residences of consular officers.

6. Article 27 in Schedule 3 to this Act (freedom of communications) may be
extended to the communications of a consular post.

SCHEDULE 3

Section 16

PROVISION OF VIENNA CONVENTION ON DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
1961 HAVING THE FORCE OF LAW IN THE KINGDOM OF TONGA

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ARTICLE 22

1. The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the
receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of
the mission.

2. The receiving State is under a special duty “to take all appropriate steps to
protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion or damage and to
prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its
dignity.

3. The premises of the mission, their furnishings and other property thereon
and the means of transport of the mission shall be immune from search,
requisition, attachment or execution.

ARTICLE 27

1. The receiving State shall permit and protect free communication on the
part of the mission for all official purposes. In communicating with the
Government and other missions and consulates of the sending State,
wherever situated, the mission may employ all appropriate means,
including diplomatic couriers and messages in code or cipher. However,
the mission may install and use a wireless transmitter only with the
consent of the receiving State.

2. The official correspondence of the mission shall be inviolable. Official
correspondence means all correspondence relating to the mission and its
functions.

3. The diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained.

4. The packages constituting the diplomatic bag must bear visible external
marks of their character and may contain only diplomatic documents or
articles intended for official use.

5. The diplomatic courier, who shall be provided with an official document
indicating his status and the number of packages constituting the
diplomatic bag, shall be protected by the receiving State in the
performance of his functions. He shall enjoy personal inviolability and
shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.

6. The sending State or the mission may designate diplomatic couriers ad
hoc. In such cases the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article shall also
apply, except that the immunities therein mentioned shall cease to apply
when such a courier has delivered to the consignee the diplomatic bag in
his charge.

7. A diplomatic bag may be entrusted to the captain of a commercial aircraft
scheduled to land at an authorised port of entry. He shall be provided with

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an official document indicating the number of packages constituting the
bag but he shall not be considered to be a diplomatic courier. The mission
may send one of its members to take possession of the diplomatic bag
directly and freely from the captain of the aircraft.

ARTICLE 29

The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable. He shall not be liable to
any form of arrest or detention. The receiving State shall treat him with due
respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person,
freedom or dignity.

ARTICLE 30

1. The private residence of a diplomatic agent shall enjoy the same
inviolability and protection as the premises of the mission.

ARTICLE 31

1. A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of
the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and
administrative jurisdiction, except in the case of:
(a) a real action relating to private immovable property situated in the

territory of the receiving State, unless he holds it on behalf of the
sending State for the purposes of the mission;

(b) an action relating to succession in which the diplomatic agent is
involved as executor, administrator, heir or legatee as a private
person and not on behalf of the sending State;

(c) an action relating to any professional or commercial activity
exercised by the diplomatic agent in the receiving State outside his
official functions.

2. A diplomatic agent is not obliged to give evidence as a witness.

3. No measures of execution may be taken in respect of a diplomatic agent
except in the cases coming under subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of
paragraph 1 of this Article, and provided that the measures concerned can
be taken without infringing the inviolability of his person or of his
residence.

4. The immunity of a diplomatic agent from the jurisdiction of the receiving
State does not exempt him from the jurisdiction of the sending State.