12. The right to reclaim deserters in accordance with treaties. 13. The right to act in matters of salvage and wrecks. 14. The charge, etc., of the personal effects of deceased citizens of the United States. 15. The right of requesting the extradition of fugitive criminals in absence of diplomatic representatives. 16. The right to exercise judicial and notarial powers of a miscellaneous nature and to watch trial proceedings in which his nationals are concerned. This is especially the case with merchant seamen. 17. Inviolability of the consular office and dwelling in certain countries by treaty, but this does not authorize the use of the building as an asylum. 18. In countries where the right of exterritoriality exists consuls have the right to exercise judicial power in civil or criminal cases.1 Requests have been made at times by foreign governments upon the government of the United States to permit or direct their consular officers to assume functions as their agents and, as such, to extend protection to their nationals who may desire it and who happen to be domiciled where there are at the time no consular or diplomatic officials of the country concerned. Authority has been given in certain cases by our government to our consuls and diplomatic officials to do this, provided, however, that the consent of the government within whose jurisdiction they reside is obtained. When this function is accepted, which must be done only with the approval of the Department of State, the diplomatic or consular officer becomes the agent of the foreign government as to the duties he may perform for its nationals. He becomes responsible directly to it for his discharge of those duties, and that government alone is responsible for his acts in relation thereto. He does not, however, for this purpose become a diplomatic or consular officer of the foreign govern1 Art. 5, U. S. Consular Regulations, 1896. ment concerned. This is forbidden by the Constitution of the United States.1 106. Duties of Consular Officers. It is a primary duty of consular officers "to endeavor on all occasions to maintain and promote all the rightful interests of citizens and to protect them in all privileges that are provided for by treaty or are conceded by usage." The powers and duties of consular officers in regard to their nationals is governed largely by the laws of the United States. As representatives of their country they should do their utmost to protect them before the authorities of the country in all cases where they are unjustly treated. It is, of course, an obligation upon all nationals of the United States to observe the laws of the country where they are sojourning. If consular officers fail to secure redress from the local authorities in the case of ill treatment, the consular officer should report it to his consular or diplomatic superior in the country and to the Department of State. For many and evident reasons it is considered desirable that a consular officer should keep a register of American citizens domiciled in his jurisdiction. This is especially of importance, since the act of 1906 requiring under certain circumstances a declaration of citizenship and the establishment of such a register and its upkeep may easily become a most important duty on the part of the consul. All naturalized citizens of the United States while in foreign countries are entitled to receive the same protection of persons and property which is accorded to native-born citizens.3 The duties of a consul in seaports with respect to the merchant vessels of the United States are very extensive. They are set forth in detail in the consular regulations and include certain jurisdiction over the vessel, its officers, and crew which has already been discussed elsewhere, and the shipment and 1 U. S. Consular Regulations, 1896, pp. 60, 61, 178. discharge of seamen, their wages and effects, their relief and transportation, their desertion and disputes, etc. Among the miscellaneous matters with which the consul is charged by law or otherwise are the issuance of passports, the collecting and reporting of commercial opportunities, those concerning Chinese laborers, quarantine regulations, the importation of cattle and hides, immigration, customs regulations, invoices of importations, notarial services, and the care of personal effects of citizens dying within their jurisdiction. In addition to these duties in countries, principally in the Orient, where exterritoriality exists, consular officers have judicial powers of a more or less extended jurisdiction, varying with the country and the treaties entered into by the United States and the countries concerned. Among these countries are Turkey in Europe and other Turkish territory, China, Persia, Siam, and certain of the South Sea Islands. Consuls in these countries have both civil and criminal jurisdiction, but they are to be exercised in conformity with the laws of the United States, with the common law and the law of equity and admiralty, and, finally, with decrees and regulations having the force of law made by the ministers of the United States, in each country respectively, to supply defects and deficiencies when the above-mentioned laws fail to apply.1 The jurisdiction allowed to consular officers in civilized countries over disputes between their countrymen on shore is, on the other hand, voluntary and in the nature of arbitration and relates more especially to matters of trade and commerce. In case of arrest and imprisonment of fellow nationals it is the duty of a consular officer, if appealed to and if possible, to see that both the place of confinement and the treatment of the prisoners are such as would be regarded in the United States as proper and humane. If a request for assistance is refused, the consular officer should claim all the rights conferred upon him by treaty or convention and communicate at 1 U. S. Consular Regulations, 1896, Art. 30. once with the diplomatic representative in the country, if there be one, and with the Department of State. When reasonable requests of this nature, in accordance with long-established usage, are made, he should, if they are refused, make suitable representations to the proper local authority and also advise the legation or embassy and the home government. A consular officer of the United States has no power to celebrate marriages in a Christian country between citizens of the United States, unless specifically authorized to do so by the laws of the country in which his consulate is placed. On account of the uncertainty which is involved in such matters, the State Department deems it wiser and safer to forbid the solemnization of marriages by consular officers in any case. They may, however, act as official witnesses where one of the persons concerned is a citizen of the United States, and they shall give the certificate of such marriage to each person and send one to the Department of State.1 In time of war it is the duty of consuls to report movements of war and other vessels of the enemy and to endeavor to guard against violations of the laws of neutrality and of the carriage of contraband to such an extent as the laws of the foreign country, the existing treaties, and the rules of international law permit. 107. Foreign Consular Systems.-In France the consular system was in 1880 and 1883 practically constituted a branch of the diplomatic service. It originates from the same source and is to an extent interchangeable. They have practically the same preliminary preparation for both services and the same examination for regular entry into the services preceded by probationary services out of France and French territory. This union of the diplomatic and consular service remains peculiar to the French service, although such transfers are not unknown in the English service but without the complete assimilation of the French service. 1 U. S. Consular Regulations, 1896, pp. 164-6. The present German system of consuls and consulates was established in 1873. The legal and commercial experts are directly responsible to the central government and charged as one of their principal duties with the task of keeping the government informed of all that may be of interest to German traders. "These reports are said to have contributed greatly to the recent and wonderful expansion of German trade."1 The British consular system is not unlike that of the United States but with less intimate relation to commerce and trade, partly due, so far as the consuls of the United States are concerned, to the system of consular invoices required of our consuls. It has connection and relations with the government board of trade of Great Britain not unlike those existing between the department of commerce and the consular system of the United States. The trade reports emanating from consular officers of both countries have become more important in late years and serve to stimulate trade and commerce abroad. In the absence of naval vessels and authorities the British consul becomes the senior naval officer present. 108. Termination of Consular Functions.-The term of a consular officer ends through death, resignation, promotion, recall, dismissal, revocation of exequatur, or a war between the two countries with which he is concerned. A request for the recall of a consul by the foreign government is less drastic than the revocation of his exequatur, but the absolute right remains with the country to which he is accredited to withdraw the exequatur, which automatically closes his functions at that place. But it not only closes the functions of the individual holding the position of consul, but it leaves the sending state without any representative or agent in the locality and hence, if done abruptly and without explanation, becomes a slight to the sending government and may easily lead to reprisal. Under these circumstances it may become necessary to place "Encyclopædia Britannica," vol. VII, p. 21, 11th ed. |