The Department has certified to the District Court the present diplomatic status of Mr. and the immunity from jurisdiction resulting therefrom..

Department of State File No. POL 17-2 Isr-US.

Protection of Communication

The Bureau of Customs 1973 amendments to the Federal regulations concerning the privileges accorded personnel of foreign governments and international organizations (see this Chapter, § 1, supra, p. 154-155, contain a new section on consular bags which provides:

Consular bags. Consular bags must bear visible external marks of their character and their contents are restricted to official correspondence and documents or articles intended exclusively for official use. Consular bags shall not be subject to duty and ordinarily shall not be opened or detained. However, if Customs officers have serious reason to believe that a consular bag contains other than permissible materials, they may request that the bag be opened in their presence by an authorized representative of the foreign government concerned. If this request is refused, the consular bag shall be returned to its place of origin.

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 19, Chapter I, Part 148, Subpart I, § 148.83(b). Federal Register, Vol. 38, No. 17, Jan. 26, 1973, p. 2460. The amendments took effect on Feb. 22, 1973.

Taxation

Reciprocity

The Embassy of Indonesia at Washington, on May 23, 1973, sent a note to the Department of State inquiring whether a recently purchased official residence of the Consul General of Indonesia at San Francisco, as well as the land on which it was situated, could be exempted from payment of property tax. The Republic of Indonesia was not a party to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (TIAS 6820; 21 UST 77; entered into force for the United States December 24, 1969). In a reply note dated July 3, 1973, the Department of State referred to Article 32 of the Vienna Convention as requiring such exemption and said that the Department "would be prepared to state that the official residence of a recognized career head of a foreign consular post in the United States is entitled to an exemption from the payment of real property taxes."

The Department said further that while Indonesia was not a party to the Convention, "the United States would be prepared to certify its entitlement to the tax exemption in question on the

basis of customary international law, subject to the requirement of reciprocity. If, therefore, the Embassy will certify that the Indonesian Government extends a comparable tax exemption to the residence of career heads of United States consular posts in Indonesia, the State Department can make the necessary certification respecting the San Francisco property in question." Department of State File No. POL 17-7 INDON-US. Article 32 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

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.

Honorary Consular Officers

On January 8, 1973, the Department of State received a request from a foreign embassy for the free entry of a shipment of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and toiletries for the honorary Consul General of. at Los Angeles, California. In a note dated January 12, 1973, the Department denied the request. The following is an excerpt from the Department's note:

The Embassy is informed that under generally accepted principles of international law and practice, honorary consular officers are not accorded those personal privileges and exemptions normally extended to consular officers of career and, therefore, Mr. does not enjoy free importation privileges. Although articles furnished by a foreign government for official use in a consular post headed by an honorary consular officer may be accorded free entry, alcoholic beverages are not considered as being an "office supply" and may not be admitted duty and tax-free.

Department of State File SCPR.

Representation of Interests

On February 23, 1973, the Department of State sent a diplomatic note to the Ambassador of the Republic of China at Washington informing him that the United States Government had agreed to a request by the British Government that the United States represent certain of its interests in the Republic of China. According to the note, "United States representation of British interests, primarily in the consular field, will be handled by the United States Embassy at Taipei." The note also stated that "The question of the disposition of the former British

Consulate at Tamsui and other British assets on Taiwan will continue for the present to be managed by the British Government through private channels."

Department of State File No. POL 17, UK-Chinat.

§ 3 Special Missions and Trade Delegations

Privileges and Immunities

The Standing Consultative Commission, established in Geneva, Switzerland on December 21, 1972 (TIAS 7545; 24 UST 238) has as its purpose the promotion of the objectives and implementation of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems of May 26, 1972, the Interim Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Certain Measures with Respect to the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms of May 26, 1972, and the Agreement on Measures to Reduce the Risk of Outbreak of Nuclear War between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of September 30, 1971 (TIAS 7503, 23 UST 3435; TIAS 7504, 23 UST 3462; TIAS 7186, 22 UST 1590).

Through an exchange of notes between the United States and Switzerland, signed at Bern February 26 and March 5, 1973 (TIAS 7582; 24 UST 772; entered into force March 5, 1973), it was agreed that the national delegations to the Standing Consultative Commission, as well as the individuals of whom they are composed, would be permitted the same status, privileges, and immunities granted to the delegations to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and to the individuals composing those delegations, as set forth in an Annex to the U.S.-Switzerland Agreement of November 22, 1972 (TIAS 7523; 23 UST 3736; entered into force November 22, 1972). The Annex is as follows:

1. The delegations to the negotiations concerning limitation of strategic arms (SALT) are considered to be special missions convened by the Governments of the United States of America and of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the territory of the Swiss Confederation.

2. The two delegations and the persons of which they are composed enjoy on the territory of the Swiss Confederation the status, privileges, and immunities which are accorded to a special mission, to the representatives of the sending state in a special mission, to the members of the diplomatic, administrative, technical, and service personnel of a special

mission, as well as to the family members who accompany them, by Articles 1 through 49 of the Convention on Special Missions, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 8, 1969.

3. The Department of State and the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs will furnish to the Federal Political Department, through the Swiss Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Geneva, the list of persons who make up their respective delegations and who are entitled to enjoy the status, privileges, and immunities mentioned in paragraph 2 above. The lists will indicate whether the persons concerned belong to the diplomatic, administrative, technical, or service personnel of the delegations.

4. The Political Department will issue to each member of the two delegations an identity card taking cognizance of his official functions. The validity period of these cards can be renewed, and the card will be returned to the Political Department when the bearer ceases to be a member of the delegation.

5. The Chief of the Delegation is the competent authority to waive the immunity of each person belonging to his mission. Immunity will be waived in all cases where in his opinion this immunity is such as to impede the course of justice and where waiver of the immunity would not negate the purpose for which the immunity has been granted.

The 1969 Convention on Special Missions, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, is at U.N. Doc. A/Res/2530 (XXIV), Annex, Dec. 16, 1969.

Armed Forces

Status of Forces Agreements

A member of the civilian component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany assigned to duty in Washington, D.C. was arrested on November 7, 1973, by police in the District of Columbia and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. The German Military Representative in the United States requested the Department of State to waive its right to exercise primary jurisdiction, stating that the defendant would be subject to disciplinary actions by the German Military Representative. Under Article VII(1)(b) of the North Atlantic Treaty Status of Forces Agreement (NATO SOFA; TIAS 2846; 4 UST 1792; entered into force for the United States August 23, 1953) the offense is within the jurisdiction of the United States unless waived under paragraph 3(c) of Article VII.

Louis G. Fields, Jr., Assistant Legal Adviser for PoliticoMilitary Affairs in the Department of State, wrote a letter on November 8, 1973, to the Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia, agreeing to waive jurisdiction. Mr. Fields said, in relevant part:

* * *

As you know, there is a substantial number of American military personnel stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany and that government has been most cooperative in the matter of waiving jurisdiction in similar circumstances. While we recognize that the NATO SOFA clearly confers jurisdiction in this instance to the United States as the "receiving state," we are sympathetic to the reciprocal aspects of this matter and must weigh carefully the treatment accorded our personnel in the Federal Republic. Whereas this is not a grave offense of such a nature as to make our decision quite difficult, we are, nevertheless, mindful of the District's concern for the safety and welfare of its citizens and the many visitors to the nation's capital. Moreover, we note that this is the first instance of a member of the civilian component of a NATO force to be involved in an offense covered under the NATO SOFA, despite the fact that there are a number of NATO-related missions in the Washington area. Thus, the Department considers that our national foreign policy interests, the good relations with a vital NATO ally and the cause of international comity and reciprocity will be well served in waiving jurisdiction in this case. We shall appreciate your cooperation in this decision and your action to abate any further proceedings against [the defendant].

Department of State File No. DEF 4 NATO. Article VII(1)(b) of the NATO SOFA provides that "Subject to the provisions of this Article . . . (b) the authorities of the receiving State shall have jurisdiction over the members of a force or civilian component and their dependents with respect to offences committed within the territory of the receiving State and punishable by the law of that State." Paragraph 3(c) of Article VII provides that "If the State having the primary right decides not to exercise jurisdiction, it shall notify the authorities of the other State as soon as practicable. The authorities of the State having the primary right shall give sympathetic consideration to a request from the authorities of the other State for a waiver of its right in cases where that other State considers such waiver to be of particular importance."

§ 5

International Conferences

Presidential Appointments

A Joint Resolution of July 30, 1946, providing for United States membership and participation in UNESCO, specifies in Section 2 that:

The President by and with the consent of the Senate shall designate from time to time to attend a specified session or specified sessions of the General Conference of the Organization not to exceed five representatives of the United States and such number of alternates not to exceed five as he may determine consistent with the rules of procedure of the General Conference. ... (60 Stat. 712)