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7335887
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Letter to President Regarding Consular Convention with Bulgaria
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7335887
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document
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Letter to President Regarding Consular Convention with Bulgaria
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collections
White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7335887
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30
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1974-08-30
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8
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1974
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Digitized from Box 1 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
7415181
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
WASHINGTON
August 30, 1974
The President:
I have the honor to submit to you the Consular
Convention between the United States of America and
the People's Republic of Bulgaria, along with an Agreed
Memorandum and a related exchange of letters, signed at
Sofia on April 15, 1974. I recommend that the Convention,
Agreed Memorandum and related letters be transmitted
to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification.
The Consular Convention with Bulgaria is the most
recent in a series of consular conventions signed with
various countries in Eastern Europe, including Poland,
Hungary, Romania and Czechoslovakia. The Consular
Convention should contribute substantially to the growth
of both governmental and commercial interaction between
the two countries. As a result of the Convention the
consuls of the respective countries will be better
equipped to aid their citizens in numerous ways and
will be authorized to perform a wide variety of consular
services in both countries. These services include the
issuance of passports and visas, performance of notarial
services, representation of nationals in estate matters
and the provision of legal and related assistance to
nationals in need.
The President,
The White House.
- 2 -
A very significant aspect of the Consular Convention
relates to the obligation of the receiving State to notify
consulates of the sending State in the case of the
deprivation or limitation of personal freedom of any
national of the sending State. Notification must be made
within a maximum period of three days. The authorities
of the receiving State are likewise obligated to permit
consular officers to visit such a detained national within
four days of the date of the detention. The Consular
Convention contains other specific rights of consular
officers with respect to providing assistance to nationals
who are deprived of personal liberty.
The provisions of the Consular Convention follow
the pattern of bilateral consular conventions now in force
with a number of countries. Article 1 of the Convention
contains definitions of various terms employed throughout
the Convention. Articles 2 through 8 establish the basis
for the opening of a consulate and appointment of members
of the consulate. Articles 9 through 29 provide for the
rights, facilities, privileges and immunities enjoyed by
consulates and by individual consular officers and employees
in their official and private capacity. Articles 30 through
44 contain provisions specifying the functions of consulates
and rights of consular officers in such matters as issuance
of travel documents, compilation of statistics regarding
civil status, performance of notarial functions, the
extension of protective services to detained nationals,
representation of interests of nationals in estate matters
and rendering assistance to vessels and their crews.
Articles 45 through 49 relate to functions of consular
officers with respect to vessels and their crews.
- 3 -
In addition to the Consular Convention an exchange
of letters was signed on April 15 relating to the treatment
for consular protection purposes of persons who may be
regarded as possessing dual nationality. Under this
exchange of letters, the receiving State will guarantee
the consular protection rights outlined in Article 38 of
the Convention to persons who enter the receiving State
on the basis of a valid sending State passport with a valid
visa or other document authorizing entry into the receiving
State. This guarantee will be extended regardless of
whether the individual in question is also regarded as
a national of the receiving State.
I am confident that the new Consular Convention and
exchange of letters will greatly facilitate the relations
between the United States and Bulgaria and advance the
interests of the nationals of both countries. It is hoped
that the Senate will consider and approve the Convention,
Agreed Memorandum and related letters at an early date.
Respectfully
Robert S. submitted Injurall
The Acting Secretary of State
Enclosures:
Convention, Agreed
Memorandum and
related letters.