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Marshall Islands Revised Code 2012

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Consular Functions Act 1988 [43 MIRC Ch.8]

MARSHALL ISLANDS


REVISED CODE 2012


TITLE 43


FOREIGN AFFAIRS, CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION


CHAPTER 8.


CONSULAR FUNCTIONS


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS


Section
§801. Short title.
§802. Interpretation.
§803. Performance of Consular Functions.
§804. Validation of Documents.
§805. Administration of Oath or Affirmation.
§806. Solemnization and Registration of Marriages.
§807. Registration of Births and Deaths.
§808. Fees to be Levied for Performance of Consular.
§809. Offenses and Penalties.
§810. Regulations.


SCHEDULE


___________________


An Act to provide for performance of certain Consular Functions by Diplomatic Officers of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in foreign countries and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. [New section numbering format-reflecting chapter number]


Commencement: November 28, 1988

Source: P. L. 1988-30


§801. Short title.


This Chapter may be cited as the "Consular Functions Act". [P.L. 1988-30, §1.]


§802. Interpretation.


In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:


(a) "consular function" means any function referred to in Sections 804, 805, 806, and 807, and includes any act specified in the Schedule appearing at the end of this Chapter;



§803. Performance of Consular Functions.


Every Diplomatic or Consular Officer of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is hereby authorized to perform, in accordance with any written law of the Republic, any consular function in any foreign country to which he is accredited or appointed; provided, however, that the performance of such function is not prohibited by the written laws of the country in which such function is performed. [P.L. 1988-30, §3.]


§804. Validation of Documents.


Upon the application of a person who is a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or any other person, a diplomatic or consular officer may:


(a) certify, attest, authenticate or do any other such act to validate any document;


(b) translate any document from Marshallese language to any other language or translate any document from any other language to Marshallese language;

§805. Administration of Oath or Affirmation.


(1) Every Diplomatic or Consular Officer shall be entitled to and may administer any oath or affirmation or take any affidavit, and such oath or affirmation or such affidavit shall be deemed to have been administered or taken, as the case may be, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

(2) Any Diplomatic or Consular Officer administering any oath or affirmation or taking an affidavit under the provisions of Subsection (1) of this Section, shall not be held responsible for the truth of the contents, or the accuracy, of any statement made under such oath or affirmation or recording in such affidavit. [P.L. 1988-30, §5.]

§806. Solemnization and Registration of Marriages.


(1) Every Diplomatic or Consular Officer shall be deemed to be a Registrar for any Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands within the meaning of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1988, and accordingly, may solemnize and register any marriage under that Act, in the country to which he is appointed or accredited, where at least one of the parties to the marriage is a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, as though such marriage was solemnized and registered in any Atoll in the Republic.

(2) The provisions of the Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Act 1988, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to and in relation to the solemnization and registration of a marriage referred to in Subsection (1) of this Section, and every Diplomatic or Consular Officer shall, in the performance of his functions, comply with the provisions of that Act. [P.L. 1988-30, §6.]

§807. Registration of Births and Deaths.


(1) Every Diplomatic or Consular Officer shall be deemed to be a Registrar for any Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands within the meaning of the Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Act 1988, and accordingly such Diplomatic or Consular Officer may register the birth or death of a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands occurring in the foreign country to which he is appointed or accredited, as though such registration were made in any Atoll in the Republic.

(2) The provisions of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1988, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to and in relation to the registration of any birth or death referred to in Subsection (1) of this Section, and every Diplomatic or Consular Officer shall, in the performance of his functions, comply with the provisions of that Act. [P.L. 1988-30, §7.]

§808. Fees to be Levied for Performance of Consular Functions.


The Minister may, from time to time, prescribe by notification, the fees to be levied by a Diplomatic or Consular Officer to perform any consular functions specified in such notification. [P.L. 1988-30, §8.]


§809. Offenses and Penalties.


(1) Any person who fraudulently or by willful act or omission, knowingly misleads a Diplomatic or consular Officer to perform any consular function shall be guilty of an offense and shall, upon conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two (2) years, or both.


(2) Any person who fraudulently alters the seal or signature of any Diplomatic or Consular Officer shall be guilty of an offense and shall upon Conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding $500, or both. [P.L. 1988-30, §9.]


§810. Regulations.


(1) The Minister may make regulations with respect to:


(2) Every regulation made by the Minister under Subsection (1) of this Section, shall come into operation upon the approval by the Cabinet. [P.L. 1988-30, §10.]


___________________


SCHEDULE


Reference Section:
802(a), 10(c). Consular Functions Act 1988


ARTICLE V OF THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON CONSULAR RELATIONS OF 1963


CONSULAR FUNCTIONS


Consular functions consist of:


(a) protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and 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 above-mentioned Convention;

(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;





(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.


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