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TREATY RELATIONS OF MUSCAT 57
enterprises for engaging in industrial and other business activities within
the territories of such other Parly . . .
The question of consular representation between the two countries
is dealt with in Article XII which reads:
Each Party shall have the right to send consular representatives to the other
Party, subject to the approval of such other Party as to the persons ap
pointed .and the places at which they reside. Such consular representatives
shall be permitted to perform such consular functions and shall enjoy such
privileges and immunities as arc in accordance with international law and
practice and as provided in the protocol to this Treaty.
The protocol to which the above article refers specifies the functions,
privileges, and immunities accorded to consular officers appointed in
the territories of either Party.1 Under this protocol, the privileges and
immunities enjoyed by
a consular officer or employee who is a citizen of the sending State and not
a permanent resident of the receiving State and who is not engaged in any
other business include:
(a) Exemption from the jurisdiction of the courts of the receiving State
with respect to acts performed within the scope of his official duties;
(b) Exemption from having to produce documents from consular archives
or give evidence on matters falling within the scope of official duties;
(c) Exemption from arrest or prosecution except when charged with
crimes other than misdemeanors;
(d) Exemption from having him or his dependents subject to the re
quirements of alien registration, residence permits, and similar regulations
applicable generally to aliens;
(e) Exemption from all estate, inheritance, succession, or similar taxes
imposed in the receiving State with respect to movable property belonging
to the estate of a deceased consular . . .
By Article XVI, the treaty ‘shall remain in force for seven years and
shall continue in force thereafter until terminated’. Termination of
the treaty takes effect by one year’s written notice to be given by
either Party to the other ‘at the end of the initial seven-year period
or at any time thereafter’. It was registered with the United Nations
under Article 102 of the Charter.2
As demonstrated above, the Treaty of 20 December 1958 between
Muscat and the United States is significant in that it establishes a
novel relationship between the two States based on such principles
of international law as are normally applicable to relations of sovereign
independent States.
1 In his statement to the Committee on Oman, the Sultan said that there is at
present no United States consul in Muscat, in accordance with the provisions of the
above article, but that the United States consul in Aden usually visits Muscat
from time to time and looks after the United States’ affairs. See Ad Hoc Committee
on Oman, op. cit., p. 127. 2 U.N.T.S., vol. 380, p. 181.