CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ THE INTERNATIONAL LAW ASPECTS OF THE NEW CZECH ACT … to the concerned individuals to stay within the boundaries of international law and bring international law considerations into the day-to-day business of the Czech foreign service. Finally, the principle of compliance with obligations that arise for the Czech Republic from the EU law is also relevant, as the Czech foreign service has to operate not just in accordance with international law, but in accordance with this growing body of law too. In general, the Czech foreign service has to take into an account the obligations of the member States set out in the Treaty on the European Union in the area of common foreign and security policy. In practical terms, however, the Act on Foreign Service is linked more to Article 46 on diplomatic and consular protection of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 4 and the above-mentioned Council Directive 2015/637. Consequently, the Czech foreign service is now working both for the citizens of the Czech Republic and for the so-called “unrepresented citizens of the Union”. This matter is further elaborated below in the part dealing with consular protection. The Act on Foreign Service uses the general term “representative office” (in Czech: “zastupitelský úřad”) that was taken over from the Competence Act and is firmly rooted in the daily practice of the Foreign Ministry, although it has no basis in international law. According to § 4(2) of the Act, “the representative offices are a) an embassy, b) a permanent mission to an international organization (hereinafter, the “permanent mission”), 4. The Categories of the Representative Offices and Their Functions The purpose of this provision was to provide a legal framework for these State bodies, as until the entry into force of the Act on Foreign Service, it was missing. The following provisions of the Act describe the functions of these representative offices. In the case of an “embassy”, § 5 of the Act on Foreign Service refers to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations: “The embassy fulfills for the State where it was established, and potentially for other States too (hereinafter, the “receiving State”), the functions of a diplomatic mission pursuant to a treaty that is binding on the Czech Republic; in particular, it a) represents the Czech Republic in the receiving State, b) protects the interests of the Czech Republic and of its nationals in the receiving State, c) negotiates with the Government of the receiving State, c) a consular post, d) a special mission, e) a liaison office or bureau.”

4 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Official Journal of the European Communities, 2000/C 364/1, Article 46: “Every citizen of the Union shall, in the territory of a third country in which the Member State of which he or she is a national is not represented, be entitled to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any Member State, on the same conditions as the nationals of that Member State.”

569