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Abstract

Protecting the interests of nationals of the sending State in the receiving State is the cardinal function of consuls. Despite all changes the institution of consular relations has undergone through time, it has not lost any of its pertinence in safeguarding the interests of nationals abroad. The need for consular protection becomes more urgent in cases where sending State nationals face serious adversity abroad, particularly in situations involving the deprivation of their liberty. Confronted with an unfamiliar legal system, such nationals may encounter a variety of barriers in defending their legitimate interests and rights. With a view to redressing such vulnerability, international law has long devised a mechanism for securing the channel of communication and contact between consuls and nationals of the sending State. By exploring the international legal régime governing the exercise of consular protection, this thesis examines the positive impacts of international human rights advancements on the institution of consular protection in situations where a national is deprived of his or her liberty abroad. This helps clarify in what respects and to some extent the law of consular relations, which was traditionally envisaged from a strictly inter-State outlook, has been individualized by conferring certain international individual rights upon nationals deprived of their liberty abroad.

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