Consular Bag
Concept Diplomatic Practice Preferred
Sealed package of official consular correspondence or articles, protected from detention and, with limits, from opening.
Independent referenceNot an official or legal definition
Sources citedSee the sources at the end of this page
Status Under reviewLast updated 11 October 2026
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Definition
In plain language
A consular bag carries official papers or equipment between a consulate and its home government. The host country must not open or hold it, but in rare cases may ask to have it opened or returned.
Academic definition
Article 35 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations makes the consular bag inviolable, but the rule is slightly weaker than the diplomatic bag. Under Article 35(3) the bag shall be neither opened nor detained, yet if the receiving State's authorities have serious reason to believe it contains something other than official correspondence, documents or articles, they may ask that it be opened in their presence by an authorised representative of the sending State, and if that is refused the bag is to be returned to its place of origin. Packages must bear visible external marks of their character (Article 35(4)).
Classification
- Term type
- Concept
- Category
- Diplomatic Practice
- Subject field
- Consular Law
- Subfield
- Communications of Consular Posts
- Difficulty level
- Intermediate
- Grammatical category
- noun phrase
Language variants
- Alternative terms
- consular pouch
- consular valise
- Non-preferred terms
- not_applicable
- Abbreviations
- not_applicable
- Acronyms
- not_applicable
- Native terms
- valise consulaire (French)
- Transliteration
- not_applicable
- Pronunciation
- not_applicable
Context
Legal effect: Binding
Scope
Covers the consular bag and its conditions; the diplomatic bag has stricter protection and the person carrying the bag is covered under 'Consular Courier'.
Legal context
VCCR Article 35(3) and (4) set the inviolability and marking rules, and several States have made reservations to Article 35(3). The diplomatic bag, by contrast, under Article 27(3) VCDR may not be opened or detained at all.
Diplomatic context
Consulates use bags to send visa files, passports and confidential records, and misuse allegations are handled through diplomatic protest and requests for opening in the sender's presence.
Institutional context
Handled by consular sections of foreign ministries, customs services and courier units.
Historical context
Customary protection of consular correspondence was set out in earlier bilateral conventions and was codified in 1963 after discussions in the ILC.
Why it matters
Secure transport of documents between consulates and capitals depends on this rule, and the differences from the diplomatic bag are important in border disputes.
Usage
Register: Formal Diplomatic
Usage note
Use 'consular bag' for consular communications and 'diplomatic bag' for those of diplomatic missions; some States use 'pouch'.
Example
Customs officers asked that the consular bag be opened in the presence of an official of the sending State.
Example scenario
Officers in State B suspect a consular bag from State A contains goods other than documents. They request that State A's representative open it in their presence, and when State A refuses, the bag is sent back to State A unopened.
Common misuse
Assuming a consular bag has exactly the same absolute protection as a diplomatic bag; Article 35(3) allows a request for opening.
Not to be confused with
- Diplomatic bag (Article 27 VCDR)
- Consular courier
- Personal baggage of a consul
Sources
- Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), United Nations, Article 35(3)-(4). legal.un.org
- Official definition. not_found_in_source
- Treaty reference. legal.un.org
- Lee and Quigley, Consular Law and Practice. not_found_in_source
- not_found_in_source. not_found_in_source
Source type: Treaty. Source reliability: Primary.
This entry is an independent reference definition, not an official or legally binding text. Where an official definition exists, it is linked above and is authoritative. Read our methodology.
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