Model Standard Operating Procedure for Consular Notification and Access in the United States

The obligations of consular notification and access are not codified in any federal statute.
Implementing legislation is not necessary because executive, law enforcement, and
judicial authorities can implement these obligations through their existing powers
on the basis of the relevant international agreements and written guidance such as this
manual. Implementation may also be facilitated through issuance of internal directives, orders, or similar instructions by appropriate federal, state, and local officials to their subordinates. For example, many local police departments incorporate instructions on consular notification into their internal manuals.

The Department of State strongly encourages all law enforcement agencies to develop standard operating procedures for complying with consular notification and access requirements. Such procedures help your agency avoid costly litigation and diplomatic complaints. Moreover, a written directive governing procedures for assuring compliance with consular notification and access requirements is now required for accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).138

The model standard operating procedure (SOP) below is intended for law enforcement
agencies to use as a template.

Please add or remove language to best fit your agency’s needs. The Department of State does not intend this model SOP to be a complete or comprehensive restatement of the United States’ international legal obligations under the VCCR or any bilateral agreement. Instead, the model SOP provides one set of suggested procedures that, if followed, will in most cases ensure that your department or agency complies with the law on consular notification and access. Going through the procedures precisely as outlined in the model SOP is not necessarily the only means by which your agency can ensure compliance with this body of law. For a more complete description of the legal regime governing consular notification and access, including many of its nuances, you should read Parts One through Four of this manual.

Questions and comments about the model SOP can be emailed to consnot@state.gov. A
version of the model SOP reflecting any updates that may have occurred subsequent to this manual’s publication is available for download at www.travel.state.gov/consularnotification.

See CALEA Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies (5th ed. 2006), standard 1.1.4, available at http://www.calea.org