The president normally acts on the advice of the government but also consults an advisory Council of State in the exercise of certain functions.
In the exercise of its functions, powers, and duties, the Advisory Committee shall be independent of the Secretary and the other offices and officers of the Department.
But Curtis A. Bradley, a Duke law professor specializing in international law, cautioned that "consular immunity," the category that presumably would apply to Ms. De Sousa, was limited by treaty to "acts performed in the exercise of consular functions".
To the argument that Pinochet could claim immunity because the acts alleged against him were performed in the exercise of his functions as head of state, Professor Greenwood protested that torture was prohibited by the Chilean constitution from 1925.
From this, the Committee concludes that a resident alien lawyer might in the exercise of his functions ignore his responsibilities to the courts or even his clients in favor of the interest of a foreign power.
For example, Article 43(1) grants consular officials immunity from "the jurisdiction of the" host country's "judicial or administrative authorities" for "acts performed in the exercise of consular functions". 21 U. S. T., at 104.
Article 43 of the Convention states: "Consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable to the jurisdiction of the judicial and administrative authorities of the receiving state in respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions".
So the dent in Colombian sovereignty may be just as great, even though this time Mr. Pastrana has promised that all civil authorities in the area "will continue in the exercise of their functions," and international observers will be allowed in to assure that the E.L.N. is honoring the agreement.
