EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
CONSULAR PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES ACT 1972
CONSULAR PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES (COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES) REGULATIONS (REPEAL)
CONSULAR PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES (MALAYSIAN EDUCATION OFFICES) REGULATIONS (REPEAL)
Statutory Rules 1985 No. 265 issued by the authority of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Section 13 of the Consular Privileges and Immunities Act 1972 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with the Act prescribing matters required for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
2. Pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act, Malaysia was declared to be a Commonwealth Country to which the Act applied, in Statutory Rules 1973 No. 278 entitled Consular Privileges and Immunities (Commonwealth Countries) Regulations. The Malaysian Education Offices were declared to be posts exercising functions exercised by a consular post and were conferred with the privileges and immunities that are conferred by the Act on a consular post, by Statutory Rules 1974 No. 80 entitled Consular Privileges and Immunities (Malaysian Education Offices) Regulations.
3. The purpose of these regulations was to confer certain privileges and immunities upon Malaysian Education Offices in Melbourne and Perth before Malaysia had established consulates in those cities. Consulates have now been established for several years in both places, and the functions of the Education Offices have been subsumed by the Consulates. It is accordingly not appropriate that regulations confer privileges and immunities separately on the offices and the consulates, and it has been decided to repeal the regulations which provide the special regime for the offices.
4. The regulations enclosed herewith have been prepared to repeal Statutory Rules 1974 No. 80.