1. The
receiving State shall
permit and
protect free communication on the part of the
mission for all
official purposes. In
communicating with the
Government and the other
missions and
consulates of the
sending State, wherever situated, the
mission may employ all appropriate means,
including diplomatic couriers and
messages in
code or
cipher. However, the
mission may install and use a
wireless transmitter only with the
consent of the
receiving State.
3. The
diplomatic bag shall not be opened or
detained.
4. The
packages constituting the
diplomatic bag must bear visible external
marks of their
character and may contain only
diplomatic documents or
articles intended for
official use.
5. The
diplomatic courier, who shall be provided with an
official document indicating his
status and the
number of
packages constituting the
diplomatic bag, shall be
protected by the
receiving State in the
performance of his functions. He shall enjoy
personal inviolability and shall not be
liable to any form of
arrest or
detention.
6. The
sending State or the
mission may
designate diplomatic couriers ad hoc. In such
cases the
provisions of paragraph 5 of this
Article shall also apply, except that the
immunities therein mentioned shall cease to apply when such a
courier has delivered to the
consignee the
diplomatic bag in his
charge.
7. A
diplomatic bag may be
entrusted to the
captain of a
commercial aircraft scheduled to
land at an
authorized port of entry. He shall be provided with an
official document indicating the
number of
packages constituting the bag but he shall not be considered to be a
diplomatic courier. The
mission may send one of its
members to take
possession of the
diplomatic bag directly and
freely from the
captain of the
aircraft.