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World Court: U.S. violated rights of 51
Mexicans on Death Row - 'Mexico "doesn't contest the
United States' right as a sovereign country to impose the death
penalty for the most grave crimes," but wants to make sure its
citizens aren't abused by a foreign legal system they don't always
understand.'
March 31, 2004
By Toby Sterling
The Associated Press
To submit a Letter to the Editor: letter@startelegram.com
The Hague, Netherlands - The International Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled that the United States violated the rights of 51 Mexicans on death row and ordered their cases be reviewed. The United Nations' highest judiciary, also known as the World Court, was considering a suit filed by Mexico claiming 52 convicted murderers weren't given their right to assistance from their government. "The U.S. should provide by means of its own choosing meaningful review of the conviction and sentence" of the Mexicans, presiding judge Shi Jiuyong said. Shi said the review, in all but three cases, could be carried out under the normal appeals process in the United States. But for three men whose have already exhausted all other appeals, the court said the United States should make an exception and review their cases one last time. The court found that in the remaining case, the convict had received his rights and his case didn't need to be reviewed. At the heart of the Mexico-U.S. case is the 1963 Vienna Convention, which guarantees people accused of a serious crime while in a foreign country the right to contact their own government for help and that they be informed of that right by arresting authorities. The world court is charged with resolving disputes between nations and has jurisdiction over the treaty [1963 Vienna Convention].
It found that U.S. authorities hadn't properly informed the 51 men of
their rights when they realized they were foreigners.
Both the United States and Mexico were preparing reactions to the ruling. The United States had argued the case was a sovereignty issue, and the 15-judge tribunal should be wary of allowing itself to be used as a criminal appeals court, which is not its mandate. In hearings in December, lawyers for Mexico argued that any U.S. citizen accused of a serious crime abroad would want the same right, and the only fair solution for the men allegedly denied diplomatic help was to start their legal processes all over again. Juan Manuel Gomez said that Mexico "doesn't contest the United States' right as a sovereign country to impose the death penalty for the most grave crimes," but wants to make sure its citizens aren't abused by a foreign legal system they don't always understand. U.S. lawyer William Taft argued that the prisoners had received fair trials. He said even if the prisoners didn't get consular help, the way to remedy the wrong "must be left to the United States." In its written arguments, the United States said that Mexico's request would be a "radical intrusion" into the U.S. justice system, contradicting laws and customs in every city and state in the nation. "The court has never ordered any form of restitution nearly as far reaching as that sought by Mexico," the arguments said. In 2001, a similar case came before the court filed by Germany to stop the execution of two German brothers who also had not been informed of their right to consular assistance. One brother was executed before the court could act. The judges ordered a stay of execution for the second brother, Walter LaGrand, until it could deliberate, but he was executed anyway by the state authorities of Arizona. Under the court's statute, its judgments are "binding, final and without appeal."
Its rulings have rarely been ignored, and if one side claims the other
has failed to carry out the court's decision, it may take the issue to
the U.N. Security Council.
When the court finally handed down the belated ruling in 2001, it chastised the U.S. government for not halting the LaGrand execution, and rejected arguments that Washington was powerless to intervene in criminal cases under the authority of the individual states. Mexican President Vicente Fox canceled a visit to President Bush's ranch in 2002 to protest the execution of a Mexican citizen not mentioned in the world court suit. The visit finally took place earlier this month. http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/8319755.htm?template=contentModules/
Judge Shi Jiuyong (China) elected President of the
International Court of Justice - Judge Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar)
elected Vice-President
February 6, 2003
The Hague, Netherlands - Today Judge Shi Jiuyong (China) was elected President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by his peers. Judge Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar) was elected Vice-President. They will both serve a three-year term. Biographies of President Shi and Vice-President Ranjeva, who have been Members of the Court since 1994 and 1991 respectively, follow. [excerpted; only Shi's biography follows.] The International Court of Justice, composed of 15 Members, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It adjudicates disputes between States and gives advisory opinions to United Nations organs and specialized agencies. With 23 cases currently on its docket, the Court is busier than ever before. Taking into account the result of the election held on 21 October 2002 by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to fill the five seats due to fall vacant on 6 February 2003 (see Press Release No. 2002/27), the composition of the Court is now as follows: President
Shi Jiuyong (China) Website of the Court: www.icj-cij.org
(Member of the Court since 6 February 1994;
Vice-President since 7 February 2000; Born in Zhejiang, China, on 9 October 1926. B.A. in Government and Public Law, St. John’s University, Shanghai (1948); M.A. in International Law, Columbia University, New York, United States of America (1951); research in international law at Columbia University, New York (1951-1954). Assistant Research Fellow in International Law, Institute of International Relations, Beijing, China (1956-1958). Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor of International Law, Foreign Affairs College, Beijing (1958-1964). Research Fellow in International Law, Institute of International Law, Beijing (1964-1973). Research Fellow in International Law, Institute of International Studies, Beijing (1973-1980). Professor of International Law, Foreign Affairs College, Beijing (1984-1993). Professor of Law, Foreign Economic Law Training Centre, Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing (1987-1988). Honorary Professor at the East China University of Politics and Law, Shanghai (since 2001). Adviser, Chinese Society of International Law, Beijing. Council member, Institute of Hong Kong Law of the Chinese Law Society, Beijing. Member, American Society of International Law. Member of the Consultative Council of "The Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence". Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China (1980-1993). Legal Adviser, Office of the Chinese Senior Representative, Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (on the question of Hong Kong) (1985-1993). Legal Adviser, Chinese Centre of Legal Consultancy, Beijing (1989-1993). Member, Standing Committee, Beijing Committee (1988-1993), and member, Eighth National Committee (1993), Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Legal Adviser, Chinese delegation to the 1980 Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Legal Adviser, delegation of the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China for the formal visit to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1980). Adviser, Chinese delegation to the thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations and China’s Alternate Representative to the Sixth Committee at that session. Adviser, Chinese delegation to the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth sessions of the United Nations General Assembly and China’s delegate to the Sixth Committee at the same sessions (1981-1983). Delegate, Chinese delegation to the sessions of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee in 1981, 1985 and 1993. Legal Adviser, Chinese delegation to the talks between the Government of China and the Asian Development Bank on the question of China’s membership in the Bank (1986). Legal Adviser of the Chinese side, Working Group of the Sino-British Negotiations on the question of Hong Kong (1984). Legal Adviser of the Chinese side, Sino-British Joint Liaison Group (on Hong Kong), plenary sessions (1985-1993). Delegate, Chinese delegation, legal consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the Department of State of the United States of America (1983 and 1984). Delegate, Chinese delegation, negotiations between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investment Agreement (1983 and 1984). Representative of the International Law Commission to the forty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly (1990). Expert from China, Senior Legal Experts Meetings on Review of Montevideo Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, 5-6 July 1991 at Geneva and 5-7 September 1991 at Nairobi. Representative of the International Law Commission to the thirtieth meeting of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Conference, Cairo, 22-27 April 1991. Legal Adviser to the Chinese delegation, Disarmament Conference, November 1991 to August 1992. Member (1987-1993), Rapporteur (1988) and Chairman (1990) of the International Law Commission. Member, Foreign Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (1984-1988). Member of the Steering Committee on revision of the Hague Convention of 1907 on Pacific Settlement of International Disputes of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (1994-1997). Taught general course of international law, Foreign Affairs College, Beijing (1958-1963). Taught general course of international economic law, Department of Law, Peking University (1980-1985). Taught general course of international economic law, Foreign Economic Law Training Centre, Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China (1988). Lectures on international financial institutions, National Bureau of Oceanography, the People’s Republic of China (1986). Lectures on principles of international law relating to the new international economic order, Department of Law, Peking University (1988). Lectures on protection of private foreign investment (in English), the Hague Academy of International Law, Regional Programme, Beijing (1987). Lecture on the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the question of Hong Kong (in English), Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva (1988). Lecture on autonomy in international law and the case of the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (in English), International Law Seminar, United Nations Office at Geneva (1988). Lecture on "Nationality of Hong Kong Residents: Present and Future", Graduate Studies, Foreign Affairs College (1988). Lecture on certain issues relating to the legal status of the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Graduate Studies, Department of Law, Peking University (1989). Lectures on international trade regulation, Foreign Service Training Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (1985 and 1986). Lectures on problems of international economic law, Department of Law, Chinese People’s University, Beijing (1987). Chairman, panel discussions on the new international economic order, Beijing Conference on the Law of the World, World Peace through Law (1990). Participant, Symposium on the International Law of Arms Control and Disarmament, held at Geneva (February 1991). Lectures on the International Law Commission, Graduate Studies, Department of Law, Peking University (March 1991). Lectures on selected topics of international economic law, Graduate Studies, Foreign Affairs College (September/October 1991). Participant in the Seminar on the Draft Code of Crimes and International Criminal Jurisdiction, sponsored by the Foundation for the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law Commission, Talloires, France (May 1991). Lectures on bilateral investment protection agreements (in English), International Law Seminar, United Nations Office at Geneva (June 1992). Participant, Symposium on Teaching, Dissemination and Research of International Law in Developing Countries, Beijing, 1992. Author of numerous publications on international law. http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/cijwww/icjwww/ipresscom/ipress2003 |