U.S. legal advisor John Bellinger, right, greeting Mexico's chief advocate Juan Manuel Gomez-Robledo, center, and legal advisor Joel Antonio Hernandez Garcia, left, at the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands on Thursday. (Peter Dejong/The Associated Press)



Mexico tries to stop U.S. executions


The Associated Press
Published: June 19, 2008


THE HAGUE: Mexico made an emergency appeal to the United Nations' highest court Thursday to block the execution of its citizens in the United States.

Lawyers for the U.S. government cautioned, however, that the court's interference could complicate Washington's efforts to save the lives of Mexicans condemned by American state courts.

Mexico contends that the United States is defying a 2004 order by the International Court of Justice to review the cases of 51 condemned Mexican prisoners.

That ruling said the inmates had been denied the right to help from their consulate after their arrests. It said the prisoners were entitled to a reconsideration of their trials and sentences to determine whether the violation affected their cases.

Informally known as the World Court, the tribunal is the United Nation's judicial arm for resolving disputes among nations. Its decisions are binding and final, but it has no enforcement powers.

Mexico's chief advocate, Juan Manuel Gomez-Robledo, told the court Thursday that the cases had not been systematically reviewed and that the United States was "in breach of its international obligations."

Gomez-Robledo said that without urgent action now, five Mexican nationals would be "executed before the conclusion of these proceedings."

John Bellinger 3rd, a U.S. legal adviser, said the U.S. government had gone to "extraordinary lengths" to carry out the World Court's directive and to intercede with the state courts.

After the World Court's ruling, President George W. Bush issued a directive to the state courts to abide by the decision. He also asked Texas specifically to review the case of José Medellin, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection Aug. 5.

Those steps were "highly unusual," Bellinger said. "It almost never happens that the federal government enters an appearance in state court proceedings."

Texas refused, and in March the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 6-to-3 vote that Bush lacked the authority to compel state courts to comply with the judgment from The Hague.

Mexico filed to the court again two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Michael Mukasey jointly wrote to Governor Rick Perry of Texas, urging him to review Medellin's case, Bellinger said.

But Rice and Mukasey could do nothing more than "respectfully request" Texas's help to carry out international legal obligations, Bellinger said.

It was unclear when the judges would issue a ruling.



http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/19/ ... /hague.php