| | |  Americas & Beyond | August 2008 
Texas Execution Damages International Law
 Philip Smet - RadioNetherlands
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According to professor of international law Geert-Jan Knoops, the execution of a 31-year-old Mexican in the US state of Texas has damaged the credibility of international law. Texas ignored calls by US President George W. Bush, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to review the case against José Ernesto Medellín. The review was necessary, as it has been alleged that there were procedural errors in the original case.
Medellín died at 21:57 local time after being given a lethal injection. His death marked the conclusion of the sentence handed down to Medellín for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl from Houston in 1993.
Consular assistance
The proceedings against Medellín did not conform to international agreements. In response, Mexico appealed against the execution to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In 2004, the UN body ruled that the case against Medellín should come under juridical review and reconsideration as the defendant had not been allowed to request consular assistance from the Mexican authorities after his arrest. Under the terms of a 1963 international agreement, anyone arrested in a foreign country has the right to assistance from a representative from his or her home nation.
"I was one of the judges in the 2004 Avena case," says Professor Peter Kooijmans, a former foreign minister and until 2006, a judge at the ICJ. Because the case is not yet closed, the court is not allowed to respond. Professor Kooijmans confirms that Medellín was refused the right to consular assistance:
"There were 58 people, including Medellín, who were refused consular assistance. In 2004, we ruled that their death sentences had come under juridical review and reconsideration."
Texas did review the case against Medellín, though whether it conformed to the 2004 ICJ ruling is questionable. According to Professor Kooijmans, the problem lies with the fact that the US interprets a juridical review and reconsideration far more liberally then the ICJ. The professor again emphasises that he is not permitted to talk about his old cases.
Absolute authority
Mexico concluded that the review of the case against Medellín did not conform to international law and again challenged the sentence at the International Court in order to prevent the execution. In June, the ICJ ruled that Texas had to stay the execution until the request for interpretation had been answered. However, today's execution makes it clear that Texas ignored the court's ruling, though the governor of Texas did refer the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of the execution by a narrow majority.
Professor of International Law Geert-Jan Knoops says,
"The US has disregarded ICJ rulings before. The US Supreme Court has ruled that individual states have absolute authority in such cases."
Conservative
Professor Knoops says the execution is a bad omen for US citizens as well as the international community: "The US is always the first to support an international tribunal but when it comes to internal questions, it is an extremely nationalistic and conservative country". Mr Knoops says he is afraid that the reputation of the International Court has been damaged.
Paper tiger
ICJ rulings are not binding, as the court, unlike the UN Security Council, cannot impose sanctions. Professor Kooijmans says, "It is unavoidable. Violations of international law will always occur. I'm very disappointed that the US Supreme Court has allowed individual states' rights to carry so much weight". However, it must be said that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing execution to go ahead by a very narrow margin and that President George Bush also agreed with the ICJ ruling. According to the professor, one can conclude that ICJ rulings do have an affect: "the glass is more than half full".
RNW translation (jirc) |
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