The full text of the Judgment of in the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America) (31 March 2004)  is available at:

http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/imus/imusjudgment/imus_imusjudgment_20040331.pdf

For a short summary of the major issues and arguments raised by both parties in the oral proceedings, please visit:

http://users.xplornet.com/~mwarren/avena.html
 
 

When does the obligation to inform detainees of their consular rights attach?

63. The Court finds that the duty upon the detaining authorities to give the Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), information to the individual arises once it is realized that the person is a foreign national, or once there are grounds to think that the person is probably a foreign national. Precisely when this may occur will vary with circumstances. The United States Department of State booklet, Consular Notification and Access-  Instructions for Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement and Other Officials Regarding Foreign Nationals in the United States and the Rights of Consular Officials to Assist Them, issued to federal, state and local authorities in order to promote compliance with Article 36 of the Vienna Convention points out in such cases that: “most, but not all, persons born outside the United States are not [citizens]. Unfamiliarity with English may also indicate foreign nationality.” The Court notes that when an arrested person himself claims to be of United States nationality, the realization by the authorities that he is not in fact a United States national, or grounds for that realization, is likely to come somewhat later in time.
 

How could the United States improve its compliance with this obligation?

64 [...] particularly in view of the large numbers of foreign nationals living in the United States, these very circumstances suggest that it would be desirable for enquiry routinely to be made of the individual as to his nationality at the time of arrest, so that the obligations of the Vienna Convention may be complied with. The United States has informed the Court that some of its law enforcement authorities do routinely ask persons taken into detention whether they are United States citizens. Indeed, were each individual to be told upon arrest that, should he be a foreign national, he is entitled to ask for his consular post to be contacted, compliance with this requirement under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), would be greatly enhanced. The provision of such information could parallel the reading of those rights of which any person taken into custody in connection with a criminal offence must be informed prior to interrogation by virtue of what in the United States is known as the “Miranda rule”; these rights include, inter alia, the right to remain silent, the right to have an attorney present during questioning, and the right to have an attorney appointed at government expense if the person cannot afford one. The Court notes that, according to the United States, such a practice in respect of the Vienna Convention
rights is already being followed in some local jurisdictions.
 

Does the likelihood that the detainee would refuse consular notification affect the obligation?

76. The Court has been provided with declarations from a number of the Mexican nationals concerned that attest to their never being informed of their rights under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b). The Court at the outset notes that, in 47 such cases, the United States nowhere challenges this fact of information not being given. Nevertheless, in the case of Mr. Hernández (case No. 34), the United States observes that

“Although the [arresting] officer did not ask Hernández Llanas whether he wanted them to inform the Mexican Consulate of his arrest, it was certainly not unreasonable for him to assume that an escaped convict would not want the Consulate of the country from which he escaped notified of his arrest.”

The Court notes that the clear duty to provide consular information under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), does not invite assumptions as to what the arrested person might prefer, as a ground for not informing him. It rather gives the arrested person, once informed, the right to say he nonetheless does not wish his consular post to be notified. It necessarily follows that in each of these 47 cases, the duty to inform “without delay” has been violated.
 

Must the advisement of consular rights take place prior to interrogation?

85. As for the object and purpose of the Convention, the Court observes that Article 36 provides for consular officers to be free to communicate with nationals of the sending State, to have access to them, to visit and speak with them and to arrange for their legal representation. It is not envisaged, either in Article 36, paragraph 1, or elsewhere in the Convention, that consular functions entail a consular officer himself or herself acting as the legal representative or more directly engaging in the criminal justice process. Indeed, this is confirmed by the wording of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Thus, neither the terms of the Convention as normally understood, nor its object and purpose, suggest that “without delay” is to be understood as “immediately upon arrest and before interrogation”.

86.  [...] It is also of interest that there is no suggestion in the travaux that the phrase “without  delay” might have different meanings in each of the three sets of circumstances in which it is used in Article 36, paragraph 1 (b).

87. The Court thus finds that “without delay” is not necessarily to be interpreted as “immediately” upon arrest. It further observes that during the Conference debates on this term, no delegate made any connection with the issue of interrogation. The Court considers that the provision in Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), that the receiving State authorities “shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights” cannot be interpreted to signify that the provision of such information must necessarily precede any interrogation, so that the commencement of interrogation before the information is given would be a breach of Article 36.
 

In a nutshell, what does “without delay” actually mean?

88. Although, by application of the usual rules of interpretation, “without delay” as regards the duty to inform an individual under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), is not to be understood as necessarily meaning “immediately upon arrest”, there is nonetheless a duty upon the arresting authorities to give that information to an arrested person as soon as it is realized that the person is a foreign national, or once there are grounds to think that the person is probably a foreign national.
 

What about “without delay” as it applies to notifying the consulate?

97. Mr. Hernández (case No. 34) was arrested in Texas on Wednesday 15 October 1997. The United States authorities had no reason to believe he might have American citizenship. The consular post was notified the following Monday, that is five days (corresponding to only three working days) thereafter. The Court finds that, in the circumstances, the United States did notify the consular post without delay, in accordance with its obligation under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b).
 

Is the violation conditional on the consulate’s willingness to provide consular assistance?

102. In the remaining cases, because of the failure of the United States to act in conformity with Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), Mexico was in effect precluded (in some cases totally, and in some cases for prolonged periods of time) from exercising its right under paragraph 1 (a) to communicate with its nationals and have access to them. As the Court has already had occasion to explain, it is immaterial whether Mexico would have offered consular assistance, “or whether a different verdict would have been rendered. It is sufficient that the Convention conferred these rights” (I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 492, para. 74), which might have been acted upon.

103. The same is true, pari passu, of certain rights identified in subparagraph (c): “consular officers shall have the right to visit a national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, and to converse and correspond with him . . .”
 

When is the consulate’s right to arrange for legal representation breached?

104. On the other hand, and on the particular facts of this case, no such generalized answer can be given as regards a further entitlement mentioned in subparagraph (c), namely, the right of consular officers “to arrange for [the] legal representation” of the foreign national. Mexico has laid much emphasis in this litigation upon the importance of consular officers being able to arrange for such representation before and during trial, and especially at sentencing, in cases in which a severe penalty may be imposed. Mexico has further indicated the importance of any financial or other assistance that consular officers may provide to defence counsel, inter alia for investigation of the defendant’s family background and mental condition, when such information is relevant to the case. The Court observes that the exercise of the rights of the sending State under Article 36, paragraph 1 (c), depends upon notification by the authorities of the receiving State. It may be, however, that information drawn to the attention of the sending State by other means may still enable its consular officers to assist in arranging legal representation for its national. In the following cases, the Mexican consular authorities learned of their national’s detention in time to provide such assistance, either through notification by United States authorities (albeit belatedly in terms of Article 36, paragraph 1 (b)) or through other channels: Benavides (case No. 3); Covarrubias (case No. 6); Esquivel (case No. 7); Hoyos (case No. 9); Mendoza (case No. 17); Ramírez (case No. 20); Sánchez (case No. 23); Verano (case No. 27); Zamudio (case No. 29); Gómez (case No. 33); Hernández (case No. 34); Ramírez (case No. 41); Rocha (case No. 42); Solache (case No. 47); Camargo (case No. 49) and Reyes (case No. 54).
 

Has anything changed regarding the application of procedural default?

113. The Court will return to this aspect below, in the context of Mexico’s claims as to remedies. For the moment, the Court simply notes that the procedural default rule has not been revised, nor has any provision been made to prevent its application in cases where it has been the failure of the United States itself to inform that may have precluded counsel from being in a position to have raised the question of a violation of the Vienna Convention in the initial trial. It thus remains the case that the procedural default rule may continue to prevent courts from attaching legal significance to the fact, inter alia, that the violation of the rights set forth in Article 36, paragraph 1, prevented Mexico, in a timely fashion, from retaining private counsel for certain nationals and otherwise assisting in their defence. In such cases, application of the procedural default rule would have the effect of preventing “full effect [from being] given to the purposes for which the rights accorded under this article are intended”, and thus violate paragraph 2 of Article 36.
 

Which cases have resulted in a violation of the obligation to give “full effect” to these rights?

114. By contrast, the Court notes that in the case of three Mexican nationals, Mr. Fierro (case No. 31), Mr. Moreno (case No. 39), and Mr. Torres (case No. 53), conviction and sentence have become final. Moreover, in the case of Mr. Torres the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has set an execution date (see paragraph 21 above, in fine). The Court must therefore conclude that, in relation to these three individuals, the United States is in breach of the obligations incumbent upon it under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Vienna Convention.
 

Is Mexico entitled to full restitution, through the vacatur of convictions or sentences?

121. [...] in the present case the Court’s task is to determine what would be adequate reparation for the violations of Article 36. It should be clear from what has been observed above that the internationally wrongful acts committed by the United States were the failure of its competent authorities to inform the Mexican nationals concerned, to notify Mexican consular posts and to enable Mexico to provide consular assistance. It follows that the remedy to make good these violations should consist in an obligation on the United States to permit review and reconsideration of these nationals’ cases by the United States courts, as the Court will explain further in paragraphs 128 to 134 below, with a view to ascertaining whether in each case the violation of Article 36 committed by the competent authorities caused actual prejudice to the defendant in the process of administration of criminal justice.

123. It is not to be presumed, as Mexico asserts, that partial or total annulment of conviction or sentence provides the necessary and sole remedy...in the present case it is not the convictions and sentences of the Mexican nationals which are to be regarded as a violation of international law, but solely certain breaches of treaty obligations which preceded them.
 

Who is responsible for fact-finding regarding these claims?

122. The Court reaffirms that the case before it concerns Article 36 of the Vienna Convention and not the correctness as such of any conviction or sentencing. The question of whether the violations of Article 36, paragraph 1, are to be regarded as having, in the causal sequence of events, ultimately led to convictions and severe penalties is an integral part of criminal proceedings before the courts of the United States and is for them to determine in the process of review and reconsideration. In so doing, it is for the courts of the United States to examine the facts, and in particular the prejudice and its causes, taking account of the violation of the rights set forth in the Convention.
 

What’s the relationship between the intent of the drafters of the VCCR and due process rights?

124. Mexico has further contended that the right to consular notification and consular communication under the Vienna Convention is a fundamental human right that constitutes part of due process in criminal proceedings and should be guaranteed in the territory of each of the Contracting Parties to the Vienna Convention; according to Mexico, this right, as such, is so fundamental that its infringement will ipso facto produce the effect of vitiating the entire process of the criminal proceedings conducted in violation of this fundamental right. Whether or not the Vienna Convention rights are human rights is not a matter that this Court need decide. The Court would, however, observe that neither the text nor the object and purpose of the Convention, nor any indication in the travaux préparatoires, support the conclusion that Mexico draws from its contention in that regard.
 

What about clemency procedures as the means of review and reconsideration?

131. In stating in its Judgment in the LaGrand case that “the United States of America, by means of its own choosing, shall allow the review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence” (I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 516, para. 128; emphasis added), the Court acknowledged that the concrete modalities for such review and reconsideration should be left primarily to the United States. It should be underlined, however, that this freedom in the choice of means for such review and reconsideration is not without qualification: as the passage of the Judgment quoted above makes abundantly clear, such review and reconsideration has to be carried out “by taking account of the violation of the rights set forth in the Convention” (I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 514, para. 125), including, in particular, the question of the legal consequences of the violation upon the criminal proceedings that have followed the violation.

138. The Court would emphasize that the “review and reconsideration” prescribed by it in the LaGrand case should be effective. Thus it should “tak[e] account of the violation of the rights set forth in [the] Convention” (I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 516, para. 128 (7)) and guarantee that the violation and the possible prejudice caused by that violation will be fully examined and taken into account in the review and reconsideration process. Lastly, review and reconsideration should be both of the sentence and of the conviction.

141. The Court in the LaGrand case left to the United States the choice of means as to how review and reconsideration should be achieved, especially in the light of the procedural default rule. Nevertheless, the premise on which the Court proceeded in that case was that the process of review and reconsideration should occur within the overall judicial proceedings relating to the individual defendant concerned.

143. It may be true, as the United States argues, that in a number of cases “clemency in fact results in pardons of convictions as well as commutations of sentences”. In that sense and to that extent, it might be argued that the facts demonstrated by the United States testify to a degree of effectiveness of the clemency procedures as a means of relieving defendants on death row from execution. The Court notes, however, that the clemency process, as currently practised within the United States criminal justice system, does not appear to meet the requirements described in paragraph 138 above and that it is therefore not sufficient in itself to serve as an appropriate means of “review and reconsideration” as envisaged by the Court in the LaGrand case. The Court considers nevertheless that appropriate clemency procedures can supplement judicial review and reconsideration, in particular where the judicial system has failed to take due account of the violation of the rights set forth in the Vienna Convention, as has occurred in the case of the three Mexican nationals referred to in paragraph 114 above.
 

What stands in the way of substantive remedies for these violations through the US courts?

132. The United States argues (1) “that the Court’s decision in LaGrand in calling for review and reconsideration called for a process to re-examine a conviction and sentence in light of a breach of Article 36”; (2) that “in calling for a process of review, the Court necessarily implied that one legitimate result of that process might be a conclusion that the conviction and sentence should stand”; and (3) “that the relief Mexico seeks in this case is flatly inconsistent with the Judgment in LaGrand: it seeks precisely the award of a substantive outcome that the LaGrand Court declined to provide”.

133. However, the Court wishes to point out that the current situation in the United States criminal procedure, as explained by the Agent at the hearings, is that “If the defendant alleged at trial that a failure of consular information resulted in harm to a particular right essential to a fair trial, an appeals court can review how the lower court handled that claim of prejudice”, but that “If the foreign national did not raise his Article 36 claim at trial, he may face procedural constraints [i.e., the application of the procedural default rule] on raising that particular claim in direct or collateral judicial appeals” (emphasis added). As a result, a claim based on the violation of Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Vienna Convention, however meritorious in itself, could be barred in the courts of the United States by the operation of the procedural default rule (see paragraph 111 above).

134. It is not sufficient for the United States to argue that “[w]hatever label [the Mexican defendant] places on his claim, his right . . . must and will be vindicated if it is raised in some form at trial” (emphasis added), and that “In that way, even though a failure to label the complaint as a breach of the Vienna Convention may mean that he has technically speaking forfeited his right to raise this issue as a Vienna Convention claim, on appeal that failure would not bar him from independently asserting a claim that he was prejudiced because he lacked this critical protection needed for a fair trial.” (Emphasis added.)

The crucial point in this situation is that, by the operation of the procedural default rule as it is applied at present, the defendant is effectively barred from raising the issue of the violation of his rights under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention and is limited to seeking the vindication of his rights under the United States Constitution.
 

What are the attributes of effective review and reconsideration?

138. The Court would emphasize that the “review and reconsideration” prescribed by it in the LaGrand case should be effective. Thus it should “tak[e] account of the violation of the rights set forth in [the] Convention” (I.C.J. Reports 2001, p. 516, para. 128 (7)) and guarantee that the violation and the possible prejudice caused by that violation will be fully examined and taken into account in the review and reconsideration process. Lastly, review and reconsideration should be both of the sentence and of the conviction.

139. Accordingly, in a situation of the violation of rights under Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Vienna Convention, the defendant raises his claim in this respect not as a case of “harm to a particular right essential to a fair trial” - a concept relevant to the enjoyment of due process rights under the United States Constitution - but as a case involving the infringement of his rights under Article 36, paragraph 1. The rights guaranteed under the Vienna Convention are treaty rights which the United States has undertaken to comply with in relation to the individual concerned, irrespective of the due process rights under United States constitutional law. In this regard, the Court would point out that what is crucial in the review and reconsideration process is the existence of a procedure which guarantees that full weight is given to the violation of the rights set forth in the Vienna Convention, whatever may be the actual outcome of such review and reconsideration.

140. As has been explained in paragraphs 128 to 134 above, the Court is of the view that, in cases where the breach of the individual rights of Mexican nationals under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), of the Convention has resulted, in the sequence of judicial proceedings that has followed, in the individuals concerned being subjected to prolonged detention or convicted and sentenced to severe penalties, the legal consequences of this breach have to be examined and taken into account in the course of review and reconsideration. The Court considers that it is the judicial process that is suited to this task.
 

Should the exclusionary rule apply to any subsequent criminal proceedings in these cases?

126. [...] In elaboration of its sixth submission, Mexico contends that “As an aspect of restitutio in integrum, Mexico is also entitled to an order that in any subsequent criminal proceedings against the nationals, statements and confessions obtained prior to notification to the national of his right to consular assistance be excluded”. Mexico argues that “The exclusionary rule applies in both common law and civil law jurisdictions and requires the exclusion of evidence that is obtained in a manner that violates due process obligations”, and on this basis concludes that

“The status of the exclusionary rule as a general principle of law permits the Court to order that the United States is obligated to apply this principle in respect of statements and confessions given to United States law enforcement officials prior to the accused Mexican nationals being advised of their consular rights in any subsequent criminal proceedings against them.”

127. The Court does not consider that it is necessary to enter into an examination of the merits of the contention advanced by Mexico that the “exclusionary rule” is “a general principle of law under Article 38(1) (c) of the . . . Statute” of the Court. The issue raised by Mexico in its sixth submission relates to the question of what legal consequences flow from the breach of the
obligations under Article 36, paragraph 1 – a question which the Court has already sufficiently discussed above in relation to the fourth and the fifth submissions of Mexico. The Court is of the view that this question is one which has to be examined under the concrete circumstances of each case by the United States courts concerned in the process of their review and reconsideration. For this reason, the sixth submission of Mexico cannot be upheld.
 

Is Mexico entitled to guarantees of cessation and non-repetition?

148. Mexico emphasizes the necessity of requiring the cessation of the wrongful acts because, it alleges, the violation of Article 36 with regard to Mexico and its 52 nationals still continues. The Court considers, however, that Mexico has not established a continuing violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention with respect to the 52 individuals referred to in its final submissions; it cannot therefore uphold Mexico’s claim seeking cessation. The Court would moreover point out that, inasmuch as these 52 individual cases are at various stages of criminal proceedings before the United States courts, they are in the state of pendente lite; and the Court has already indicated in respect of them what it regards as the appropriate remedy, namely review and reconsideration by reference to the breach of the Vienna Convention.

149. The Mexican request for guarantees of non-repetition is based on its contention that beyond these 52 cases there is a “regular and continuing” pattern of breaches by the United States of Article 36. In this respect, the Court observes that there is no evidence properly before it that would establish a general pattern. While it is a matter of concern that, even in the wake of the LaGrand Judgment, there remain a substantial number of cases of failure to carry out the obligation to furnish consular information to Mexican nationals, the Court notes that the United States has been making considerable efforts to ensure that its law enforcement authorities provide consular information to every arrested person they know or have reason to believe is a foreign national. Especially at the stage of pre-trial consular information, it is noteworthy that the United States has been making good faith efforts to implement the obligations incumbent upon it under Article 36, paragraph 1, of the Vienna Convention, through such measures as a new outreach programme launched in 1998, including the dissemination to federal, state and local authorities of the State Department booklet mentioned above in paragraph 63. The Court wishes to recall in this context what it has said in paragraph 64 about efforts in some jurisdictions to provide the information under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), in parallel with the reading of the “Miranda rights”.
 

Does the judgment apply to other nationalities?

151. The Court would now re-emphasize a point of importance. In the present case, it has had occasion to examine the obligations of the United States under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention in relation to Mexican nationals sentenced to death in the United States. Its findings as to the duty of review and reconsideration of convictions and sentences have been directed to the circumstance of severe penalties being imposed on foreign nationals who happen to be of Mexican nationality. To avoid any ambiguity, it should be made clear that, while what the Court has stated concerns the Mexican nationals whose cases have been brought before it by Mexico, the Court has been addressing the issues of principle raised in the course of the present proceedings from the viewpoint of the general application of the Vienna Convention, and there can be no question of making an a contrario argument in respect of any of the Court’s findings in the present Judgment. In other words, the fact that in this case the Court’s ruling has concerned only Mexican nationals cannot be taken to imply that the conclusions reached by it in the present Judgment do not apply to other foreign nationals finding themselves in similar situations in the United States.
 

What about the 3 cases where judicial review has already been exhausted?

The Court has found that, in relation to these three persons (among others), the United States has committed breaches of its obligations under Article 36, paragraph 1 (b), of the Vienna Convention and Article 36, paragraphs 1 (a) and (c), of that Convention; moreover, in respect of those three persons alone, the United States has also committed breaches of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the said Convention. The review and reconsideration of conviction and sentence required by Article 36, paragraph 2, which is the appropriate remedy for breaches of Article 36, paragraph 1, has not been carried out. The Court considers that in these three cases it is for the United States to find an appropriate remedy having the nature of review and reconsideration according to the criteria indicated in paragraphs 138 et seq. of the present Judgment.
 

Back to home page