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| Mexico asks for stay in U.S. executions |
| By AFP |
| Published: 12/16/2003 |
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Mexico accused the United States at an International Court of Justice hearing on Monday of violating international law over its treatment of more than 50 Mexican nationals on death row. ''Mexico is not challenging the use of the death penalty in the United States but is arguing that when it is applied, it must be done strictly in line with international law,'' said Mexican lawyer Juan Manuel Gómez. Mexico filed a complaint with the ICJ in January accusing Washington of violating the 1963 Vienna Convention, which requires states to inform foreign prisoners that they are entitled to consular assistance or legal help from their government. It has asked the ICJ, the highest U.N. court, to order Washington to suspend the executions of more than 50 Mexican prisoners on death row until the ICJ delivers its verdict. In February, the court ordered a temporary stay of execution for three Mexican death row inmates, whose executions were imminent. But a similar stay for the others was not ordered because the court said there was no immediate danger of their execution. Mexico is seeking an order that 52 inmates facing execution are given access to consular assistance. The initial part of the case, in which Mexico and the United States outline their arguments, is set to run until Friday. It can take months and sometimes years for the ICJ, which was established to rule in disputes between states, to deliver its verdict. The ICJ's decisions are final and without appeal although the court has no means of enforcing them. |
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