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Supreme Court says US states
can ignore ICJ rulings
AFP
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
US state courts need not comply with International Court of
Justice (ICJ) decisions, even if the US president orders them
to, the US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in the case of a Mexican
sentenced to death.
The Hague-based ICJ on March 2004 ordered trial revisions in
the United States of 51 Mexicans sentenced to death, because they
had not been timely informed of their right to consular assistance.
One of them, 33-year-old Jose Medellin -- convicted of raping
and murdering two teenagers in Texas in 1993 -- demanded Texas
courts acknowledge that the omission pointed out by the ICJ warranted
a retrial.
(Article continues below)
President George W. Bush, exercising his prerrogative in applying
international treaties, ordered state judges to determine, on
a case-by-case basis, whether any of the 51 Mexicans merited a
retrial.
While some states complied with his order, Texas judges refused
to examine Medellin's appeal on grounds they were not bound by
ICJ decisions nor by presidential orders on the principle of separation
of powers.
The Supreme Court ruled six to three in favor of Texas' magistrates.
"We conclude that neither (the ICJ) nor the president's
memorandum constitutes directly enforceable federal law that pre-empts
state limitations," Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
said in the court's opinion.
Full
article here.
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