On January 19, 2009, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the US had violated the court's March 2004 order when the state of Texas executed Jose Ernesto Medellin Rojas. The ICJ held in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America) that the US had breached its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in denying 51 Mexican nationals, including Medellin, access to legal assistance from their consulate and that the US was obligated to "review and reconsider" the cases in light of this violation "by means of its choosing." The decision reaffirmed the "continuing binding character" of the previous order and declared that the US was in violation when it failed to review Medellin's case prior to his execution.


ICJ seal

Learn more about the ICJ and the case of Jose Ernesto Medellin Rojas from the JURIST news archive, and read the reactions of Richard C. Dieter and Bryan McCann from JURIST Hotline.

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