MEXICO CITY — The world court on Wednesday ordered the United States to review the death penalty cases of 51 Mexican nationals, contending that the American justice system violated their rights under international law.
Mexican President Vicente Fox and international human rights groups applauded the order by the U.N.'s International Court of Justice based at The Hague.
"Today the international court has ruled in our favor," Fox said.
The United States argued that the cases involving the Mexicans on death row were a matter of U.S. sovereignty.
Mexico successfully countered that some of the Mexicans' rights were violated because they were not told they had the right to consult with Mexican consular officials after their arrests or during criminal proceedings.
The right to consular advice is guaranteed to detained foreigners under the 1963 Vienna Convention, a treaty the United States signed.
The world court's decision could give attorneys for the condemned men another reason to challenge their clients' convictions and sentences in various states.
But the U.S. government ignored a similar world court order in 2001. As a result, the state of Arizona executed German citizen Walter LaGrand despite the world court's contention that his rights to consular consultation had been violated.
Fifty-five Mexicans are on death row in Texas, Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Oregon, Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas and California. A total of 121 foreigners face execution in the United States, and the world court decision could, in theory, have an impact on their fates, too.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the court's decision was being reviewed.
"The issue before the court was remedies when consular information was not provided. Let's look at the decision, and we'll decide, based on studying it, how we can go about implementing it," Ereli said.
One of the Mexican prisoners, Osbaldo Aguilera Torres, is scheduled for execution on May 18 in Oklahoma.
"The U.S. should provide by means of its own choosing meaningful review of the conviction and sentence" of the Mexicans' cases, said world court presiding judge Shi Jiuyong, according to the Associated Press.
The court ordered a special review of three cases, two in Texas and Aguilera's case in Oklahoma, because those prisoners have exhausted their appeals.
David Sergi, a San Marcos, Texas-based attorney who represents one of the Texas prisoners, was at The Hague to observe the world court's proceedings. He said that the court order opens the way for him to file for a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' review of a client's conviction.
Sergi represents Roberto Moreno Ramos, who was sentenced to death in March of 2003 following his conviction for the murder of his wife and two children with a hammer.
Sergi said Moreno maintains that he is innocent. "He has his version of what happened," Sergi said in a telephone interview from the Netherlands.
Sergi added: "He was a Mexican national and (police) never told him of his right to contact his consulate."
In Texas, where 16 Mexicans sit on death row, Gov. Rick Perry's spokesman said the court's order would have no impact.
"While Gov. Perry respects the world court to have its opinion, the fact remains that the court has no jurisdiction or standing in Texas," said spokesman Robert Black.
In August 2002, Texas executed Javier Suarez Medina, a Mexican national, despite protests by Mexican President Vicente Fox. After the execution, Fox cancelled a planned trip to visit Texas.
If the United States ignores the world court's ruling, Mexico has the option of seeking redress in the United Nations Security Council.
At a news conference in Mexico City, Foreign Ministry legal adviser Arturo Dager said the government had "every confidence that the United States will do everything possible to comply with this ruling."
Human Rights Watch welcomed the ruling.
"Today's decision could make the difference between life and death for foreigners prosecuted in the United States," said Jamie Fellner, director of the U.S. Program at Human Rights Watch. "Giving defendants access to consular officials means that they can get good defense lawyers — the surest way to avoid the death penalty."