Mexico praises ICJ ruling in Jadhav's case

Mexico welcomed the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling in Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav's case, saying that the Court deepened its jurisprudence on consular law through the case and reiterated that rules under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations are not dispensable rules that states can or cannot choose to respect.

"The effective fulfillment by the Member States of the diplomatic and consular obligations is of the greatest relevance for the operation of the international multilateral system," Legal Adviser of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alejandro Celorio said on Wednesday in the General Assembly as the Court's President Judge Abduylqawi Yusuf presented his report to the 193-member UN body.

Celorio said, Mexico would highlight the ruling issued by the ICJ on July 17 in the Jadhav case, in which the Court ruled with regard to the need to provide consular notification when foreign citizens are detained.

"Through the Jadhav case, the Court was able to broaden and deepen its jurisprudence with regard to consular law and the importance of its unrestricted implementation," he said.

Celorio also referred to the Avena case of 2003 which Mexico had brought against the US in a dispute concerning alleged violations of the Vienna Convention relating to 54 Mexican nationals who had been sentenced to death in the US.

He said "the consistent legal criterion that the court maintained in the Avena case demonstrates on the one hand that violations of the rights of foreign citizens today are just as relevant as they were 15 years ago when the Avena case was issued."
"These are not dispensable rules that states can choose to respect or not to respect, but rather they are international rules of law that protect relations between states in their most basic aspect, their citizens."
"This is evident from the number, nature and variety of cases that the Court deals with and its ability in so dealing with the complex aspects of public International Law."
"In the performance of its judicial functions, the Court has remained sensitive to political realities and sentiments of states, while acting in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter, its own Statute and other rules of International Law."
Presenting the Court's report to the General Assembly, Yusuf had said that in its July 17 judgement, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations "found that Pakistan had violated its obligations under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention and that appropriate remedies were due in this case."
The bench led by Yusuf had ordered an "effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav."