International Court of Justice

• Author: International Law Group

Two brothers, Karl and Walter LaGrand, were German nationals and permanent residents of the United States since childhood. In 1982, Arizona state authorities arrested them for taking part in a bank robbery attempt that led to the murder of the bank manager and serious injury to another bank employee. Two years later, an Arizona court convicted the two brothers of first degree murder and imposed the death sentence.

It is undisputed that the Vienna Convention Relating to the Duties, Rights, Prerogatives, and Immunities of Consular Agents, 47 Stat. 1976, T.S. 843, 155 L.N.T.S. 291 (in force for U.S., February 8, 1932) required the American authorities to notify these German citizens without delay of their right to get in touch with the German consulate and that this warning did not take place. It was not until 1992 that the defendants found out about their Convention rights, apparently from other German prisoners. At that point, the American doctrine of procedural default prevented them from attacking their convictions based on the violation of their Convention rights. On February 24, 1999, Arizona authorities executed Karl LaGrand.

Walter LaGrand's execution was set down for March 3, 1999. The day before, Germany brought the instant case against the United States to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Pursuant to Article 41 of the Court's Statute, the ICJ issued a provisional order the next morning. It enjoined the U.S. to take all measures at its disposal to delay the execution pending a final decision by the ICJ. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to order a last-minute stay, Arizona executed Walter LaGrand later the same day.

The relevant provision of the Consular Convention is Article 36, paragraph (b). It provides that "if he [the arrested foreign national] so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State if, within its consular district, a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner. Any communication addressed to the consular post by the person arrested, in prison, custody or detention shall be forwarded by the said authorities without delay.

The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this subparagraph..." [emphasis supplied] Before the ICJ, Germany asserted its own rights as the state of the defendants' nationality as well as...