Topics in Brief

• Author: International Law Group

Russian Duma ratifies START II treaty

On April 14, 2000, the Russian Parliament (Duma) voted 288-131 to ratify the START II nuclear arms reduction treaty. It commits the Russian Federation and the U.S. to reduce nuclear warheads to 3,000 and 3,500, respectively, down from the 6,000 agreed to under START I. The Duma added a non-binding amendment to the treaty which gives Russia the right to revoke START II if the U.S. violates ABM Treaty provisions that limit the construction of missile defenses. On April 19, 2000, the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) voted 122-15 in favor of the treaty. Citation: Washington Post, April 15, 2000, page A1 & April 20, 2000, page A26; Agence France Presse report of April 19, 2000.

Kansas Supreme Court interprets Vienna Consular Convention

According to Article 37 of the Vienna Convention on Consular relations, 21 U.S.T. 77, T.I.A.S. No. 6820, "competent authorities" shall inform "without delay" a foreign nation that one of its citizens had died "where the appointment of a guardian or trustee appears to be in the interests of a minor or other person lacking full capacity who is a national" of that nation. In this case, the minors' mother had passed away in the U.S. The attorney, representing the minors' aunt, phoned the Mexican Consulate in August 1998 and reported the facts of the case. In a custody case, the Consul and a maternal grandfather unsuccessfully sought party- in-interest status in the Kansas court alleging that the attorney was not a "competent authority" and that the phone call had been insufficient notice under the Convention. The Kansas court ultimately gave custody of the two children to a paternal aunt and uncle. On appeal, the Kansas Supreme Court upholds the lower court's application of the Convention. The Court noted that the Consulate had responded to the phone call by notifying maternal relatives in Mexico and had enabled the aunt to enter the U.S. to claim the body of the deceased. While perhaps not the best possible form of compliance, the Court finds the notice given to have been adequate to achieve the cooperative...