Breard and Treaty-Based Rights Under the Consular Convention

In: American journal of international law: AJIL, Band 92, Heft 4, S. 691-697

Abstract

Article 36(1) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides that (a) "[nationals . . . shall have the same freedom with respect to communication with and access to consular officers," and that (b) "[t]he said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this sub-paragraph." In Breard v. Greene, the Supreme Court nearly recognized that, under the Convention, the individual petitioner had actionable rights that had been violated. The Court concluded, however, that the rights were "defaulted" when not pursued in the state courts, that the errors would not be prejudicial, and that the subsequendy enacted federal Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act limited the petitioner's "ability to obtain relief based on violations of the Vienna Convention."