NCJ Number
144722
Journal
Criminal Law Forum Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (1993) Pages: 119-175
Date Published
1993
Length
57 pages
Annotation
This article presents various legal opinions on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. Government v. Alvarez- Machain (1992), which involved legal issues in the abduction of a Mexican citizen in Mexico to be tried in the United States.
Abstract
Respondent Humberto Alvarez-Machain, a citizen and resident of Mexico, was indicted for participating in the kidnap and murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique Camarena-Salazar. The respondent was forcibly kidnapped from his office in Mexico and then flown by private plane to El Paso, Tex., where he was arrested by DEA officials. The District Court held that it lacked jurisdiction to try the respondent because his abduction violated the Extradition Treaty with Mexico. The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the indictment and the repatriation of the respondent. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, reversed the Court of Appeals, holding that the respondent's abduction did not violate the Extradition Treaty nor prohibit his being tried in a U.S. court for violations of U.S. criminal laws. Given the international ramifications of this decision, particularly for member States of the Organization of American States, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, passed a resolution that requested the Inter-American Juridical Committee to give its opinion on the international legality of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision. This article presents the Committee's opinion. The opinion holds that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision is contrary to the rules of international law because it ignores the obligation to return the respondent to the country from whose jurisdiction he was abducted, it ignores respect for the territorial sovereignty of states, and it fails to consider the precept by which treaties must be interpreted in conformity with their purpose and aim and in relation to the applicable rules and principles of international law. Opinions of individual members of the Committee are also included. 67 footnotes