the bush administration seems to be flip-flopping on the necessity to providing arrested foreigners with access to their home-country's consulate. and that's a good thing. this flip deserved to be flopped a long time ago.
the story is basically this: the 1963 vienna convention requires all participating countries to notify the consulate of a criminal suspect's home country just after she or he is arrested. most consulates, when notified, will help their arrested citizens get a local lawyer and generally guide them through the twists and turns of the arresting country's legal system.
the u.s. is a signatory to the vienna convention, but in many instances, has not been following its terms. a large part of the problem is not maliciousness as much as the way the u.s. legal system is structured. unlike other countries which have a national police force, our system is comprised of thousands of local governments each with its own local police force. plus almost everywhere has an additional layer of police with overlapping jurisdiction (e.g. the state police). many police officers are simply unaware that they must call a foreign consulate when they arrest a foreigner. or at the very least, advise the arrestee of his or her right to call the consulate.
on the other hand, the bush administration does take some of the blame for our country's failure to abide by the vienna conventions. until now, it opposed granting a new hearing to people who had been denied their rights under the convention. in various court cases challenging the conviction of foreign nationals who were not given their vienna convention rights, the administration had argued that only the president could decide whether a new hearing is warranted and the president consistently argued that no new hearing was.
the basis for the president's position is a mystery to me. as far as i know, nothing in the vienna convention, the u.s. constitution, or any state law would give the president such authority. but until recently that's what the administration's attorneys have been arguing.
this is an important issue for me. the vienna convention, like all treaties is essentially a quid pro quo between nations. it's an exchange in which the u.s. government agrees to provide notice to foreign consulates in return for the other signatories promising to do the same for americans arrested in their country. if we don't keep up our end of the bargain, they don't have to either. i've never gotten in any legal trouble when i've traveled abroad. sometimes i think, i've just been lucky for not getting arrested. but if it ever happens, the first thing i plan to do is ask to call the u.s. consulate and hope they listen to me. our country's failure to follow the vienna convention potentially puts me in danger.
which is why i welcome the bush administration's change in position. i should note it's not a total flip-flop. the president still argues he had discretion to decide whether the vienna convention will be followed. but, for the first time the president is saying that, in his discretion he's decided that people arrested who were not given access to their consulate should be granted a new hearing. i still think this "president's discretion" thing is nonsense, but, at least, the president is willing to honor the treaty now.
