Opinion ID: 3050175
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: With a view to facilitating the exercise of con-

Text: sular functions relating to nationals of the sending State: 4 Monell v. Dept. of Social Services of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 690-91 (1978) (holding that a plaintiff states a civil rights claim against a municipality under § 1983, by showing that he has suffered a deprivation of a constitutionally protected interest; and that the deprivation was caused by an official policy, custom or usage of the municipality). 5 The Convention entered into force on March 19, 1967. See 596 U.N.T.S. at 261. CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 12987 (a) consular officers shall be free to communicate with nationals of the sending State and to have access to them. Nationals of the sending State shall have the same freedom with respect to communica- tion with and access to consular officers of the sending State; (b) if he 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; (c) consular officers shall have the right to visit a national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation. They shall also have the right to visit any national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention in their district in pursuance of a judgement. Never- theless, consular officers shall refrain from taking action on behalf of a national who is in prison, custody or detention if he expressly opposes such action. 2. The rights referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall be exercised in conformity with the laws and regulations of the receiving State, subject to the proviso, however, that the said laws and regulations must enable full effect to be given to the purposes for which the rights accorded under this article are intended. 12988 CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 21 U.S.T. 77, 100-101. Here, Mexico is the “sending State” and the United States is the “receiving State.” For any treaty to be susceptible to judicial enforcement it must both confer individual rights and be self-executing. There is no question that the Vienna Convention is selfexecuting. As such, it has the force of domestic law without the need for implementing legislation by Congress. See U.S. Const., art. VI, cl. 2 (“[A]ll Treaties made . . . under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby . . . .”); Foster v. Neilson, 27 U.S. (2 Pet.) 253, 314 (1829); Medellín v. Dretke, 544 U.S. 660, 686 (2005) (O’Connor, J., dissenting) (citing Head Money Cases, 112 U.S. 580, 598-99 (1884)). But “the questions of whether a treaty is self-executing and whether it creates private rights and remedies are analytically distinct.” Id. at 687; Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States § 111 cmt. h (hereinafter Restatement). “While a treaty must be self-executing for it to create a private right of action enforceable in court without implementing domestic legislation, all self-executing treaties do not necessarily provide for the availability of such private actions.” Renkel v. United States, 456 F.3d 640, 643 n.3 (6th Cir. 2006). [2] Therefore, the question here is whether Congress, by ratifying the Convention, intended to create private rights and remedies enforceable in American courts through § 1983 by individual foreign nationals who are arrested or detained in this country. It is an open question for us.6 Only the Seventh 6 Sitting en banc in Lombera-Camorlinga, we vacated a panel opinion holding that Article 36 created an individual right that was enforceable by way of a motion to suppress evidence of post-arrest statements made by a foreign national before being advised of the right to notification of this consulate. 206 F.3d at 883. Although we discussed the panel’s holding and noted there was “some support” for this view, we did not decide the issue because we held that even if some judicial remedies are available for violation of Article 36, the exclusion of evidence is not one of them. Id. at 885. CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 12989 Circuit Court of Appeals has answered this question squarely, and did so affirmatively in Jogi v. Voges, 480 F.3d 822 (7th Cir. 2007). However, other circuits that have considered violations of Article 36 in criminal proceedings point in the opposite direction. Two have concluded that the Convention confers no enforceable individual rights, United States v. Jimenez-Nava, 243 F.3d 192, 197-98 (5th Cir. 2001) (rejecting argument that Article 36 creates enforceable individual rights and declining to apply the exclusionary rule as an appropriate remedy for an Article 36 violation); United States v. Emuegbunam, 268 F.3d 377, 394 (6th Cir. 2001), and others have held that regardless of whether it does or not, remedies such as dismissal of the indictment or suppression of evidence are not available. United States v. De La Pava, 268 F.3d 157, 164-65 (2d Cir. 2001) (suggesting, but not deciding, that the Convention does not confer judicially-enforceable rights for individuals); United States v. Li, 206 F.3d 56 (1st Cir. 2000) (en banc) (same), id. at 66 (Selya & Boudin, JJ., concurring) (stating that “[n]othing in [its] text explicitly provides for judicial enforcement of their consular access provisions at the behest of private litigants”); United States v. Minjares-Alvarez, 264 F.3d 980, 986-87 (10th Cir. 2001); United States v. Cordoba-Mosquera, 212 F.3d 1194, 1196 (11th Cir. 2000); United States v. Santos, 235 F.3d 1105, 1108 (8th Cir. 2000) (holding that any violation of Article 36 was harmless error), id. at 1109 (Beam, J., concurring) (stating that the Convention confers “no individually enforceable right under Article 36 to be informed of a right to consular notification . . . .”); see also Murphy v. Nederland, 116 F.3d 97, 100 (4th Cir. 1997) (concluding that habeas petitioner “failed to establish prejudice from the alleged violation of the Vienna Convention because he is unable to explain how contacting the Mexican consulate would have changed either his guilty plea or his sentence”). The Supreme Court has confronted similar issues arising out of Article 36, but not this one. See, e.g., Sanchez-Llamas, 126 S. Ct. at 2677-87 (2006) (assuming in habeas proceedings that Article 36 grants individuals enforceable rights but finding no authority in the Con12990 CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO vention itself for suppressing evidence and declining to impose the exclusionary rule on Oregon as a remedy; applying procedural bar rule to claims asserted by habeas petitioner despite contrary interpretation of the International Court of Justice); Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 371 (1998) (per curiam) (applying Virginia’s procedural default doctrine to a Vienna Convention claim on habeas review; remarking that “[a]ny rights that the Consul General might have by virtue of the Vienna Convention exist for the benefit of [the sending State], not for him as an individual.”).7 [3] As Cornejo’s claim is pursuant to § 1983, which provides a vehicle for seeking relief for violation of the “Constitution and laws,”8 we are guided by the Supreme Court’s treatment of the analogous issue of enforcement of personal rights arising under federal statutes through § 1983. It is clear from Gonzaga University v. Doe, 536 U.S. 273, 283 (2002), that “it is rights, not the broader or vaguer ‘benefits’ or ‘interests,’ that may be enforced under the authority of that section.” Thus, an “unambiguously conferred right” phrased in terms of the person benefitted is essential before a statute — and by extension, a treaty having the force of federal law — may support a cause of action under § 1983. Id., at 282-83. “In construing a treaty, as in construing a statute, we first look to its terms to determine its meaning.” United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655, 663 (1992). As it is a treaty that is being construed, however, and a treaty is an agreement 7 The Court granted certiorari in Medellín v. Dretke, 544 U.S. 660 (2005), to consider whether a federal court is bound by a ruling of the International Court of Justice, but dismissed it as improvidently granted in light of an intervening memorandum from the President that the United States would discharge its international obligations. 8 We note the government’s submission that “laws” cannot include treaties, but we have no need to confront the issue given our disposition. Rather, we assume for purposes of this case that a treaty such as this one that is self-executing and thus law, has that status. See Baldwin v. Franks, 120 U.S. 678 (1887); Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1 (1980). CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 12991 between States that implicates the foreign relations of the United States, we are also aided by canons that apply specially to international agreements. Among them: “While courts interpret treaties for themselves, the meaning given them by the departments of government particularly charged with their negotiation and enforcement is given great weight.” Sanchez-Llamas, 126 S. Ct. at 2685 (quoting Kolovrat v. Oregon, 366 U.S. 187, 194 (1961)). “An international agreement is to be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to its terms in their context and in the light of its object and purpose.” Restatement § 325(1). In that connection, the “context” of a treaty includes its preamble. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (“Treaty Convention”) art. 31(2), May 23, 1969, 1155 U.N.T.S. 331. “[S]ubsequent practice between the parties in the application of the agreement [is] to be taken into account in its interpretation.” Restatement § 325(2).9 [4] Treaties customarily confer rights upon the States that are parties to them. While treaties may confer enforceable individual rights, see, e.g., Head Money Cases, 112 U.S. 580, 598-99 (1884); Lombera-Camorlinga, 206 F.3d at 885, most courts accept a “presumption” against inferring individual rights from international treaties. See Emuegbunam, 268 F.3d at 389; De La Pava, 268 F.3d at 164; Jimenez-Nava, 243 F.3d at 195-96; but see Sanchez-Llamas, 126 S. Ct. at 2697 (Breyer, J., dissenting). Whether or not aptly characterized as a “presumption,” the general rule is that “[i]nternational agreements, even those directly benefitting private persons, generally do not create private rights or provide for a private 9 The dissent ignores the canons that apply to international agreements, and otherwise goes off track by treating this case as if it involved a statute instead of a treaty. For example, the dissent accuses us of misunderstanding Gonzaga, dissenting op. at 13001, 13004-05, 13010, 13015 — but the question there was whether a private right of action could be implied in spending legislation; Gonzaga does not purport to answer the question before us, which concerns how a treaty is to be interpreted. Treaties are different from statutes, and come with their own rules of the road. 12992 CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO cause of action in domestic courts, but there are exceptions with respect to both rights and remedies.” Restatement § 907 cmt. a; see, e.g., Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Co., 488 U.S. 428, 442 (1989) (Even where treaties provide compensation for breaches by States they “only set forth substantive rules of conduct . . . . They do not create private rights of action for foreign corporations to recover compensation from foreign states in United States courts.”).10 Against this backdrop, Cornejo’s most compelling argument is that Article 36 textually uses the word “rights” in reference to a detainee’s being informed that he can, if he wants, have his consular post advised of his detention and have communications forwarded to it. This use of the word in paragraph 1(b) “arguably confers on an individual the right to consular assistance following arrest.” Breard, 523 U.S. at 376. However, it says nothing about the nature of “his rights” or how, if at all, they may be invoked. This language, therefore, must be considered in light of what the Convention, and Article 36, are all about. Restatement § 325(1) (noting that treaty terms are to be construed in their context and in the light of the treaty’s object and purpose). Entitled “Communication and contact with nationals of the sending State,” Article 36 appears in Section I of Chapter II of the Convention. Chapter II governs “Facilities, Privileges 10 Few cases have permitted private enforcement of a treaty in U.S. courts. See, e.g., Kolovrat, 366 U.S. at 191 (heirs could invoke 1881 Treaty of Friendship, Navigation, and Commerce between the United States and Yugoslavia to secure inheritance denied by Oregon law); Olympic Airways v. Husain, 540 U.S. 644, 646 (2004) (“Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention . . . imposes liability on an air carrier for a passenger’s death or bodily injury caused by an ‘accident’ that occurred in connection with an international flight.”) Other treaties, by their terms, provide a forum in domestic courts for adjudicating treaty violations. See United States—Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty art. VI, cl. 2(a), August 27, 1993, S. Treaty Doc. 103-15 (1993) (foreign national may bring claims arising from investment dispute “to the courts or administrative tribunals of the [State] that is a party to the dispute”). CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 12993 and Immunities Relating to Consular Posts, Career Consular Officers and Other Members of a Consular Post,” while Section I concerns “Facilities, Privileges and Immunities Relating to a Consular Post.” The lead sentence in paragraph 1 of Article 36, which is the paragraph that obliges authorities of a receiving State to notify a detained foreign national of “his rights” under sub-paragraph (1)(b), declares that the rights set forth in that section are “[w]ith a view to facilitating the exercise of consular functions relating to nationals of the sending State.” (emphasis added). As defined in Article 5, “consular functions” consist in, among other things, “(a) protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, both individuals and bodies corporate, within the limits permitted by international law; . . . [and] (e) helping and assisting nationals, both individuals and bodies corporate, of the sending State.” Thus, the “rights” accorded under Article 36 are meant to facilitate the exercise of consular functions, an important one of which is to help nationals who run afoul of local law. [5] Accordingly, sub-paragraph 1(a) gives consular officials the right “to communicate with nationals of the sending State and to have access to them.” The exchange of information provided for in sub-paragraph 1(b) supports the consular function and the rights conferred in sub-paragraph 1(a) upon consular officers to communication and access. And subparagraph 1(c) guarantees consular officials the right to visit a national of the sending State who is detained or incarcerated, as well as to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation — if the national wants that kind of help and if the consulate wants to give it. [6] These “rights” are consistent with the articulated purpose of facilitating the exercise of consular functions, not with awarding compensation to individual detainees who receive no notification from their arresting officers. Requiring a receiving State to notify a foreign national that, if he wishes, it will inform the local consular post of an arrest or detention, 12994 CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO and forward communications, enhances the ability of sending States to assist or protect their nationals. In this way, notification is “a means of implementing the treaty obligations as between States. Any other way of phrasing the promise would be both artificial and awkward.” Li, 206 F.3d at 66 (Selya & Boudin, JJ., concurring). This, in turn, allows the sending State to decide what, if any, assistance it will provide. But at the end of the day, the right of assistance, as Article 36(1)(c) makes clear, belongs entirely to the sending State. [7] We conclude, therefore, that the unmistakable focus of Article 36 is on consular functions. The privileges discussed are explicitly those relating to the consular post. They are manifestly important, because Article 36 provides for communication and contact by sending States with their nationals who are in trouble in a foreign country. However, the signatory States did not choose to delegate enforcement of Article 36 — even to their own consular officials.11 They plainly did not do so to individual foreign nationals. For all these reasons, we cannot see unambiguous clarity in the language of Article 36 implying that the States parties to the Convention conferred a private, judicially enforceable right upon individuals. Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 283-84. 11 There are two routes for remedying violations of Article 36: diplomatic channels through which governments may protest failure to observe the terms of Article 36, and dispute resolution through The Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes, April 24, 1963, 21 U.S.T. 325, 596 U.N.T.S. 487. Diplomacy is obviously a mechanism belonging to States. The Protocol likewise applies only to parties, and only States are parties. It provides that disputes arising out of the interpretation or application of the Convention shall be within the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and may be brought before the ICJ “by an application made by any party to the dispute being a Party to the present Protocol,” art. I, or to an arbitral tribunal by agreement of “[t]he parties,” art. II. Only States are parties to the Convention, and only States may bring proceedings before the ICJ. The United States joined the Protocol, but has since noticed its withdrawal. Letter from Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State, to Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (March 7, 2005). CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 12995 This conclusion is buttressed by the Convention as a whole, the contemporaneous understanding of Congress in ratifying it as well as the view of the Department of State, and the uniform practice of States implementing it over the years.12 The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an agreement among States whose subject matter — “Consular Relations” — is quintessentially State-to-State. Except for its final provisions, the Convention’s articles all have to do with consular posts. Indeed, the Preamble notes the belief of the States parties that “an international convention on consular relations, privileges and immunities would . . . contribute to the development of friendly relations among nations, irrespective of their differing constitutional and social systems”; and their realization that “the purpose of such privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of functions by consular posts on behalf of their respective States.”13 Cf. Gonzaga, 536 U.S. at 284 (to imply enforceable private rights, a statute’s “text must be ‘phrased in terms of the person benefitted.’ ”) (quoting Cannon v. Univ. of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677, 692 n.13 (1979)). As the International Court of Justice explained, the Convention establishes an “interrelated régime” of international legal obli12 The dissent faults us for buttressing our conclusion with “extratextual sources,” dissenting op. at 13004-015, but the terms of a treaty are by canon and international convention construed in light of the treaty’s object and purpose, including its preamble. Treaty Convention art. 31(2); Restatement § 325(1). Because it is a treaty that is being interpreted, the meaning given to its terms by the Department of State is entitled to great weight. Sanchez-Llamas, 126 S. Ct. at 2685. And subsequent practice also matters. Restatement § 325(2). 13 We rely on the Preamble not to create an ambiguity, as the dissent implies, dissenting op. at 13006 (quoting Jogi that to do so is a mistake), but to provide context for the terms of Article 36(1)(b). This is perfectly proper, for a treaty must be interpreted as a whole in light of its object and purpose, including the preamble. Treaty Convention art. 31(2); Restatement § 325(1). As the Preamble to the Vienna Convention specifically says, this particular treaty was meant to facilitate consular functions. Article 36(1)(b) does this, by allowing consular officials to aid their nationals. 12996 CORNEJO v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO gations in order to protect, and facilitate the work of, consular officers. LaGrand Case (Germany v. U.S.), 2001 I.C.J. 466, 492 ¶ 74 (June 27). Cornejo suggests that the proviso in paragraph 2 manifests an intent to create privately enforceable rights. Nowhere does it say so. If anything, the fact that it talks in terms of how “rights referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall be exercised” indicates the opposite, for it does not also say “and be compensated.”14 Moreover, just as paragraph 2 recognizes that the “rights” are to be exercised in conformity with the laws and regulations of the receiving State, it provides that those laws and regulations “must enable full effect to be given to the purposes for which the rights accorded under this article are intended.” The only articulated purpose is in paragraph 1, and it is to facilitate the exercise of consular functions relating to nationals of the sending State. To the extent that Congressional intent in ratifying the Convention may be discerned, it, too, supports our interpretation. For example, the Report of the Committee on Foreign Relations recommending that the Senate give its advice and consent to ratification of the Convention emphasizes the preamble: “The general functional approach of the Convention is pointed up by the following preambular statement: ‘   the purpose of such privileges and immunities is not to 14