THE HAGUE: Ecuador’s raid on the Mexican embassy (carried out in the early half of April), to seize a former top Ecuadorian official was both “exceptional” and aimed “solely” at bringing a wanted fugitive to justice, the UN’s top court heard on Wednesday.

Security forces ‘stormed’ the Mexican embassy in Quito on April 5 to arrest Ecuador’s ex-vice president, Jorge Glas. Glas was wanted on alleged charges of corruption and had been granted asylum by the state of Mexico.

“The events of April 5 were exceptional and no longer exist today,” Ecuador’s ambassador to the Netherlands told the International Court of Justice.

“Mexico for months misused its diplomatic premises in Quito to shelter a common criminal who had been duly convicted by the highest Ecuadorian courts of very serious corruption-related offences,” Andres Teran Parral stated.

“It is abundantly clear that Ecuador’s sole concern the entire time was to ensure that a person convicted for serious corruption offences be brought back to justice” added Alfredo Crosato Neumann, another of Quito’s lawyers.

Ecuador’s ‘rare’ incursion on diplomatic territory sparked international outcry, and led to Mexico severing ties with Ecuador and subsequently re-calling its diplomats from the country.

Emergency measures

Legal teams and representatives from both nations crossed ‘legal swords’ before the ICJ on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Mexico has filed a petition against the South American nation.

Mexico has asked judges at the ICJ, which rules in disputes against countries, to hand down a number of ‘emergency measures’, while the case is set to be heard at a later stage.

This included “immediate measures” to safeguard its embassy and diplomatic premises in Quito and to “allow the Mexican government to clear diplomatic premises and the private residence of diplomatic agents.” Representatives of Mexico told judges at The Hague-based ICJ on Tuesday that Quito’s raid “had crossed a line” setting a “disconcerting” precedent in diplomatic relations.

In the application put forth, Mexico asked the court to suspend Ecuador as a member of the United Nations until and unless it issues a public apology “recognising its violations to the fundamental principles and norms of international law”.

It also hopes that judges will declare that the ICJ was the “appropriate judicial body” to determine a “state’s responsibility”, in order to initiate a process of expulsion from the UN.

Mexico’s application is premised on principles enshrined in the UN Charter, the 1948 Pact of Bogota (which obliges signatories to solve disputes via peaceful means) and the 1961 Vienna Convention which guarantees protection of diplomatic staff.

‘Blatant abuse’

Ecuador filed its own petition against Mexico on Monday. A similar argument was made, specifically, that Mexico City “blatantly abused” its diplomatic mission to harbour Glas.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2024