Mexico Asks the ICJ for Precautionary Measures Against Ecuador

On Tuesday, Mexico accused Ecuador before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of violating international law by the assault on the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas, whom Mexico had granted asylum.

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"There are lines in international law that should not be crossed. Unfortunately, the Republic of Ecuador has crossed them. Its actions not only violate established limits of international law but also create a disconcerting precedent that reverberates throughout the international community," said Alejandro Celorio, the Mexican representative at the Hague Court.

The ICJ is holding today the first hearing on the assault by the Ecuadorian Police on the Mexican embassy and the aggression against diplomatic personnel on April 5. Mexico will present its arguments on the violations of international law committed by Ecuador.

Celorio insisted that Ecuador has violated "one of the cornerstones governing relations between states" with its actions in Quito and emphasized that at the core of this specific case is "the legal certainty of any other sovereign state, international organization, or tribunal."

The Mexican representative accused Ecuador of "deliberate negligence" towards the lives of people in the embassy, noting that this incursion "clearly shows Ecuador's lack of respect for fundamental norms, universally accepted, and long-standing."

The text reads, "The Mexican Ambassador to the Netherlands Carmen Moreno thanks the judges of the International Court of Justice for having given urgent processing to Mexico's lawsuit against Ecuador for the break-in at the Mexican embassy in Quito."

Even after the incident on April 5, Ecuadorian statements have only increased Mexico's concern, Celorio said, insisting that the inviolability of diplomatic premises is guaranteed even under Ecuadorian law.

"We have not been given credible assurances to prevent further infringements, nor has Ecuador fully acknowledged its obligation not to enter Mexican premises," he emphasized.

In the next two days, the International Court of Justice will hear arguments on the precautionary measures requested by Mexico against Ecuador, pending the start of the trial against the South American country.

Mexico sees it necessary to issue precautionary measures against Ecuador and requests that the ICJ demand Quito to "take appropriate and immediate measures to provide full protection and security of diplomatic facilities, their property and archives, preventing any form of intrusion against them."

Additionally, it believes that the Court should urge the Ecuadorian government to allow Mexico to "clear diplomatic premises and the private residence of diplomatic agents," and that "no action be taken that could prejudice Mexico's rights regarding any decision" that the ICJ may issue on the substance of the dispute.

Afterward, the International Court will retire to deliberate on the need for those precautionary measures, which it will announce within weeks, but without yet entering into the content of the procedure itself, something for which there is still no start date.