“U.S. Withdraws From ICJ Jurisdiction Over Consular Relations Claims”:

I confess that I haven’t been following this closely, so I have no independent opinion on this; but Julian Ku (Opinion Juris), who specializes in international law, is on top of it. A brief summary:

I noted rumors/reports of this below, and now the New York Times confirms that the U.S. has withdrawn from the Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Optional Protocol is the provision granting the International Court of Justice compulsory jurisdiction over disputes under the consular relations treaty and the basis for Mexico’s (and Germany’s) applications to the ICJ. If the U.S. has indeed legally withdrawn from the Optional Protocol, then the ICJ can no longer hear future cases brought by other countries with foreign nationals similarly situated to Mexico’s nationals.

For Julian’s observations, go here.