Kulbhushan Jadhav case: ICJ verdict on Thursday 18th May 2017
The
Hague: The International Court of Justice will pronounce its verdict on
Kulbhushan Jadhav on Thursday, 18th May 2017. According to news agency PTI, the verdict will be out at
3.30 PM.
Earlier,
India and Pakistan on Monday, 15th May 2017, crossed swords at the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Kulbhushan Jadhav's case with New
Delhi demanding the immediate suspension of his death sentence and Islamabad
accusing it of using the world body as a stage for "political
theatre" through a "misconceived" plea.
The two neighbours -- who last faced off at the ICJ 18
years ago when Islamabad sought its intervention over the shooting down of its
naval aircraft -- India took the Jadhav case to the world court, accusing
Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention and conducting a "farcical
trial" for convicting Jadhav without a "shred of evidence".
After hearing the arguments of the two sides, the court
said it will issue its order on India's request for provisional measures
"as soon as possible".
"The
date on which this order will be delivered at a public sitting will be duly
communicated to the parties," the court said.
India demanded the immediate suspension of Jadhav's death
sentence, expressing fears that Pakistan could execute him even before the
hearing at the ICJ was over.
India made a forceful submission as the ICJ began hearing
the case of the 46-year-old former Navy officer who was arrested on March 3
last year and sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of
espionage and subversive activities.
"Jadhav has not got the right to get proper legal
assistance and the right to consular access. There is an immediate threat to him
to be executed even before a decision is passed," joint secretary in the
Ministry of External Affairs Deepak Mittal told the court in his opening
remarks.
Representing India, lead attorney Harish Salve said,
"The execution of the death sentence cannot be done while this court is
hearing the appeal. Else, it will be a violation of the Vienna
Convention."
Following India's arguments, Pakistan, in its submission
before the the UN's highest judicial body, said India's application on Jadhav,
who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of
espionage and subversive activities, was "unnecessary and
misconceived" and must be dismissed.
India has seen it fit to use the International Court of
Justice as a stage for "political theatre" but "we will not
respond in kind", Mohammad Faisal of the Pakistan Foreign Office said in
his opening remarks in response to India's submissions earlier in the day.
The ICJ also denied permission to Pakistan to play a
purported "confessional" video of Jadhav at the public hearing here.
Representing Pakistan, lawyer Khawar Qureshi said India
has sought to persuade this court that Pakistan intends to execute Jadhav
within days.
"Simply by referring to the clemency process
available as a right to commander Jadhav. A period of 150 days is provided for
in this regard which even if started on April 10, 2017, which is the date of
conviction at first instance, could extend to well beyond August 2017.
"There is also of course the potential for the writ
petition of the High Court to be invoked as we believe India must be well
aware," he said.
Earlier, Salve said Pakistan had denied India its 16
requests for consular
"The graver the charges, the greater the need for
continued adherence of the Vienna Convention. Jadhav has been in judicial
custody without any communication with his family," he said.
The rights of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations are sacrosanct, Salve said, citing the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that recognises that no one can
be arbitrarily deprived of their lives.
India had not been given the copy of the charges filed
against Jadhav, Salve said.
"The need for a wholesome compliance is greater when
charges are serious. We want appropriate legal representation for Kulbhushan
Jadhav," he said.
Not just had all requests for consular access fallen on
"deaf ears", the trial was conducted without providing Jadhav his
rights. Pakistan did not even respond to Jadhav's mother's pleas to see her
son.
Human rights treated as "basics" all over had
been thrown to the wind by Pakistan and the trial had been vitiated, India
argued.
Though Pakistan says Jadhav has the right to appeal,
two-star generals will hear his mercy plea, Salve stressed, questioning the
impartiality of the process.
India asserted that it wants the ICJ to annul Jadhav's
death sentence and for Pakistan to ensure that no action is taken that may
prejudice the rights of India or of Jadhav.
On India invoking the Vienna Convention, Qureshi said,
"The Vienna convention article 36 which adopted to set up standards of
conduct particularly concerning communications and contact with nationals of
the sending state which would contribute to the development of the friendly
relations among nations...the observation we made immediately is this is
unlikely to apply in the context of a spy, terrorist send by a state to engage
in acts of terror."
Kulbhushan Jadhav case
Jadhav, the latest flashpoint in the tensions between
Pakistan and India, was sentenced last month. On May 8, India moved the ICJ
against the death penalty, alleging violation of the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations. On May 9, the highest court in the UN gave Jadhav a lease
of life.
India, in its appeal to the ICJ, had asserted that Jadhav
was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after
retiring from the Indian Navy. However, it denies that he has any connection
with the government.
Pakistan claims to have arrested Jadhav from its restive
Balochistan province.
No comments:
Post a Comment