Order not relief for marines, says India
Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre (left) and Salvatore Girone (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: A UN tribunal on Monday asked both India and Italy to “suspend” all court proceedings on the two Italian marines charged with killing two Indian fishermen in 2012, and refrain from initiating new ones that might “aggravate or extend” the dispute. It may be recalled Italy had initiated international arbitration in June this year.
Hearing Italy’s appeal, the president of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, Vladimir Golitsyn, asked both countries to submit their initial reports by September 24.
The judge said that pending a decision by the arbitral tribunal, “Italy and India shall both suspend all court proceedings and refrain from initiating new ones which might aggravate or extend the dispute”, and directed them to submit the reports “not later than 24 September 2015”.
The 21-member UN court in Hamburg, Germany, issued the order with 15 in favour and six against.
The Tribunal said it was aware of the grief and suffering of the families of the two Indian fishermen who were killed and also the consequences that lengthy restrictions on liberty entail for the two marines and their families.
In New Delhi, home ministry officials said the UN court’s order should not be seen as a setback to legal proceedings in India as the tribunal had not granted any immediate relief to one of the two accused now in Indian custody despite Italy’s fervent plea.
Italy has been stressing for a long time that Salvatore Girone, one of the two accused, who is still in India, should be allowed to go back home till the case is finally disposed of. “It is a clear setback for Italy. Marine Girone will stay in India until jurisdiction of the case is decided,” an MHA official said.
But MHA officials conceded that “the tribunal has asked both India and Italy to suspend all court proceedings while keeping mum on Italy’s plea to allow him go back home.”
Massimiliano Latorre is already in Italy and allowed to stay back home by the Supreme Court due to medical reasons. Home ministry officials said that the case will now be decided by the Annexe-7 Tribunal, the apex body of the International Tri-bunal on Law of the Sea in Hamburg in Germany.
The UN Tribunal’s call for stay of the marines case proceedings in the Supreme Court makes little difference as the hearing in the case has already been suspended.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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