New Delhi: It’s been 18 years since India and Pakistan faced-off at the International Court of Justice. The arch-rivals will meet at The Hague again on Monday when the ICJ hears India’s appeal against the death sentence handed to its national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan.
The last case between India and Pakistan at the ICJ was related to the shooting down of Pakistan's maritime reconnaissance aircraft Atlantique by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the Kutch region on August 10, 1999, killing all 16 naval personnel on board. Pakistan claimed the plane was brought down in its air space and sought $60 million in damages from India for the incident.
A 16-judge bench of the court on June 21, 2000 voted 14-2 to dismiss Pakistan's claim. The decision was announced by bench president Gilbert Guillaume of France at a public sitting. The verdict was final and there was no appeal. The ICJ found that it has no jurisdiction to entertain the application filed by Pakistan on September 21, 1999.
Pakistan's Attorney General Aziz Munshi had sought a speedy resolution, saying its application had to be concluded quickly so that it did not remain an irritant in Indo-Pak relations.
Sorabjee expressed happiness with the court's verdict. "We are very happy. The court has accepted all our contentions," he had said.
As per ICJ rules, when it does not include a judge possessing the nationality of the state party to a case, the state may appoint a person to sit as a judge ad-hoc for the purpose of the case.
India's External Affairs Ministry while hailing the verdict especially welcomed the court's positive observations on the principles enunciated in the Simla agreement and Lahore Declaration as the basis for an Indo-Pak rapprochement.
Through its comments, the court has vindicated India's stand on these landmark agreements that are the very cornerstone of India-Pakistan relations, a ministry spokesman had said.
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