In a major victory for India, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday continued its stay on the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, held in a Pakistani jail on allegations of spying, and called for an effective review and reconsideration of the conviction.
In a major victory for India, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday continued its stay on the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, held in a Pakistani jail on allegations of spying, and called for an effective review and reconsideration of the conviction.
By a 15-1 verdict, the Court held that a continued stay on execution constitutes an indispensable condition for the review and found that Pakistan had breached the Vienna Convention by not giving him consular access.
It held that Pakistan is under an obligation to inform Jadhav without further delay of his rights and to provide Indian consular access to him in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
The ICJ order said, "To conclude, the Court finds that Pakistan is under an obligation to provide, by means of its own choosing, effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Mr. Jadhav, so as to ensure that full weight is given to the effect of the violation of the rights set forth in Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, taking account of paragraphs 139, 145 and 146 of this Judgment."
So, what exactly is Article 36 of the Vienna Convention?
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is an international treaty that defines the framework for relations between nation states. Mainly, Pakistan breached it by refusing to give consular access Kulbhushan Jadhav, despite repeated attempts by the Indian consul in Pakistan.
Here’s what Article 36 says exactly:
Article 36 Communication and contact with nationals of the sending State
1.With a view to facilitating the exercise of consular functions relating to nationals of the sending State:
(a) consular officers shall be free to communicate with nationals of the sending State and to have access to them. Nationals of the sending State shall have the same freedom with respect to communication with and access to consular officers of the sending State;
(b) if he so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State if, within its consular district, a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner. Any communication addressed to the consular post by the person arrested, in prison, custody or detention shall be forwarded by the said authorities without delay. The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this subparagraph;
(c) consular officers shall have the right to visit a national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation. They shall also have the right to visit any national of the sending State who is in prison, custody or detention in their district in pursuance of a judgement.
With inputs from agencies
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