Supreme Court orders closure of court proceedings in India against two Italian marines in Fishermen killing case
Recently, the Supreme Court of India has closed a long-standing criminal trial against Italian marines who killed two fishermen off the Kerala coast.
The ‘International Tribunal’ has recently accepted the request of the Italian government, which was asked to prosecute these marines in their own country.
The top court has accepted the compensation amount of Rs.10 crore deposited by the Republic of Italy to the kin of fishermen killed in a sea firing off the Kerala coast in 2012.
Article 142 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS):
- Since, under the United Nations Convention on Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) by the International Tribunal, it is not within the jurisdiction of India to criminally prosecute Italian marines.
- The Government of India, therefore, urged the Supreme Court to exercise the extraordinary power enjoyed under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash the criminal cases against these Italian marines.
Decision of the International Tribunal:
- Italian marines had diplomatic immunity as Italian state officials under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This was stated by the Tribunal with a close vote of 3:2 while delivering the judgment.
- Taking into account the “commitment expressed by Italy” to resume the criminal investigation into the incident, the tribunal said that India should not exercise its jurisdiction in the matter.
Source – The Hindu
