International Court of Justice will give its verdict today on Kulbhushan Jadhav's death sentence in Pak
with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on
Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of spying, then India can go to the
Security Council.
The UN court today said Pakistan must ensure that Mr
Jadhav is not executed until a final decision is taken on India’s appeal against his death sentence.
The UN charter says 'each member of UN undertakes to comply with the decision of the
International Court of Justice' and “if any party to a case fails to perform the obligations, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council'. The Security Council, it says, "may decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment".
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Siddharth Luthra said while the judgement "cannot be enforced the way domestic court judgements can", India could also ask for sanctions against Pakistan.
"ICJ is a body where you go by consent. One of the issues Pakistan is seeking to raise is that we have not consented, so jurisdiction is an issue they are looking to challenge. Such judgements are binding when countries accept them to be binding. If Pak chooses to act in a rogue manner, India can take the matter with the Security Council," Mr Luthra told NDTV.
"If Pakistan says it will not implement the UN court ruling, India can go to Security Council and ask for sanctions against Pakistan for breach of the ICJ judgement," said the lawyer.
He also said New Delhi could reconsider its diplomatic relations with Pakistan. "Unlike a domestic judgement, like a ruling by Supreme Court, which has actions such as contempt or execution, this is by consent. Therefore, while the judgement is important, it can't be enforced the way domestic court judgements are enforced," he said.
Mr Luthra said by going to the international court, India had ensured that there is exposure of a legal system which does not provide justice to citizens of other countries, as in the case of Mr Jadhav. "India has achieved its victory and made its point the moment the moment it internationalized the issue and took it to ICJ. So I believe we've already succeeded. The judgement is important, but I believe we've made our point," Mr Luthra said.