The Government of India said it was studying an international tribunal’s ruling that the Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen in the waters off Kerala on February 15, 2012, held “immunity” and would face a trial in Italy, not India.
While the tribunal held in Italy’s favour the main submission, of jurisdiction, it found merit in India’s counter-claim that the marines on board “Enrica Lexie” had violated the freedom of navigation rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by shooting at fishing boat “St. Antony” and should pay compensation to the victims’ families, the boat owner and crew members.
Full coverage | Italian Marines sssue
In their defence, the marines had claimed they mistook the fishermen for “pirates” and that the shooting occurred in international waters.
In its submissions, India had called on the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) UNCLOS tribunal to “adjudge and declare that it [PCA] has no jurisdiction with respect to the case submitted to it by Italy”. However, a majority of the court’s five- member bench ruled 4-1 that the marines, Massimili