International Court of Justice Issues Preliminary Ruling, Pakistan Must Not Execute Indian National Jadhav Prior to Its Final Judgment (May 18, 2017) [1]
On May 18, 2017, the International Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling [3] in the Jadhav Case (India v. Pakistan), finding that Pakistan must “take all measures at its disposal” to ensure that Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, an Indian national, is not executed pending a final judgment of the Court. According to the press release [4], the case concerns India’s claims against Pakistan “in a dispute concerning alleged violations of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963 with respect to an Indian national, Mr. Jadhav, sentenced to death in Pakistan.” India initiated the case in regard to Pakistan’s alleged failure “to provide the requisite consular notifications with regard to the arrest and detention of Mr. Jadhav, as well as the alleged failure to allow communication and provide access to him.” The Court noted “that Pakistan has given no assurance that Mr. Jadhav will not be executed before the Court has rendered its final decision” and that “that the mere fact that Mr. Jadhav is under a death sentence and might therefore be executed is sufficient to demonstrate the existence of a risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights claimed by India.” The Court stated that it “is satisfied that there is urgency in the present case” and ordered that “Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Mr. Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the Court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present Order.”