Marines case: Italy hails UN tribunal decision to suspend court proceedings

ROME: Italy today hailed as "a useful result" a UN tribunal's order to "suspend" court proceedings in India and Italy involving two Italian marines charged with killing two Indian fishermen, saying it definitively established that the Indian justice system will not be handling the case.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) denying India jurisdiction in the case of the two Italian marines -- Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre -- accused of killing two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012, was "a useful result".

"It established definitively the very important principle that it will not be Indian justice handling the affair," Gentiloni said.

After the Hamburg court's ruling, he said, "it will be international arbitration, as Italy had requested, that will handle this case."

Gentiloni said "the Italian government will remain committed to the goal of guaranteeing the freedom of the two marines"

The tribunal asked both India and Italy to "suspend" all court proceedings involving the two Italian marines and also refrain from initiating new ones that might "aggravate or extend" the dispute that triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Hearing Italy's appeal in the case, the President of the ITLOS, Vladimir Golitsyn asked the two countries to submit the initial report in the entire incident by September 24.

Italy hailed the decision to halt Indian jurisdiction over the marines case, while deploring its move to abstain from issuing measures allowing Girone and Latorre to come home pending its ultimate resolution.

The development plays in favour of Italy, because it means that India cannot act on the case until arbitration by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The move "partially safeguards Italian rights," said Italian government representative Francesco Azzarello, who argued Italy's case before the ITLOS.

"We are however disappointed the court declined to issue measures on the situation of Girone and Latorre," he said.

Italy may take its appeal on their behalf to the ICJ, he said.

The two marines, who were on board ship ' Enrica Lexie', are accused of killing two Indian fishermen on February 15, 2012 off the Kerala coast.

ITLOS is an independent judicial body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention.