Italy told to pay India for marines killing fishermen

New Delhi: Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration has upheld the conduct of Indian authorities while dealing with two Italian marines who killed two Indian fishermen in 2012 and ruled India was entitled to compensation for loss of life, physical harm, material damage to property and moral harm suffered by the captain and other crew members of the fishing boat.
The tribunal ruled Italy breached India's freedom of navigation under Article 87(1)(a) and 90 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) but the marines enjoyed immunity and were outside purview of Indian courts.

The tribunal took note of Italy's commitment that it will resume criminal investigation into the events. Marines Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre aboard Italian oil tanker MV Enrica Lexie shot dead two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012, mistaking them for Somalian pirates.

“The tribunal observed that India and Italy had concurrent jurisdiction over the incident and a valid legal basis to institute criminal proceedings against the marines.

The tribunal rejected Italy's claim of compensation for the detention of the marines. However, it found that the immunity enjoyed by the marines as state officials operate as an exception to the jurisdiction of the Indian courts and, hence, preclude them to judge the marines,” foreign ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told an online media briefing on Thursday.

India had contended that it had jurisdiction over the case as the killed fishermen were Indians. Italy had argued that the shooting took place ‘outside Indian territorial waters’, a claim India challenged, and the marines were onboard an Italian ship and hence it enjoyed the jurisdiction The tribunal asked both sides to consult with each other on the amount of compensation due to India.