Interesting developments in the #Jadhav case. Some thoughts:

#ICJ in its judgment held #Pakistan was under an obligation to provide, by means of its own choosing, effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav i.e. Pak had to judicially review 1/n

whether denying consular access would have made a difference to the outcome of the case. Consular access entails, inter alia, visiting, communicating, and arranging for legal representation unless the detained person objects to this (Art. 36 VCCR). 2/n

These rights must be exercised in conformity with the laws of the detaining State (Pak). Pak made an Ordinance allowing Jadhav, his legal rep, or an Indian consular official to file a petition for rev. & rec. in the Islamabad HC within 60 days. 3/n

#Indian #MEA statement says Ord. violates ICJ judgment.
https://www.mea.gov.in/response-to-queries.htm?dtl/32815/Official+Spokespersons+response+to+a+query+from+the+media+in+the+case+of+Shri+Kulbushan+Sudhir+Jadhav Don’t see how as Sec. 3 of the Ord. gives the court a lot of space to rev & rec. 4/n

“…the Court shall examine whether any prejudice has been caused to the foreign national in respect of his right of defence, right to evidence, and principles of fair trial, due to denial of consular access” – ICJ (Rev. and Rec.) Ord. 2020. 5/n

Pretty wide in my opinion, Pak High Courts have set aside Mil. Court convictions with far less. https://www.dawn.com/news/1564018 
6/n

Pak Add. AG says Jadhav refused to file petition for rev & rec under the Ord. and instead opted to follow-up with mercy petition. Probably not a smart choice but if he was coerced as Indian MEA seems to allege, then subsequent consular meetings should clear this up. 7/n

In any case Indian consular officials still have time to file a petition and should. No bar even if Jadhav objects as this is a rev. & rec. petition not initial legal rep. for trial which requires detainee’s consent as per Art. 36 VCCR. 8/n

Indian MEA apparently insisted on having an Indian lawyer appear for Jadhav’s case. Appear as ‘advocate’ not possible under Pak Law or even Indian law for a Pak lawyer as far as I know but Indian or international lawyers are allowed to assist the Pak Advocate. 9/n

Trust me you’d find excellent #Lawyers in Pak who would take up the case to ensure due process and fair trial took place. Risky game if MEA stance is dilatory or intended to thwart the process to take the matter back to the ICJ but ICJ can be approached to interpret the... 10/n

meaning and scope of its judgments i.e. does the Pak Ord. fulfill the obligation of effective rev. & rec.?

Its not over yet and I fear a lot more maneuvering and rhetoric is yet to come. 11/11
#KulbhushanJadhav @rsilpak