THE HAGUE: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ordered Pakistan to stay the execution Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national convicted of spying.
India had earlier approached the UN court after the retired Indian naval officer and suspected spy was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court last month on charges of espionage and sabotage.
“Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Mr Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings,” the ICJ ruled in a unanimous and binding decision on Thursday.
The Hague-based court’s president, Ronny Abraham asked Pakistan to inform the tribunal that it would implement the ruling, and stressed that ICJ decisions are binding on all state members.
The ICJ’s rulings are final and binding.
Yet, the court has no means to enforce its decisions and they have occasionally been ignored.
The hearings and the much awaited final decision, could take many more months, if not years.