Italian Marines' Murder Case In India May Go To Arbitration

reuters logo A case in which two Italian marines are accused of killing two Indian fishermen could now be heard before an international court, offering a possible way out of a three-year impasse that has blighted bilateral relations.

The Supreme Court on Monday heard a plea from Italy challenging India’s jurisdiction in the murder case and ordered the Indian government to report back by Aug. 26.

India would participate in arbitration proceedings foreseen under a U.N. convention, a government lawyer told the Supreme Court.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone have been in legal limbo since their arrest by India in connection with the fatal incident off the coast of Kerala in February 2012.

The pair, part of a military team protecting a cargo ship, says they mistook Indian fishermen for pirates and fired warning shots. Two fishermen were killed.

Amid legal wrangling, India’s Supreme Court allowed Latorre home for heart surgery, which he underwent in January. On Monday, the court allowed Latorre to stay in Italy for a further six months.

Italian navy patrol ship — Image for representation purpose only

Girone is currently at the Italian embassy in India awaiting trial.

Rome objects to holding a murder trial in India, arguing that the case should be taken to arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and that the incident happened in international waters.

In a statement, its foreign ministry said: “The Indian government’s decision to participate in the international arbitration we started … confirms the consolidation of the judicial path taken by Italy.”

FALLOUT

The Indian government lawyer who attended the hearing said, however, that New Delhi would argue at an arbitration hearing that the murder case should still be held in India but that it was seeking a way to resolve the legal row.

“We are trying to see how we can resolve this, we are not taking a very antagonistic stand,” Additional Solicitor General P.S. Narasimhan told Reuters after the hearing. “It is in the interest of both the nations.”

The fallout from the arrest of the two marines has damaged wider relations, contributing to the collapse of a European Union-India summit planned during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France and Germany this spring.

In April 2012, Rome paid $190,000 to each of the victims’ families as compensation. In return, the families dropped their cases against the marines, but the state’s case has yet to come to trial.

(Writing by Douglas Busvine; Additional reporting by Isla Binnie in Rome; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Gareth Jones)