THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-May 19, 2017- Topic 1
Upheld
at The Hague
Pakistan
must act responsibly
By winning
a preliminary order from the
International Court of Justice that prevents Pakistan from carrying out the
execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, India has won the battle of
perceptions among members of the international community. It has achieved its
immediate objective in approaching the ICJ, which has outlined provisional
measures that enjoin Pakistan to take all steps needed to ensure that Mr.
Jadhav, a former naval officer under death sentence in Pakistan, is not
executed pending adjudication of the matter.
Pakistan should now inform the
court about the steps it takes to implement the order. The ICJ judges are clear
that these provisional measures are binding and create
international legal obligations for the country to which they are addressed.
The ICJ has rejected Pakistan’s objections regarding the urgency of the matter.
It rejected Pakistan’s own jurisdiction to take up the case and its claim that
a 2008 bilateral agreement between the two countries precluded the matter from
being raised before the ICJ. At this early stage, the court was unwilling to
let doubts over jurisdiction trump the larger, humanitarian issue of Mr.
Jadhav’s execution. It noted that irreparable prejudice would be caused if the
court did not indicate provisional measures, especially in the absence of any
assurance from Pakistan that he would not be executed before the final
decision.
It may
appear to be a complete victory for India on the questions of jurisdiction,
urgency and the core charge that Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention. However,
this is a preliminary ruling and all issues are open for adjudication at the
final stage. For now, the court has taken into account the allegation of denial
of consular access, and ruled that prima facie, this
brought the issue within the purview of Article I of the Optional Protocol to
the Vienna Convention, which says disputes regarding the interpretation or
application of the Convention would be subject to the ‘compulsory jurisdiction’
of the ICJ. Further, it has noted that there is no exception to the consular
access rule for those allegedly involved in ‘espionage’. As an immediate
consequence, Pakistan is now under an obligation to grant consular access to
Mr. Jadhav. Though it is theoretically possible for Pakistan to ignore the
ICJ’s order and go ahead with its internal processes for the disposal of
appeals and clemency petitions, it is unlikely to do so. Such a course of
action would undermine its international credibility. India will have to
leverage the moral and diplomatic advantage it has obtained through this ruling
to help Mr. Jadhav prove his innocence before a civilian court and win his
freedom. Pakistan must act responsibly and abide by the fundamental norms of
international law.
Vocabulary
Execution: the
carrying out or putting into effect of a plan, order, or course of action.
Example: He was
fascinated by the entire operation and its execution
Synonyms: implementation, carrying
out, accomplishment, bringing off/about
Perceptions: the
ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
Example: The normal
limits to human perception
Outlined: draw,
trace, or define the outer edge or shape of (something).
Example: Her large
eyes were darkly outlined with eyeliner
Synonyms: silhouette, define, demarcate, sketch, delineate, trace
Enjoin: instruct
or urge someone to do something.
Example: The code
enjoined members to trade fairly
Adjudication: the action
or process of adjudicating.
Example: The matter
may have to go to court for adjudication
Synonyms: judgment, decision, pronouncement, ruling, settlement
Precluded: prevent
from happening; make impossible.
Example: The secret
nature of his work precluded official recognition
Synonyms: prevent, make it impossible
for, rule out, stop, prohibit
Irreparable: impossible
to rectify or repair.
Example: They were
doing irreparable damage to my heart and lungs
Synonyms: irreversible, irrevocable, irrecoverable, unrepairable, beyond
repair
Leverage: the
exertion of force by means of a lever or an object used in the manner of a
lever.
Example: My spade
hit something solid that wouldn't respond to leverage
Synonyms: grip, purchase, hold, support, anchorage, force, strength
