BERLIN: A UN tribunal on Monday ordered India to halt court proceedings against two Italian marines pending a ruling by the international body on the 2012 shooting of two Kerala fishermen.

In a case which has badly soured diplomatic relations between the two countries, the two marines are accused of firing shots which killed the Indians while they were fishing off the southern Indian state.

The marines were on board an Italian oil tanker, providing protection as part of an international anti-piracy mission. India detained the two marines days after the fatal incident and a court case is pending.

Italy disputes India’s jurisdiction over the case and, having grown frustrated with the slow pace of the Indian legal system, decided in June to make a unilateral request for the Hamburg-based International Tribu­nal for the Law of the Sea to make a ruling.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play