The judgement of International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered on the 17th of July, 2019 has strongly supported and upheld India’s case on most issues. The Court held that the Vienna Convention binds both the countries which effectively provides for consular access. Consular access is an extension of the principles of natural justice and fair play. An accused held in custody or detention in a foreign country has to be immediately informed that he has a right to seek consular access. The country to which the accused belongs has to be immediately informed that their national is in custody and, upon request, consular access has to be mandatorily provided. Such access enables an accused in a foreign land to get legal representation so that the trial against the accused would appear to be a fair trial. The ICJ has rightly held that each one of these pre-requisites were violated by Pakistan and, therefore, a conviction based on violation of such basic human rights cannot be allowed to be executed.
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