Shooting of plane — India rejects Pak stand on abusive exercise

Sorabjee made this submission before the 15-member bench of the ICJ while closing India’s arguments on the fourth and final day of public hearings to determine whether the court had the jurisdiction to entertain Pakistan’s complaint.

Islamabad is seeking reparations and compensation from India following the shooting down of Islamabad’s naval aircraft Atlantique in the Kutch region on August 10 last. All 16 Naval personnel on board the aircraft were killed in the "aerial incident".

ICJ president Justice Gilbert Guillaume of France reserved the judgement on whether or not the court had the juristiction. Court officials said a judgement is expected in about three months time.

India’s Ambassador Prabhakar Menon, in his submissions before the bench adjourned its hearing, said that none of the arguments advanced by Pakistan were "sound" and did not provide a basis for invoking the jurisdiction of the court.

"The Government of India therefore respectfully submits that the court adjudge and declare that it has no jurisdiction to consider the application of the Government of Pakistan," he said.

Sorabjee, in his final submissions on Thursday, also countered Pakistan’s submissions as to why India was opposed to ICJ’s jurisdiction while it accepted compulsory jurisdiction under the law of the sea convention and the WTO dispute settlement procedures.

He argued that acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction under any international conventions has no "relevance" at all to the basic issue of the court’s jurisdictin to entrtain Pakistan’s present application.

"The decision to accede to any international convention and to accept compulsory jurisdiction is an exercise of political judgement by every soverign state including India and is based on the assessment of the country’s best interests in doing so, having regard to the prevailing economic facors and political exigiencies pertinent to a particular convention," Sorabjee said.