ICJ judgment on Jadhav contributed to reduction of India, Pak tension: ICJ President

International Court of Justice President Judge Abduylqawi Yusuf on Tuesday said he is "happy" that the judgement in the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav contributed to the reduction of tension between India and Pakistan.

Yusuf during a press conference here said the Jadhav case was very delicate and sensitive as it concerned the life of a person who was sentenced to death in Pakistan and it created a lot of tension between the two countries.

The ICJ had ruled in July this year that Pakistan must review the death sentence awarded to Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer who was sentenced to death by the Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" after a closed trial in April 2017.

The bench led by Yusuf had ordered an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav.

"We have a number of cases from Asian countries. The Court for example, has issued only in July, a judgment concerning a dispute between India and Pakistan, which was a very delicate and sensitive issue because it concerned the life of a person who was sentenced to death in Pakistan and it created a lot of tension between the two countries. And we are happy that the judgment of the Court has contributed to the diminution and reduction of that tension since then, Yusuf said.

The ICJ bench had also ruled that Pakistan had violated India's rights to consular visits after Jadhav's arrest. According to the ICJ, Pakistan "deprived the Republic of India of the right to communicate with and have access to Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, to visit him in detention and to arrange for his legal representation.

India had welcomed the verdict of the ICJ, saying that the ruling of the court by a vote of 15-1 upheld India's position in the case.