Context: Recently, India called for the appointment of an Indian lawyer or a Queen’s counsel for Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav to ensure a free and fair trial in the review of his death sentence in Pakistan.
Current Scenario

• India’s suggestion comes in the backdrop of the ongoing negotiations between the two sides to ensure a free and fair trial for the death row prisoner in Pakistani custody. 
• The assertion by India comes days after Pakistan’s Parliament has extended for four months an ordinance that allowed Jadhav to file an appeal against his conviction in a high court as required by the International Court of Justice.
• The Indian Government said the government of Pakistan has not been able to fulfil its obligations on implementation of the ICJ judgment in letter and spirit.
• India mentioned that Pakistan has not yet addressed the core issues, which include the provision of all documents related to the case, providing unconditional and unimpeded consular access to Kulbhusan Jadhav and appointment of an Indian lawyer or a Queen’s counsel to ensure a free and fair trial. 

About the Kulbhushan Jadhav Case

• Kulbushan Jadhav was allegedly arrested in the Chaman area of Balochistan on the Pakistan- Afghanistan border on March 3, 2016.
• India denied that he had any links to its government but said that he was running a business in the Iranian port city of Chabahar after a “premature retirement” from the Navy.
• India believed that Kulbhushan Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran and his subsequent presence in Pakistan has never been explained credibly.
• Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death in a Field General Court Martial on April 10, 2017, after three-and-a-half months of trial after he was found guilty on charges of espionage.

India Approach to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• India had dragged Pakistan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on May 8, 2017 for refusing consular access to Jadhav and for violating the Vienna Convention on consular relations.
• India accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention and conducting a “farcical trial” for convicting Jadhav without a “shred of evidence”.
• ICJ ruled in July 2019 that Pakistan must undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.

India’s argument at ICJ 

• Following are the main arguments made by India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case:
• Kulbhushan Jadhav has not got the right to get proper legal assistance and the right to consular access.
• The execution of the death sentence cannot be done while this court is hearing the appeal. Else, it will be a violation of the Vienna Convention. 
• Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he was involved in business activities after retiring from the Indian Navy.

Pakistan’s argument

• The court lacks jurisdiction. Pakistan argued that Vienna Convention provisions not intended to apply to a ‘spy’ involved in terror activities.

What is Queen’s Counsel?

• Queen’s Counsel is a barrister or advocate, appointed Counsel to the UK Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.
• The position originated in England.
• Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position or re-named it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, ’Senior Counsel’ or ’Senior Advocate’.
• Queen’s Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown that is recognised by courts.
• Senior Advocate Harish Salve earlier this year has been appointed as Queen’s Counsel (QC) for the courts of England and Wales.

About International Court of Justice

• It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
• It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in 1946.
• The Court is located at Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• All 193 UN members are automatically parties to the Court’s statute. Non-UN members may also become parties to the Court’s statute.
• Its judgments have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned. Though there is no way ICJ can enforce its decisions. However, United Nations Security Council can compel the states to follow the ICJ’s ruling.
• The President and Vice-President are elected by the Members of the Court every three years by secret ballot.

Composition

• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for nine years.
• 15 judges are distributed as per the regions: three from Africa, two from Latin America and Caribbean, three from Asia, five from Western Europe and other states and two from Eastern Europe.

Role of the court

• To settle legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs.
• It has no jurisdiction to deal with applications from individuals, non-governmental organizations, corporations or any other private entity. It or help them in their dealings with national authorities.
• ICJ is not a supreme court to which national courts can turn. It is not an appeal court for any international tribunal.

Who nominates the ICJ judge candidates?

• Every country, party to the UN Charter, designates a group who propose candidates for the office of ICJ judges. This group includes four members/jurists of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, two of whom could be of their nationality. After that, voting in UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council occurs to select judges.

What differentiates the ICJ from the International Criminal Court and the ad hoc international criminal tribunals?

• ICJ has no jurisdiction to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
• This task of hearing proceedings of war crimes is done by national courts, the ad hoc criminal tribunals established by the United Nations (such as the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) to take over residual functions from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR)).

How does the International Court of Justice differ from other international courts?

• The ICJ differs from the Court of Justice of the European Union (based in Luxembourg), whose role is to interpret European Community legislation uniformly and also differ from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (in Costa Rica), which deal with allegations of violations of the human rights conventions under which they were set up.
• The jurisdiction of the ICJ is general and thereby differs from that of specialist international tribunals, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

About Vienna Convention

• The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent states.
• A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country and performs two functions: (1) protecting in the host country the interests of their countrymen, and (2) furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two states.
• The treaty provides for consular immunity. The treaty has been ratified by 179 states. Advisory opinions are not binding and are only consultative, though they are considered important.