Rome: Italy on Thursday said that it will "naturally respect" the ruling of the international tribunal in the sensational Enrica Lexie case, saying Rome is ready to fulfil what the arbitration court has established, with a "spirit of collaboration."
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled on Thursday that New Delhi is entitled to get compensation in the sensational Enrica Lexie case in which two Italian marines were accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012.
Commenting on the ruling by the tribunal, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said, "today a definitive full stop has been placed after a long agony. Hugs to the two marines and their families."
"Italy will naturally respect what the arbitration tribunal has established, with a spirit of collaboration," Maio was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA.
Italian Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini also welcomed The Hague court's ruling. He said it had "put an end to an affair that had dragged on for years, particularly heavy for its human aspects.
"For this reason I send an affectionate thought to our two marines and their families for the difficult moments which they went through," Guerini said.
No prosecution allowed
The court has upheld the conduct of the Indian authorities but added that they can't prosecute the marines due to official immunity enjoyed by them.
The international tribunal also held that the two marines violated the international law, and as a result Italy breached India's freedom of navigation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), External Affaires Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during an online media briefing on Thursday.
In February 2012, India accused two Italian marines, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, on board the MV Enrica Lexie --an Italian flagged oil tanker-- of killing two Indian fishermen who were on a fishing vessel off Kerala coast in India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The issue of jurisdiction over the case became a big argument between the two countries. While India maintained that the incident happened in Indian waters and also the fishermen killed were Indian, and hence the case must be tried as per its laws, Italy claimed that the shooting took place outside Indian territorial waters and its marines were on-board the ship with the Italian flag.
India had detained the two marines after the shooting incident but later allowed them to return to Italy on specific conditions following separate orders by the Supreme Court.
Srivastava said the tribunal decided that India is entitled to payment of compensation in connection with "loss of life, physical harm, material damage to property and moral harm suffered by the captain and other crew members of St. Antony".
Italy had maintained that the two marines aboard the tanker mistook the 'St Antony' for a pirate vessel.
"The tribunal took note of the commitment expressed by Italy to resume its criminal investigation into the events of February 15, 2012," he added.
Srivastava said the tribunal also decided that it shall retain jurisdiction should either party or both parties wish to apply for a ruling from it in respect of the quantification of compensation due to India.
(With PTI inputs.)
