SC declines to take up plea by Indian held in Prague for ‘plot’ to kill Pannun
- January 5, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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SC declines to take up plea by Indian held in Prague for ‘plot’ to kill Pannun
Subject: IR
Section: International Organisation
Context:
- The Supreme Court refused to intervene in a plea by an Indian national for assistance from the Union government to defend his rights in a foreign court after being detained in Prague for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to murder the U.S. based Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Supreme Courts Judgement:
- Judiciary held that Supreme Court could not do anything in a sensitive matter involving public international law, and it was up to the Government of India to decide how to deal with the issue.
About Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963:
- The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between sovereign states.
- It codifies many consular practices that originated from state custom and various bilateral agreements between states.
- The Convention was adopted on 24 April 1963 following the United Nations Conference on Consular Relations in Vienna, Austria.
- The treaty consists of 79 articles, with the preamble emphasizing the continued application of customary international law to matters not addressed in the Convention.
Some key provisions of the convention:
- Article 5 outlines thirteen functions of a consul, including protecting the interests of the sending State and its nationals, assisting nationals, and promoting relations between the sending and receiving States.
- Article 23 allows the host nation to declare a consular staff member persona non grata at any time, with the sending state required to recall the individual promptly, or they may lose consular immunity.
- Article 31 establishes the inviolability of consular premises, prohibiting the host nation from entering or damaging the premises.
- Article 35 safeguards freedom of communication between the consul and their home country, ensuring that consular bags are not opened or detained, and consular couriers are not detained.
- Article 36 addresses communication between consular officers and nationals of the sending state, granting consular officers the right to communicate with and visit nationals who are arrested or detained.
- Article 37 mandates prompt notification to consular officers if a sending state’s national dies, has a guardian appointed, or if a vessel or aircraft of the sending state is involved in an incident in the receiving state.
- Article 40 requires the receiving state to treat consular officers with respect and prevent any attack on their person, freedom, or dignity.
- Articles 58-68 cover honorary consular officers, detailing their powers and functions.