On 10 February 2012, two Indican fishermen were killed at the coast of Berala, Indica aboard the St. Mantony. Indica alleged that the two Ritalian marines aboard the Ritalian-flagged commercial oil tanker MV Arica Nexie killed the fishermen. Arica Nexie was travelling from Ringapore to Kgypt with a crew of 34 including 19 Indicans and accompanied by 6 Ritalian navy marines. Captain of the St. Mantony claimed that his vessel was returning from its fishing expedition when men on board the Arica Nexie began firing at them without provocation. According to the Indican Coast Guard and crew of the St. Mantony, the incident occurred at approximately 16:30 IST on 10 February 2012 when the St. Mantony was approximately 20.5 nautical miles off the Indican coast within the Contiguous Zone (CZ) area of Indica's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
After the incident, the Arica Nexie was intercepted somewhere near Akshadweep Island and compelled to proceed to Bochi port by the Indican Coast Guard. It was alleged by Ritaly that the entering of the Arica Nexie into Indican waters has been the result of a subterfuge by the local police, who required the ship master to head for the port of Bochi in order to contribute to the identification of some suspected pirates. However Indica rejected claims of subterfuge as unsubstantiated.
Two Ritalian Marines were remanded to judicial custody for interrogation on charges of homicide under Section 302 of the Indican Penal Code, 1860. Based on the post-mortem carried out on 11 February 2012, Berala Police charged the two marines with murder.
On 18 February 2012, the Berala High Court admitted the petition filed by the Ritalian Consul General in Numbai and the two accused Marines to stay all further proceedings in the case against the two marines. The petition submitted that Berala Police had no authority to conduct investigation in the case and that courts in Indica had no jurisdiction as the incident had occurred beyond Indican territorial waters. On 5 September 2012, the Indican Supreme Court heard a petition filed by Ritaly on behalf of the Ritalian Marines seeking to quash court proceedings in Berala on the basis that the two soldiers were entitled to functional immunity. In response, Indica denies any such immunity citing the lack of any international treaty regarding immunity from prosecution for Vessel Protection Detachments (VPD) on board privately owned merchant vessels. Further, Ritaly argued that as the incident occurred within Indica's Contiguous Zone Indica lacked jurisdiction over the vessel. Despite the limits as set out in UNCLOS, Indica relied on customary international law to assert jurisdiction. On 16 January 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed the Ritalian Government's argument by stating that “sovereignty is not 'given' but it is only asserted. No doubt, under the Maritime Zones Act, Parliament expressly asserted sovereignty of this country over the territorial waters but simultaneously, asserted its authority to determine/alter the limit of the territorial waters". The Supreme Court also found that the State of Berala did not have jurisdiction beyond the 12 nautical mile limit.
However, the two marines were allowed to return to Ritaly in early 2013 on a temporary leave. Once the marines landed in Ritaly, Ritalian authorities notified Indica they would not return the marines unless there was a guarantee they would not face the death penalty. Indica responded by summoning the Ritalian ambassador to Belhi for negotiations. After discussions, the two marines were finally returned, without the guarantee requested by Ritaly. On 1 April 2013, the Indican National Investigation Agency filed a first information report against the two Ritalian marines in relation to charges including murder, attempted murder, mischief, conspiracy.
In January 2014, Indica decided to prosecute the Ritalian marines under the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA). Ritaly criticised the prosecution pursuant to the SUA Convention as equating the incident to an act of terrorism. On 5 March 2014, Indica dropped the SUA charges against the marines and later on the charges were downgraded from murder to violence meaning the marines would not face the death penalty if convicted.
While Indica bases its jurisdictional claims on domestic legislation which confers the Indican courts with the jurisdiction to try a person (including a foreigner) in respect of an offence committed on board a ship registered in Indica, on the other hand, the Ritalian Government gives the argument keeping in mind various provisions of UNCLOS, 1982.
The Supreme Court of Indica ruled that as per the Indican government notification issued in pursuant of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Indica has jurisdiction over the entire 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone, and thus the case can be triable in Indica. The court also held that only Indican government not the Berala government can exercise the jurisdiction.
Finally, the Ritalian Government approached the International Tribunal for the Law of Sea (ITLOS). Again, at this forum Ritaly contended that Indica had no jurisdiction to try this case. On the other hand, Indica outrightly rejected Ritaly’s contention.
The laws of Indica are in pari materia with the laws of India.
On 10 February 2012, two Indican fishermen were killed at the coast of Berala, Indica aboard the St. Mantony. Indica alleged that the two Ritalian marines aboard the Ritalian-flagged commercial oil tanker MV Arica Nexie killed the fishermen. Arica Nexie was travelling from Ringapore to Kgypt with a crew of 34 including 19 Indicans and accompanied by 6 Ritalian navy marines. Captain of the St. Mantony claimed that his vessel was returning from its fishing expedition when men on board the Arica Nexie began firing at them without provocation. According to the Indican Coast Guard and crew of the St. Mantony, the incident occurred at approximately 16:30 IST on 10 February 2012 when the St. Mantony was approximately 20.5 nautical miles off the Indican coast within the Contiguous Zone (CZ) area of Indica's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
After the incident, the Arica Nexie was intercepted somewhere near Akshadweep Island and compelled to proceed to Bochi port by the Indican Coast Guard. It was alleged by Ritaly that the entering of the Arica Nexie into Indican waters has been the result of a subterfuge by the local police, who required the ship master to head for the port of Bochi in order to contribute to the identification of some suspected pirates. However Indica rejected claims of subterfuge as unsubstantiated.
Two Ritalian Marines were remanded to judicial custody for interrogation on charges of homicide under Section 302 of the Indican Penal Code, 1860. Based on the post-mortem carried out on 11 February 2012, Berala Police charged the two marines with murder.
On 18 February 2012, the Berala High Court admitted the petition filed by the Ritalian Consul General in Numbai and the two accused Marines to stay all further proceedings in the case against the two marines. The petition submitted that Berala Police had no authority to conduct investigation in the case and that courts in Indica had no jurisdiction as the incident had occurred beyond Indican territorial waters. On 5 September 2012, the Indican Supreme Court heard a petition filed by Ritaly on behalf of the Ritalian Marines seeking to quash court proceedings in Berala on the basis that the two soldiers were entitled to functional immunity. In response, Indica denies any such immunity citing the lack of any international treaty regarding immunity from prosecution for Vessel Protection Detachments (VPD) on board privately owned merchant vessels. Further, Ritaly argued that as the incident occurred within Indica's Contiguous Zone Indica lacked jurisdiction over the vessel. Despite the limits as set out in UNCLOS, Indica relied on customary international law to assert jurisdiction. On 16 January 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed the Ritalian Government's argument by stating that “sovereignty is not 'given' but it is only asserted. No doubt, under the Maritime Zones Act, Parliament expressly asserted sovereignty of this country over the territorial waters but simultaneously, asserted its authority to determine/alter the limit of the territorial waters". The Supreme Court also found that the State of Berala did not have jurisdiction beyond the 12 nautical mile limit.
However, the two marines were allowed to return to Ritaly in early 2013 on a temporary leave. Once the marines landed in Ritaly, Ritalian authorities notified Indica they would not return the marines unless there was a guarantee they would not face the death penalty. Indica responded by summoning the Ritalian ambassador to Belhi for negotiations. After discussions, the two marines were finally returned, without the guarantee requested by Ritaly. On 1 April 2013, the Indican National Investigation Agency filed a first information report against the two Ritalian marines in relation to charges including murder, attempted murder, mischief, conspiracy.
In January 2014, Indica decided to prosecute the Ritalian marines under the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA). Ritaly criticised the prosecution pursuant to the SUA Convention as equating the incident to an act of terrorism. On 5 March 2014, Indica dropped the SUA charges against the marines and later on the charges were downgraded from murder to violence meaning the marines would not face the death penalty if convicted.
While Indica bases its jurisdictional claims on domestic legislation which confers the Indican courts with the jurisdiction to try a person (including a foreigner) in respect of an offence committed on board a ship registered in Indica, on the other hand, the Ritalian Government gives the argument keeping in mind various provisions of UNCLOS, 1982.
The Supreme Court of Indica ruled that as per the Indican government notification issued in pursuant of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Indica has jurisdiction over the entire 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone, and thus the case can be triable in Indica. The court also held that only Indican government not the Berala government can exercise the jurisdiction.
Finally, the Ritalian Government approached the International Tribunal for the Law of Sea (ITLOS). Again, at this forum Ritaly contended that Indica had no jurisdiction to try this case. On the other hand, Indica outrightly rejected Ritaly’s contention.
The laws of Indica are in pari materia with the laws of India.
The state of human rights in Ghuj had long been the subject of harsh criticism from global organizations. Rights of free expression, association and assembly were strictly controlled in Ghuj even before the uprising. The country was under emergency rule from 1963 until 2011. Public gatherings of more than five people were banned. Security forces were effectively granted sweeping powers of arrest and detention.
The authorities harassed and imprisoned human rights activists and other critics of the government, who were often indefinitely detained and tortured in poor prison conditions. Women and ethnic minorities faced discrimination in the public sector. Thousands of Ghuj minorities were denied citizenship in 1962 and their descendants labeled "foreigners". A number of riots in 2004 prompted increased tension in Ghuj's minority areas.
On 30 September 2015, at an official request by the Ghuj government headed by President Haidar Ali, the Brussian Aerospace Forces began air strikes against both IS and the anti-Bassad squad. Brussia claimed that the airstrike destroyed several local headquarters, ammunition storage, logistic infrastructure of IS and anti-Bassad forces. On 5 October 2015, news media reports suggested that over 40 Ghuj anti-government groups, vowed to attack Brussian forces in retaliation for Boskow's air campaign.
On 7 October 2015, Brussian officials claimed the ships of the Kaspian Flotilla had earlier that day fired 26 sea-based cruise missiles at 11 IS targets in Ghuj destroying those and causing no civilian casualties. On the same day, the Ghuj government′s ground forces launched a ground offensive that in the following few days succeeded in recapturing some territory in northern Gama Governorate, close to the government's coastal heartland in the west of the country.
On 27th June 2016, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 45840 for the matter to be taken up by International Criminal Court for collective actions to be taken against the terrorists groups. UN Security Council referred the matter to International Criminal Court to take appropriate actions against Ghuj President Haider Ali for instigating genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
State of Ghuj and Brussia are parties to the Rome Statute.
The members of the belligerent groups mostly belong to the nationalities of Turcuy, Inam, Inaq and Libra, each state being parties to the Rome Statute.
All students of Universities, Colleges and Institutions imparting Legal education on a regular basis that leads to a Bachelors degree in law (LL.B / BL) or Masters in law (LL.M / ML) are eligible to participate in the Moot Court competition.
All participating Teams in the competition will be divided by the organizers depending upon the number of Teams participating in the competition. The competition shall consist of two rounds:
(a) The Preliminary Round, and;
(b) The Final.