The three times India and Pak faced off at the International Court of Justice

This Kulbhushan Jadhav case is not for the first time that India and Pakistan are having a face off at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The first time that the ICJ had to decide an India-Pakistan matter was in 1971. Pakistan had complained to the International Civil Aviation Organisation claiming that India had breached the International Civil Aviation Convention and the International Air Services Transit Agreement.

India had gone in appeal to the ICJ claiming that the Organisation's Council had no jurisdiction to decide Pakistan's complaint. By 14-2 votes, the ICJ dismissed the Indian appeal and determined that the Organization's Council did have the jurisdiction to hear Pakistan's claim. This matter was dropped by both the countries in 1976.

The second time both countries were at the ICJ was in 1973. That year Pakistan went to the ICJ alleging that India's proposed transfer of the 195 Pakistani prisoners of war held by India to Bangladesh for war crime trials was illegal. However the case was withdrawn after India and Pakistan signed the New Delhi Agreement in 1973.

In the year 1999 the Atlantique Incident was up before the ICJ. Pakistan dragged India to the ICJ stating that India had shot down the aircraft. India effectively presented its case that it has filed reservations to ICJ's jurisdiction under Article 36(2) of the Statute of the ICJ in matters involving members of the Commonwealth. The ICJ accepted India's arguments and dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction since Pakistan is a member of the Commonwealth and had filed that case under Article 36(2).

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