Access to International Criminal Tribunal as a Forum for Criminal Justice to Curtail Impunity for State-Sponsored Crimes in Kashmir

Abstract

Criminal Justice has been denied in Kashmir ever since the outbreak of the armed conflict. People of Kashmir have been living under martial law since 1990 and during curfew Indian Armed Force has authority to shoot on sight. Indian government victimises the people of Kashmir in two ways. First when the actual harm is caused and second by the criminal justice process. The laws have produced the regime of impunity and have largely barred military and paramilitary personal responsible for violations including rape, torture, and custodial killings. Among 700,000 Indian paramilitary forces in Kashmir no one has been prosecuted so far. It is a principle of natural justice that no person can judge a cause in which they have an interest. Hobbes enshrined this as natural law 17 in Levathan. India being the largest democracy in the world is against the same legal phrase. Indian Armed Force investigates their own human right abuse and do not put the cases before public results in the paralysing of Human Right Commissions. Draconian laws and lack of independent judicial system has resulted in the denial of fair trial and justice and has left the people unheard. Moreover, the atrocities committed by insurgent groups in Kashmir cannot be ignored at all. Pakistan provides training, financial, logistical and doctrinal support to insurgent groups in Kashmir. Most of the Insurgents have escaped to other countries making it impossible to prosecute them. Kashmir cannot get an impartial judicial system until the dispute is solved, but United Nation can take a first step to ensure justice. The paper will investigate Criminal Justice System in Kashmir and will emphasise on establishment of International Criminal Tribunal in Kashmir to assure peace and secure justice to the people of Kashmir.

Keywords: Kashmir, International Criminal Tribunal, Jus cogen, International Armed conflict