New Delhi: The Pakistan government on Wednesday, November 18, passed a bill to facilitate Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav’s appeal against his death sentence, issued by a Pakistani military court on April 10, 2017, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Bill, 2021, moved by Pakistan law minister Farogh Nasim, was passed in a joint sitting of the Senate and National Assembly. The Bill is meant to enact the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) 2019 directions for the “effective review and reconsideration of [Jadhav’s] conviction and sentence” in light of the country’s violation of the rights granted to Jadhav under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR).The Bill was passed in the Pakistani National Assembly (lower house) in June this year but was not subsequently passed by the Senate (upper house) within the requisite 90-day period and thus was moved on Wednesday during the joint sitting of the two houses.Within Pakistan’s legislature, the ruling Tehreek-i-Insaf government enjoys majority only in the lower house but is in the minority in the upper house. As such, an impasse exists between the two houses and, in order to reconcile this, a joint sitting was held. The Bill was passed, along with several others, amidst commotion and even a walk-out by opposition legislators, triggered in particular by an amendment to the Election Act, 2017 which granted voting rights to Pakistanis overseas.The Pakistan government had also passed the similar ICJ (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance in May, 2020, however, New Delhi had expressed its objections to the same, noting that it did not meet the conditions for the effective review and reconsideration which the ICJ had stipulated and had made the shortcomings of the Ordinance known through diplomatic channels.The Wire had earlier reported that the ICJ had detailed the requirements for Pakistan’s actions to be effective, which included a “respect for the principles of fair trial” and that “potential prejudice and implications for evidence and the rights of defence of the accused should receive close scrutiny during the review and reconsideration”.The Bill passed on Wednesday was little more than a repetition of the aforementioned Ordinance and as such, is insufficient for following the ICJ’s verdict in totality, a source disclosed to the Indian Express.The same source detailed to the newspaper that the Bill invites municipal courts in Pakistan to judge whether or not any “prejudice” was caused to Jadhav by the country’s failure to provide consular access. This effectively amounts to a municipal court sitting in appeal over an ICJ judgement, which the source notes is a “breach” of a basic tenet of international law.Case backgroundJadhav, a retired Navy officer, was arrested by Pakistani officials in March, 2016. While the Pakistani foreign office only made the details of arrest known on March 25 of that year through a press release, an FIR filed by Pakistani police in April notes that he was apprehended on March 3. On March 30, India sent its first reminder for consular access.Also read: Explainer | Kulbhushan Jadhav Case: The Legal ArgumentsPakistan had alleged that Jadhav was involved in acts of espionage and was arrested in Balochistan after entering Pakistan illegally, using a fake passport. India, on the other hand, claimed that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran’s Chabahar port, where he was running a business after retiring from the Navy and was taken to Pakistan.Jadhav was tried by a military court in Pakistan for charges under the Pakistani Army Act, 1952 and the Official Secrets Act, 1923. Throughout his trial, India repeatedly made demands for consular access, but these demands were repeatedly denied by Pakistan. On April 10, 2017, he was sentenced to death.Shortly after his sentencing, India moved the ICJ alleging violations of the VCCR.Two years after his sentencing, the ICJ ruled in India’s favour, noting that Pakistan failed to inform India of Jadhav’s arrest “without delay”, inform Jadhav of his rights under the VCCR or provide consular access to India. Also read: Kulbhushan Jadhav Case: ICJ Finds Pakistan in Breach of International LawFollowing the ICJ verdict and the promulgation of the Ordinance to provide steps to Jadhav to mount his appeal, Pakistani authorities claimed that he had refused to file a review petition. India stated that Jadhav was “obviously coerced” into rejecting the same. The Pakistan government then filed a case with the Islamabad high court to appoint a Pakistani lawyer to Jadhav, which New Delhi opposed, stressing the need to appoint him an Indian lawyer or a Queen’s counsel to ensure a free and fair trial. An impasse between the two nations ensued, still ongoing today, where the Pakistani court has continued to ask that a lawyer be appointed and India has continued to demand that they be given full and unrestricted consular access as well as an Indian lawyer.The last hearing in the case took place on October 5 where Pakistan, once again gave India time to find a lawyer to represent Jadhav. Pakistani attorney general Khalid Javed Khan noted that the message had been conveyed to India but the latter still demanded consular access to Jadhav in a closed room, which Pakistani authorities would not allow. The legal impasse continues to exist between the two nations and the next hearing is slated for December 9.