International court declines to act in marines case

(ANSA) - Rome, August 24 - the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) decided Monday not to take action on an ongoing dispute between India and Italy over two Italian marines. The 21-member UN-mandated court located in Hamburg issued the ruling with 15 in favor and six against. It also invited both parties to "suspend ongoing judicial initiatives and to abstain from undertaking new ones that could aggravate the dispute". Italy had petitioned the ITLOS to allow for the return from India of marine Salvatore Girone and to allow fellow marine Massimiliano Latorre to remain in Italy - where he has been on an India-granted medical leave since last summer.