Provisional measures in the Enrica Lexie case (Italy v. India): a tale of two orders

The arbitration that is currently pending between Italy and India before an arbitral tribunal established under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has already given rise to two separate orders, the former delivered by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in 2015 and the latter issued by the arbitral tribunal itself in 2016. Both orders relate, in broad terms, to the status of the two Italian marines who have been indicted by the Indian authorities for the lethal shooting of two Indian fishermen in 2012 and, in particular, to their right to remain in Italy until a decision is taken by the arbitral tribunal concerning the attribution to India or to Italy of the jurisdiction to try the case. The two orders differ in several respects and will be examined in a comparative fashion focusing in particular on the requirement of urgency, on the admissibility of the second request for provisional measures filed by Italy before the arbitral tribunal and, finally, on the measures granted