The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday dismissed the case brought by the tiny Marshall Islands against India for failing to stop the nuclear arms race.

Judge Ronny Abraham said that the majority verdict by nine votes to seven the court upholds the objection to jurisdiction raised by India, and therefore the tribunal cannot proceed to the merits of the case.

The tribunal found that it lacked the jurisdiction in the case as there has been no prior recorded dispute or negotiations over the nuclear issue between the Marshall Islands and India.

In 2014, Marshall Islands had accused nine countries of failing to comply with the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) which seeks to inhibit the spread of atomic bombs.

However, the ICJ had already failed to take up cases against countries such as China, United States, France, Israel, North Korea and Russia, as they have not recognized the court’s jurisdiction.

Majuro has been maintained that Pakistan, India and Britain continued to breach their obligations under the treaty even though India and Pakistan have not signed the pact.

By Prajakt K