Many would recall the high profile case of mistaken identity of F/V St. Antony that led to the death of two Indian fishermen in 2012. The Enrica Lexie turned out to be a jurisdiction battle between India and Italy. 8 years later that part has been resolved by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Enrica Lexie (EL), an Italian flagged ship, was sailing to Egypt with 6 Italian marines onboard to provide protection against piracy. When approx. 21 nm off the Indian coast, a boat was spotted approaching her. Marines mistook it to be a pirate boat and shot 2 Indian fishermen. EL allegedly had implemented a range of measures to communicate with the boat before shooting. Marines also said that they saw armed men with black belts on their shoulders on the boat. Multiple members of EL’s crew testified to the contrary.
On the question of jurisdiction, PCA said that the two marines were entitled to immunity from prosecution in India.
Were the marines under a reasonable apprehension of a security threat? It seems 'yes'. As per PCA, the marines did not target the boat as a fishing vessel, but on the suspicion that it was a pirate vessel and was therefore not a violation of UNCLOS.
The only promising takeaway for India was that it can receive financial compensation.
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