The International Court of Justice (ICJ) threw out an epic case brought by the tiny Marshall Islands against India for allegedly failing to halt the nuclear arms race.

Though the suits failed on procedural grounds, India, Pakistan and Britain were brought to the court to answer the complaint at public hearings in April.

The 16-judge bench at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) however was also to rule later in the day in separate decisions on whether the Pacific island nation’s David-versus-Goliath battle could continue against Pakistan and Britain.

The archipelago is seeking to shine a fresh spotlight on the global threat of nuclear weapons.

But in a majority verdict by nine votes to seven “the court upholds the objection to jurisdiction raised by India,” presiding judge Ronny Abraham said, and therefore the tribunal “cannot proceed to the merits of the case.”

According to the Judges, the Marshall Islands may not be satisfied with progress on nuclear disarmament, it had failed to show that it has any ongoing legal dispute with India fit for the court to adjudicate.

The treaty commits all nuclear weapon states “to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament.”

Tony deBrum, a former Marshall Islands foreign minister, said that, “Several islands in my country were vaporised and others are estimated to remain uninhabitable for thousands of years.”

It later rejected the Marshall Islands' suit against Pakistan on the same grounds. The third suit against Britain was also rejected by the UN top court.

The other nuclear powers including declared powers China, France, Russia and the United States, as well as undeclared nuclear states Israel and North Korea - did not respond to the suit the islands filed last year.

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Nandini