Scientists and the Development of Nuclear Weapons: From Fission to the Limited Test Ban Treaty, 1939-1963. Lawrence Badash

Isis ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-159
Author(s):  
Stuart W. Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Test Ban ◽  
Test Ban Treaty

Nuclear Powers' Disarmament Obligation under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Interactions between Soft Law and Hard Law

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALESSANDRA PIETROBON
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Nuclear Test ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
The Us ◽  
Test Ban ◽  
Nuclear Test Ban ◽  
Test Ban Treaty

AbstractThe Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) will not be effective until all the 44 states listed in its Annex 2 ratify it. A special link has been established between the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the CTBT. The disarmament obligation set by Article VI of the NPT, which has not yet been complied with, remains highly controversial. The relevant subsequent practice of the states parties to the NPT shows that the ratification of the CTBT is to be considered the first of the practical steps towards compliance with Article VI. However, as the practical steps do not set any legally binding norms, there is no legal obligation to ratify the CTBT, not even for the 44 states listed in Annex 2 whose ratification is essential. The paper deals with the position of nuclear powers party to the NPT that have not yet ratified the CTBT (most prominently the US and China) and demonstrates that these states should at least provide detailed motivation for their conduct. Otherwise, other states parties to the NPT could consider them as not complying in good faith with Article VI of the NPT and invoke the inadimplenti non est ademplendum rule to justify breaches of their own obligations under the same treaty.

Part II Predominant Security Challenges and International Law, International Security, Ch.18 Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament under International Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asada Masahiko
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
International Security ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Nuclear Test ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
History Of ◽  
Test Ban ◽  
Test Ban Treaty

This chapter traces the history of attempts and achievements in regulating the use of nuclear energy and material, focusing on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Ever since its invention, the nuclear weapon has occupied a special place in the global security order, both militarily and politically, due to its extraordinary destructive power. This picture is further complicated by the fact that nuclear material has both military and civilian uses. Civilian use of nuclear material includes generating electricity through nuclear reactors. Nuclear material also has medical, agricultural, and other peaceful applications, such as its use in the treatment of cancer. The chapter assesses in detail such treaties as the Partial Test Ban Treaty, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It also looks at the current challenges involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran.

Confronting the Nuclear-Armed States in International Negotiating Forums: Lessons for NGOs

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Limited Effectiveness ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Comprehensive Test ◽  
Test Ban ◽  
Test Ban Treaty

AbstractThe role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is examined in nuclear weapons related negotiations in the 1990s regarding the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Such negotiations have been an occasion for NGOs to voice public aspirations for an end to the nuclear threat, and in this way to help stimulate some progress, but generally not to influence substantively the terms of the instruments under negotiation. An NGO initiative led to the failed PTBT Amendment Conference which however helped to spur the eventual successful negotiation of the CTBT. At the NPT Extension Conference, one coalition of NGOs assisted in the achievement of US government objectives of obtaining indefinite extension and commitments to negotiation of a CTBT and a fissile materials production cutoff. Other NGOs advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons failed to decisively affect the outcome of the Conference, but the experience served as the catalyst for the development of an ongoing large international network. NGOs seeking the express criminalization of the employment of nuclear weapons in the ICC Statute succeeded only in preserving issues with regard to indiscriminate weapons for future negotiations. NGOs' access to the negotiations regarding the CTBT and NPT was extremely limited. Effectiveness of NGOs in this field could be enhanced by increasing access; by forming closer working relationships with states supporting nuclear disarmament; and by intensifying the interaction between NGO advocacy at the national and international levels.

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