The Consequences of the ICJ Decision in the Whaling Case for Antarctica and the Antarctic Treaty System

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-187
Author(s):  
Michael Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
International Convention ◽  
International Court ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
Treaty Body ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

This paper identifies parts of the International Court of Justice’s judgment in Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening) that might hold broader relevance beyond the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and explores what that might entail for the Antarctic Treaty System. There are four aspects explored. First, an analysis of the Court’s treatment of Japan’s challenge to jurisdiction that touched upon the relevance or otherwise of Antarctic sovereignty to the issues at hand in the case. Second, the Court’s drawing of important conclusions from the Whaling Convention’s status as an ‘evolving instrument’, in light of it having a treaty body with ongoing decision making responsibility will be discussed. Third, to what extent might the Court’s assessment of the concept of ‘science’ in a legal context find relevance in Antarctic obligations will be analysed. Finally, the success of the claim brought by Australia, and the manner in which the Court addressed the issues before it, and whether they bear any consequences for potential, future environmental cases, will be discussed.

Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand Intervening) (I.C.J.)

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Peel
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Scientific Merit ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Icj ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Environmental Decision

On March 31, 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its judgment in the case of Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand Intervening) (Whaling Decision). In what is perhaps its most important environmental decision to date, the ICJ ordered Japan to halt its whaling program in the Southern Ocean, finding the program lacked scientific merit and breached requirements of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW).

Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities: a major addition to the Antarctic Treaty System

Polar Record ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 25 (152) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Resource ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Environment ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

AbstractIn June 1988, at the final session of the Fourth Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA) was adopted, bringing to a successful conclusion six years of negotiations. Christopher Beeby, chairman of the discussions, presented the convention as the most important political development affecting Antarctica since the 1959 treaty, especially as it established the ability of the Antarctic Treaty System to reach an internal accommodation even upon matters raising serious political, legal, environmental and other issues. There remain uncertainties regarding the future development of the Antarctic minerals question; for example, when will the minerals convention and the proposed institutional framework come into effect, will its ratification encourage mining, can the fragile Antarctic environment be adequately protected against mining, how will certain key terms and concepts be defined, and will the regime's operation bring latent tensions to the surface? It is also difficult to predict how other governments will react to the convention, in the light of recent UN resolutions on Antarctica. The convention is perceived within the Antarctic Treaty system as a significant development, but it will be some time before a considered evaluation of the Antarctic Minerals Regime can be conducted.

Conceptions and (Mis)conceptions of Science in International Treaties; the ICJ Whaling Case in Context

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 607-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan Gogarty
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Commercial Whaling ◽  
The Antarctic

The recent judgment in the International Court of Justice case Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening) determined that Japanese ‘special permit’ whaling in the Southern Ocean was not ‘for the purposes of scientific research’. This is the only exemption permitted under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling’s current moratorium on commercial whaling. The Court made its determination by characterising the Japanese research program as a scientific program, but failing to define what scientific research actually was or was not. This paper presents the background to the decision, and challenges the reasoning of the Court and its standard of review test. It concludes that the Court failed to take the opportunity to offer a clear determination to states on their legal–scientific obligations within international law.

scholarly journals Tripartite periodization of the Antarctic Treaty System from a systemic perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (56) ◽  
pp. 37-56
Author(s):  
Mônica Heinzelmann Portella de Aguiar
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
International Regime ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

In 1959, twelve countries with a strong record of interest in Antarctica signed a Treaty allowing accessibility to all signatories wishing to conduct peaceful scientific research. The Antarctic Treaty established science and international cooperation as its cornerstones but raised controversies because of its hosting of sovereignty claims over Antarctic territory. This research aims to fill a gap in literature proposing a strict periodization of the Antarctic Treaty System under a systemic perspective. The paper also examines Brazil's accession into the Treaty. Using as indicators of legitimacy the increase in membership and the transparency of decision-making processes, the author argues that the Antarctic Treaty System has become recognized as a legitimate international regime.

Whale

2018 ◽  
pp. 539-552
Author(s):  
Malgosia Fitzmaurice
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Acceptable Solution ◽  
International Convention ◽  
International Whaling Commission ◽  
International Court ◽  
Contemporary Status ◽  
The Antarctic

This chapter discusses the totemic object of the whale. It analyses the provisions of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling and the work of the International Whaling Commission. It gives a detailed analysis of the contemporary status of whaling activities provided for under the Whaling Convention: commercial; scientific; and Indigenous; all eliciting conflicting and emotional reactions for the member states of the International Whaling Commission. The whale can also be seen as an object of consumption, which leads to very strong reactions. It appears that at present there is no acceptable solution to reconcile such divergent attitudes. The chapter also deals with the 2014 case before the International Court of Justice, concerning scientific whaling in the Antarctic (Australia, New Zealand intervening v Japan), which serves as an excellent example of problems and conflict of whaling. Whaling appears to be a Gordian Knot of contemporary international law.

scholarly journals Whales, science, and scientific whaling in the International Court of Justice

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (51) ◽  
pp. 14523-14527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Mangel
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Convention ◽  
International Whaling Commission ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Antarctic

I provide a brief review of the origins of the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling and the failure to successfully regulate whaling that led to the commercial moratorium in 1986. I then describe the Japanese Whale Research Programs Under Special Permit in the Antarctica (JARPA I, JARPA II) and the origins of the caseWhaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand Intervening)in the International Court of Justice. I explain that the International Court of Justice chose to conduct an objective review of JARPA II, the standard that it used for the review, and the pathway that it took to adjudicate the case without providing a definition of science to be used in international law. I conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of the Judgment for the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, and the International Whaling Commission in particular, for other international treaties, and for the interaction of science and law more generally.

An Overview of the Antarctic Treaty System and Applicable New Zealand Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-107
Author(s):  
Trevor Daya-Winterbottom
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Look Back ◽  
The Future ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Ross Dependency ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

The Antarctic Treaty 1959 has now been in place for 60 years and is regarded by informed commentators as one of the most successful multi-party international treaty systems. This paper provides an opportunity to look back and take stock of previous success, and more importantly, an opportunity to assess the future prospects of the treaty system. New Zealand has played a key role in the Antarctic Treaty system and has had a long involvement with Antarctica since accepting the transfer of sovereignty over the Ross Dependency in 1923. This paper therefore focuses on the effectiveness of the Antarctic Treaty system through a New Zealand lens.

scholarly journals Race Discrimination Effaced at the International Court of Justice

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 339-344
Author(s):  
Cathryn Costello ◽  
Michelle Foster
Keyword(s):  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Race Discrimination ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Treaty Body ◽  
The Icj

This essay examines the interpretation of the core international treaty dedicated to the elimination of racial discrimination, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and in particular how the prohibition on race discrimination applies to the treatment of migrants. This essay is timely, as CERD has travelled from the margins of human rights law to the center of the hottest interstate lawfare. At the time of writing, the first ever interstate dispute before any UN treaty body is before the CERD Committee, and CERD has been invoked in several interstate cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Unfortunately, this crucible of adjudication has not marked an increase in principled interpretation. This essay critiques the recent admissibility ruling of the ICJ in Qatar v. U.A.E. for its marginalization of the prohibition of race discrimination, in particular the failure meaningfully to consider how nationality discrimination may constitute prohibited race discrimination.

SOVEREIGNTY, SCIENCE, AND CETACEANS: THE WHALING IN THE ANTARCTIC CASE

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-44
Author(s):  
Brendan Plant
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
International Convention ◽  
International Dispute ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Commercial Whaling ◽  
Considerable Controversy ◽  
The Antarctic

THE issue of whaling has been the subject of considerable controversy in recent years, as the international community remains divided as to how the world's marine resources should be managed: some states prioritise conservation, while others favour sustainable exploitation. Against this background, Australia initiated proceedings against Japan before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May 2010, claiming that Japan's continuing whaling activities, carried out under the guise of scientific research, were in breach of its various obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). New Zealand later intervened in the proceedings, exercising its right under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute, and oral pleadings involving the three states were held in June and July 2013. On 31 March 2014, the ICJ delivered its judgment in Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan, New Zealand Intervening), finding that Japan had violated three provisions of the ICRW – the moratorium on commercial whaling, the ban on factory ships, and the prohibition on whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary – by authorising the killing of certain whale species as part of its JARPA II research programme. The decision has largely been welcomed, especially by environmental activists, for offering a measure of protection to endangered marine life, but the judgment carries broader significance for its treatment of a number of points of international law, including the standard of review exercised by international courts, the role of scientific reasoning in international dispute settlement, and the interpretation of treaties.

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