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Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening)

País/Territorio
Australia
Tipo de la corte
Corte internacional
Fecha
Mar 31, 2014
Fuente
UNEP, InforMEA
Nombre del tribunal
International Court of Justice
Idioma
Inglés
Materia
Cuestiones jurídicas, Pesca
Resumen

Australia accused Japan of pursuing “a large-scale program of whaling under the Second Phase of its Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the Antarctic (‘JARPA II’)”, in breach of obligations assumed by Japan under the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Art VIII para 1 of the 1946 Convention states that the parties “may grant to any of [their] nationals a special permit authorizing that national to kill, take and treat whales for purposes of scientific research.” The Court observed that, although Art VIII gives discretion to a State Party to a Convention to reject the request for a special permit, whether the killing, taking and treating of whales pursuant to a requested special permit is for purposes of scientific research cannot depend simply on that State’s perception. In the view of the Court, the two elements of the phrase for purposes of (1) scientific research (2) are cumulative. The Court found that JARPA II could broadly be described as a “scientific research” programme. It then turned to the question of whether it was for purposes of scientific research that lethal methods were used. The Court examined whether the programme’s design and implementation were reasonable in relation to achieving its stated research objectives. The Court considered that the evidence before it did not establish that such was the case. It concluded that the special permits issued by Japan for the killing, taking and treating of whales in connection with JARPA II were not granted “for purposes of scientific research” pursuant to Art VIII, para 1, of the 1946 Convention. The Court also founded that Japan had breached the moratoriums on commercial whaling and factory ships, and the prohibition on commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Since JARPA II was an ongoing programme, it ordered Japan to revoke any extant authorization, permit or licence to kill, take or treat whales in relation to JARPA II, and to refrain from granting any further permits under Art VIII, para 1, of the Convention in pursuance of that programme.

Abstract based on:  http://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/148

Texto completo
148-20140331-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf
Página web
www.icj-cij.org