Country of Origin: AustraliaJapanCourt Name: International Court of JusticePrimary Citation: Whaling in the Antarctic (Austl. v. Japan), 2010 Judgment.Date of Decision: Monday, March 31, 2014Judge Name: TomkaAttorneys: Australia,
represented by
Mr. Bill Campbell, Q.C., General Counsel (International Law), Attorney-General’s
Department,
as Agent, Counsel and Advocate;
H.E. Mr. Neil Mules, A.O., Ambassador of Australia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
as Co-Agent;
The Honourable Mark Dreyfus, Q.C., M.P., former Attorney-General of Australia,
Mr. Justin Gleeson, S.C., Solicitor-General of Australia,
Mr. James Crawford, A.C., S.C., F.B.A., Whewell Professor of International Law,
University of Cambridge, member of the Institut de droit international, Barrister, Matrix
Chambers, London,
Mr. Henry Burmester, A.O., Q.C., Special Counsel, Australian Government Solicitor,
Mr. Philippe Sands, Q.C., Professor of Law, University College London, Barrister, Matrix
Chambers, London,
Ms Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Professor of International Law, University of Geneva,
as Counsel and Advocates;
Ms Kate Cook, Barrister, Matrix Chambers, London,
Mr. Makane Mbengue, Associate Professor, University of Geneva,
as Counsel;
Ms Anne Sheehan, Acting Assistant Secretary, Attorney-General’s Department,
Mr. Michael Johnson, Principal Legal Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
Ms Danielle Forrester, Principal Legal Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
Ms Stephanie Ierino, Acting Principal Legal Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
Ms Clare Gregory, Senior Legal Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
Ms Nicole Lyas, Acting Senior Legal Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
Ms Erin Maher, Legal Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
Mr. Richard Rowe, former Senior Legal Adviser, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Mr. Greg French, Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Mr. Jamie Cooper, Legal Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Ms Donna Petrachenko, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities,
Mr. Peter Komidar, Director, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population
and Communities,
Mr. Bill de la Mare, Scientist, Australian Antarctic Division, Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities,
Mr. David Blumenthal, former Senior Adviser, Office of the Attorney-General,
Ms Giulia Baggio, former Senior Adviser, Office of the Attorney-General,
Mr. Todd Quinn, First Secretary, Embassy of Australia in the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
as Advisers;
Ms Mandy Williams, Administration Officer, Attorney-General’s Department,
as Assistant,
and
Japan,
represented by
H.E. Mr. Koji Tsuruoka, Ambassador, Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement Negotiations,
as Agent;
H.E. Mr. Yasumasa Nagamine, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs,
H.E. Mr. Masaru Tsuji, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the
Kingdom of the Netherlands,
as Co-Agents;
Mr. Alain Pellet, Professor at the University of Paris Ouest, Nanterre-La Défense, President
of the Société française pour le droit international, member of the Institut de droit
international,
Mr. Vaughan Lowe, Q.C., member of the English Bar, Emeritus Professor of International
Law, Oxford University, member of the Institut de droit international,
Mr. Alan Boyle, Professor of International Law at the University of Edinburgh, member of
the English Bar,
Mr. Yuji Iwasawa, Professor of International Law at the University of Tokyo, member and
former Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee,
Mr. Payam Akhavan, LL.M., S.J.D. (Harvard), Professor of International Law, McGill
University, member of the Bar of New York and the Law Society of Upper Canada,
Mr. Shotaro Hamamoto, Professor of International Law, Kyoto University,
Ms Yukiko Takashiba, Deputy Director, ICJ Whaling Case Division, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
as Counsel and Advocates;
Mr. Takane Sugihara, Emeritus Professor of International Law, Kyoto University,
Ms Atsuko Kanehara, Professor of International Law, Sophia University (Tokyo),
Mr. Masafumi Ishii, Director-General, International Legal Affairs Bureau, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs,
Ms Alina Miron, Researcher, Centre de droit international de Nanterre (CEDIN), University
of Paris Ouest, Nanterre-La Défense,
as Counsel;
Mr. Kenji Kagawa, Deputy Director-General, Fisheries Agency,
Mr. Noriyuki Shikata, Minister, Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland,
Mr. Tomohiro Mikanagi, Director, International Legal Affairs Division, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
Mr. Joji Morishita, IWC Commissioner, Director-General, National Research Institute of Far
Seas Fisheries,
Mr. Tatsuo Hirayama, Director, Fishery Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Takero Aoyama, Director, ICJ Whaling Case Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Naohisa Shibuya, Deputy Director, ICJ Whaling Case Division, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs,
Ms Yuriko Akiyama, Ph.D., ICJ Whaling Case Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Masahiro Kato, ICJ Whaling Case Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Hideki Moronuki, Senior Fisheries Negotiator, International Affairs Division, Fisheries
Agency,
Mr. Takaaki Sakamoto, Assistant Director, International Affairs Division, Fisheries Agency,
Mr. Shinji Hiruma, Assistant Director, International Affairs Division, Fisheries Agency,
Mr. Sadaharu Kodama, Legal Adviser, Embassy of Japan in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands,
Mr. Nobuyuki Murai, LL.D., First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands,
Ms Risa Saijo, LL.M., Researcher, Embassy of Japan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
Ms Héloïse Bajer-Pellet, member of the Paris Bar,
as Advisers;
Mr. Douglas Butterworth , Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town,
Ms Judith E. Zeh, Ph.D., Research Professor Emeritus, University of Washington,
as Scientific Advisers and Experts;
Mr. Martin Pratt, Professor, Department of Geography, Durham University,
as Expert Adviser;
Mr. James Harrison, Ph.D., Lecturer in International Law, University of Edinburgh,
Ms Amy Sander, member of the English Bar,
Mr. Jay Butler, Visiting Associate Professor of Law, George Washington University Law
School, member of the New York Bar,
as Legal Advisers,
with New Zealand,
as a State whose Declaration of Intervention has been admitted by the Court,
represented by
Ms Penelope Ridings, International Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
as Agent, Counsel and Advocate;
H.E. Mr. George Troup, Ambassador of New Zealand to the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
as Co-Agent;
The Honourable Christopher Finlayson Q.C., M.P., Attorney-General of New Zealand,
as Counsel and Advocate;
Ms Cheryl Gwyn, Deputy Solicitor-General, Crown Law Office,
Ms Elana Geddis, Barrister, Harbour Chambers, Wellington,
as Counsel;
Mr. Andrew Williams, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Mr. James Christmas, Private Secretary, Attorney-General’s Office,
Mr. James Walker, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of New Zealand in the Kingdom of
the Netherlands,
Mr. Paul Vinkenvleugel, Policy Adviser, Embassy of New Zealand in the Kingdom of the
Netherlands,
as Advisers,
Summary:
In June 2010, Australia commenced proceedings against Japan at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging that Japan has continued an extensive whaling program in breach of its obligations as a signatory to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). At issue was the moratorium on commercial whaling agreed upon in the 1980s. According to Australia, though Japan claimed to be killing whales purely for scientific reasons, the true purpose of the program was commercial. Japan did not deny that it was killing whales in the Antarctic, but claimed instead that because the ICRW grants each nation state the right to issue licenses for scientific whaling as it sees fit, Japan’s whaling program was legal. The ICJ ruled that Japan's Antarctic whaling program was not actually for scientific whaling and must end.
Whaling in the Antarctic Judgment.pdf (633.83 KB)