Australia has launched proceedings in The Hague’s International Court of Justice to try and stop Japan from whaling in the South Pacific, as part of UN legal action initiated by Australia in 2010.
Written by Chris White
Lawyers representing Australia are set to argue that Japan’s “scientific whaling” programme which kills thousands of whales each year is simply a very poorly disguised attempt to engage in surreptitious commercial whaling.
There has been an international ban on commercial whaling since 1986, when some whale stocks were on the brink of collapse, threatening to extinct major species such as the Blue Whale.
The first round of litigation is set to begin today, with Australia as the tabling faction set on taking the floor first to argue against Japan’s continuing whaling activities over a period of three days lasting from today to next Friday, whereas Japanese representatives will make counter arguments over three days staring from next Tuesday.
The hearing is set to close in just over three weeks time on July 16th however, a ruling shall not be expected for several months.
The Japanese whaling fleet leaves for the Antarctic waters of the South Pacific in November or December, when it plans to catch and slaughter a quota of up to 1,000 minke and fin whales for what the Japan’s government defends as “scientific purposes”, from which whale meat will be sold commercially in Japan’s fish markets.
Japanese whale catches have fallen substantially in recent years due partly to ever concerted efforts to prevent whaling through direction action, with anti-whaling activists physically disrupting whaling expeditions with their own ships.
Australian officials argue that the whaling programme is in violation of international law, is not in any tenable sense “scientific” and has nothing to do with marine conservation.
Representing Australia in Court Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said: “Australia’s views on whaling are well established. We strongly oppose all commercial whaling, including so-called ‘scientific’ whale hunting by Japan. Australia’s views on whaling are well established. We strongly oppose all commercial whaling, including so-called ‘scientific’ whale hunting by Japan. We want to see the practice halted once and for all.”
So far it is estimated that up to 10,000 whales have been slaughtered under Japan’s “scientific” whaling programme, but Japan’s government argues that its whaling is sustainable.
Responding to allegations of illicit whaling Japanese government spokesman Noriyuki Shikata said: “We have a scientific research programme in accordance with the convention on whaling and we are strictly abiding by the treaty obligations.”
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