International Court of Justice to rule on Australia's case against Japanese whaling

Updated

Australia will learn later today whether its arguments against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean have been successful.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague will hand down its decision on Australia's claims that Japan's whaling program is a breach of the International Whaling Convention.

Despite an international whaling moratorium in force since 1986, Japan continues to catch whales in the Antarctic under the treaty, which allows unlimited whaling for scientific research.

Australia has told the court that Japan's so-called research-based whaling program is a parody of science driven by commercial considerations.

But Japan's lawyer Payam Akhavan argues Japan has complied with the moratorium despite a 2,000-year tradition of whale hunting, leaving coastal communities in "anguish" because they can no longer practice their ancestral traditions.

More than 10,000 whales have been killed since 1988 as a result of Japan's programs.

Professor of International Law Don Rothwell, from the Australian National University, says the court may decide to chart a middle course.

"Australia was able to present a very strong case before the court but, ultimately, Article VIII of the whaling convention does allow countries like Japan to take whales for special permit scientific purposes," he told ABC News 24.

"So [we] then come back to the critical question of how many whales could be legitimately taken under such special permits."

Topics: mammals---whales, international-law, animal-welfare, netherlands, japan, australia

First posted