THE PROTECTION OF WHALES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE JUDGEMENT OF JAPAN - AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ON THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The most comprehensive arrangements for the protection of whales in international law are placed in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (IWCR). According to this agreement whales can be hunted for scientific purposes. There is also a decision prohibiting commercial whaling, taken by the Commission (IWC), which was set up to implement the provisions of the agreement. Japan based her whaling activities in Antarctica and Southern Ocean in the extent of JARPA II program on the provision of the agreement that allow whaling for scientific purposes. The legal issue was brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in order to resolve the dispute and to understand the scope of the dispute by Australia on the grounds that this activity constituted a breach of the relevant provision of the contract. As a result of this case, the ICJ concluded that the whaling program conducted by Japan for scientific research named JARPA II violated the provision of the contract which allows whaling for scientific purposes. In this article International Regulations on Whaling, and the decree of ICJ related to relevant dispute will be examined.