22 June 2006
Japan's symbolic win this week on the whaling moratorium has placed it in a legally stronger position than the anti-whaling nations, a Monash University law academic has said.
The current moratorium was established 20 years ago in the face of unquestionable evidence of an absolute decline in whale numbers of many species. Subject to administrative procedure, the moratorium was lawfully passed and is binding on all IWC members. Of crucial importance is that it requires a 75 per cent majority to overturn the moratorium.
International maritime law expert Dr Eric Wilson, from Monash's Law School,said the single-vote win was significant as it reiterated the moratorium's temporary nature.
He said the vote meant the majority of International Whaling Convention (IWC) members had re-affirmed their understanding of the convention as a conservationist (limited hunting) document, not a preservationist (zero hunting) one, and placed them in a stronger legal position.
"If incontrovertible proof of sustainable whale species numbers can be provided, then the continuation of the moratorium - at least as it applies for those 'safe' species - is illegal, and the anti-whaling nations will be in breach of their fundamental treaty obligations," Dr Wilson said.
"In this event, pro-whalers would be in a lawful position to either resume commercial hunting unilaterally, or even secede from the IWC and establish a rival conservationist global whaling treaty of their own."
Dr Wilson said this would shift the legal burden to anti-whaling nations who would have to prove their repeated support of the moratorium did not constitute a breach of their treaty obligations.
"The legality of the moratorium is dependent on either positive evidence of low numbers of whales or reasonable uncertainty as to total numbers," he said." Every session of the IWC, therefore, consists in large part of factional disputes over the proper scientific methodology to be employed in calculating whale numbers."
For further information contact Dr Wilson on +61 3 9350 6671 or Ms Natasha Whalley, Media Communications on +61 3 9905 9201 or 0437 458 457.
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