Global Greens welcome International Court of Justice whaling decision

The Global Greens whole-heartedly welcome this week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice to end Japan’s so-called ‘scientific’ whaling in Antarctic waters and not grant future permits under the current research programme. In response to a case started by Australia in 2010, the Court found that Japan’s whaling program in the Southern Ocean was not scientific and was therefore illegal under the rules of the International Whaling Commission. This decision is the culmination of a decades-long campaign by Greens and community groups to stop commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean and allow whale populations to recover. The Japanese government has said it will abide by the Court’s ruling and the Greens hope that this will mark the beginning of the end of commercialwhaling world-wide. The International Court of Justice can only hear cases brought by one government against another.

The Global Greens have long supported the creation of an international court of justice specifically for environmental destruction and the loss of biodiversity where cases can be heard against corporations, nation states and individuals. The Global Greens is the world’s network of over 90 Green parties and political movements committed to ecological wisdom, social justice, democracy and peace.

Read more: International Court of Justice has ordered Japan to revoke its scientific whaling permits and not grant future permits under the current research programme.