The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has come down in favour of a case brought by Australia and ruled Japan must immediately stop its whaling program in the Antarctic.
The ICJ’s 16-judge panel ruled 12 votes to four in favour of Australia’s argument that Japan’s whaling program was not in fact designed and carried out for scientific purposes.
Japan has said it will abide by the court decision, which is final and has no avenue for appeal.
The court ruled that Japan must revoke current whaling permits and refrain from issuing any more.
Japan has used the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which permits killing for research, to justify killing whales in the Antarctic.
However, the court’s judges agreed with Australia that the Japanese research, two peer-reviewed papers since 2005, based on results obtained from just nine killed whales, was not proportionate to the number of animals killed.
“In light of the fact the JARPA II research program has been going on since 2005, and has involved the killing of about 3600 minke whales, the scientific output to date appears limited,” presiding judge Peter Tomka of Slovakia said.
“Japan shall revoke any existent authorisation, permit or licence granted in relation to JARPA II and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance to the program.”
Japan signed a 1986 moratorium on whaling, but has continued to hunt up to 850 minke whales in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean each year.
Japan said in a statement that it was deeply disappointed with the ruling but it would comply with the decision.
While it has committed to abide by the court’s ruling, Japan would be free to continue whaling if it withdrew from the 1986 moratorium or the 1946 treaty.
Japan had argued it had complied with the moratorium despite its 2000-year tradition of whale hunting, leaving coastal communities in “anguish” because they can no longer practise their ancestral traditions.
Environment Minister in Australia’s former Labor government Peter Garrett, who launched the legal action in May 2010, said he was overjoyed by the finding.
“This is a comprehensive and resounding decision in Australia’s favour,” he told ABC News.
“It means we won’t see harpoons in the Southern Ocean, we certainly shouldn’t see them down there any longer.
Labor opposition shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus, who helped argue Australia’s case, said other countries may now follow Australia’s lead.
“This was a pioneering piece of litigation, the first time that there had been litigation in the International Court of Justice about an environmental treaty,” he said.
Australian Greens Party founder Dr Bob Brown declared on Twitter that the ICJ’s ruling was a “whale of a win”.
The Attorney-General in Australia’s current conservative Liberal-National government, Senator George Brandis, welcomed the court’s findings, noting that “both Australia and Japan have stated on a number of occasions that both countries will accept and respect the decision of the court”.
Senator Brandis said he did not think the decision will have an effect on free-trade talks between Australia and Japan.
He says the way both countries have conducted themselves throughout the case proves their relationship is strong.
“The fact that Australia and Japan were able to be in dispute on this narrow issue in the International Court of Justice, but nevertheless maintain an excellent relationship notwithstanding that difference, I think demonstrates very clearly what a strong relationship this is,” he said.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is heading to Japan later this month, where he hopes to finalise the trade agreement.
Whaling was once widespread around the world, but Japan is now one of only three countries, alongside Iceland and Norway, that continue the practice.
The meat is popular with some Japanese consumers, who consider it a delicacy.
Norway, the other main whaling nation, in 1993 shifted away from scientific whaling to “commercial” catches, where the meat is sold directly to consumers.
Iceland and Norway do not claim to be carrying out research, meaning the ICJ’s ruling has no immediate consequences for them.
However, activists said the ruling reflected a gradual changing of opinion that would put an end to whaling.
More than 10,000 whales have been killed since 1988 as a result of Japan’s programs.