(June 7, 1996) The International Court of Justice at The Hague, otherwise known as the World Court, is now due to give its advisory opinion on probably the most politically explosive legal question ever put to a court.
(453.4483) WISE Amsterdam - In December 1994, despite desperate countermoves by the NATO nuclear weapon states, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution urgently asking the Court to answer the question: "Is the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstance permitted under international law?" At public hearings last November, sixteen anti-nuclear states withstood a great deal of pressure from the US, UK and France and presented well-argued submissions for illegality. China did not appear; and the remaining four nuclear states could get only Germany and Italy to testify in their favor (see related story WISE NC 443.4381). Reliable sources suggest that the fourteen judges are under pressure to delay the case, and even preferably to drop it. The British and French governments particularly fear confirmation by the Court that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is illegal would threaten their permanent seats on the UN Security Council, which they believe hinges on their possession of nuclear weapons.
It is rumoured that the Court may delay releasing its decision until after the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has been signed, because of the effect it might have on the negotiations - which are not going well. This is in line with US and UK statements to the Court last November warning it that an opinion "could seriously disrupt current arms control negotiations".
At a conference in Edinburgh of the International Law Association on 10 May, the former Court President Sir Robert Jennings said that budget cuts had forced the Court typing pool to be closed, and that the number of translators, already inadequate, is being cut. He warned: "The Court is being closed down." He appealed for it to "be protected at this decisive moment for this precious creation." Since then, the Court's Information Officer has been abruptly retired without replacement - at the very moment when media interest is growing about the outcome of the nuclear weapons issue.
Source: Pressrelease Rob Green, World Court Project, 23 May 1996
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