Legal Analysis of the judgment of the International Court of Justice on the Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening)

Environmental protection is confronted by many political, economic, and social problems. In the case regarding Whaling in the Antarctic, (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand Intervening) in March 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided that the Japanese whaling programme in the Antarctic (JARPA II, in force since 2005) did not consider as a “scientific research objectives.” In this perspective, the Court concluded that the catching, taking and killing of whales under this programme did not qualify as an exemption provided in the Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (1964), which authorizes the contracting parties the capture of whales for scientific research purposes. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the ICJ’s judgment in this case and to demonstrate the opportunities and challenges of this judgment in the progressive development of international environmental law.