The Whaling Issue in International Law: the contentious case of Japan

Abstract

Whaling represents one of the most controversial contemporary issues in international ocean governance and the conservation of marine living resources. This thesis examines the whaling issue within the legal context of international law and analyzes the treaties and conventions created for the protection of whales. The first chapter provides a brief history of whaling and describes its early attempts of regulation through the establishment of the ICRW. The following chapter is focused on the role of the IWC in developing meaningful protective measures for whales, with particular reference to the moratorium on commercial whaling (1982) and the ongoing debate between pro-whaling and anti-whaling countries. The third chapter analyzes the Whaling in the Antarctic case (2014) where Australia instituted proceedings against Japan denouncing JARPA II scientific-research program before the ICJ. The analysis of the case will mainly focus on the significance and implications of the ICJ judgment. Since Japan persists as the most prominent whaling country in the world, the dissertation will follow with the analysis of the pro-whaling policies of the Japanese Government and the country's position in the current international discourse of the "whaling problem". The paper offers a deeper focus on the traditional "whale-eating culture" of Japan and the anti-whaling campaigns born to oppose the continuation of this practice. Eventually, the final chapter discusses about the future of whaling offering different possible scenarios for the conservation of whales and reflecting over the emergence of whale protection as a moral and juridical concept that could influence its possible evolution into a norm of customary law.