"Five countries cannot arrogate
to themselves forever the exclusive privilege of having their fingers
on the nuclear trigger…. If the laws of humanity and the dictates of the
public conscience demand the prohibition of such weapons, the five nuclear-weapon
states, however powerful, cannot stand against them."--
Razali Ismail, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations,
to the International Court of Justice, 7 Nov. 1995
By John Burroughs
Forward by Phon van den Biesen
International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Lit Verlag, Muenster, 1997
The 20th century has been defined in large part by the
unleashing of the terrible destructive power of the atom, and the subsequent
struggle to overcome the threat of nuclear annihilation. If humankind
survives, the 8 July 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court
of Justice, and the extraordinary process that led up to it, will have
played an essential role. The Legality of Threat or Use of Nuclear
Weapons is a concise yet thorough guide to the case. In straightforward
language, it describes the history of this unprecedented initiative and
summarizes and explains the Court's findings, and the separate statements
of the judges. States' arguments to the Court, including the moving
testimony of the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are also described
and excerpted. The author provides cogent expert analysis and, most
importantly, reveals how the opinion imparts hope and points the way to
the future:
The Court has authoritatively interpreted law which states
acknowledge they must follow, including humanitarian law protecting
civilians from indiscriminate effects of warfare, the United Nations
Charter, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The implications
are profound: abandonment of reliance on the threatened use of nuclear
weapons as an instrument of national policy, and expeditious elimination
of nuclear arsenals. The opinion can be cited as an authoritative
statement of the law in any political or legal setting -- including
the United Nations and national courts and parliaments -- in which nuclear
weapon policies are challenged.
John Burroughs, an attorney with the non-profit Western
States Legal Foundation in California, served as legal coordinator for
the World Court Project/International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear
Arms at the November 1995 hearings before the International Court of Justice.
"The threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally
be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict,
and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law ... There
exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion
negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict
and effective international control." - Advisory Opinion of the International
Court of Justice, 8 July 1996
"This book shows how courageous states from the developing
world, working in concert with visionary lawyers, physicians and other
sectors of international civil society, boldly obtained astonishing results
from the highest court in the world. The World Court clearly ruled
that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is illegal in almost all conceivable
circumstances. The Court further underlined the unconditional obligation
of the nuclear weapon states to begin and conclude negotiations on nuclear
disarmament in all its aspects. It is now up to all of us to determine
the follow-up, whatever the opposition. We cannot end this century without
clear commitments and steps to eliminate nuclear weapons." - Razali Ismail,
Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations, President
of the United Nations General Assembly, 1996-1997
"It is not often that a judicial opinion on a given question
is both hailed and criticized by participants on all sides of the question.
This book, written by a leading member of the team that helped to prepare
the case on the illegality of the threat and use of nuclear weapons, explains
succinctly what the World Court, and the judges in their separate statements,
did and did not say. In so doing, it makes a compelling case for
the proposition that the Opinion represents a milestone on the road to
nuclear abolition." - Peter Weiss, Co-President, International Association
of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
THE LEGALITY OF THREAT OR USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS:
A GUIDE TO THE HISTORIC OPINION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Available from Western States Legal Foundation
Price $12 for North America (includes shipping) (contact ialana@antenna.nl re price
for other parts of the world)
Number of copies: _______________________________
Name: ___________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Amount enclosed: $ ______________________________
Please make check payable to Western States Legal Foundation.
Include this form. Mail to:
Western States Legal Foundation 1440 Broadway, Suite 500
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Phone: (510) 839-5877 Fax: (510) 839-5397
E-mail: wslf@igc.apc.org
Western States Legal Foundation belongs to Abolition 2000, a Global
Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons.
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