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Customary International Law and Whaling

            International customary law is the original source of law that governs the behaviour of sovereign States. This was codified as a source of law in Article 38(1)(b) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice The role of international custom has significantly changed in the modern day as the compass of treaty law has grown and expanded. The process of identifying universal custom with over 200 independent States and varying political and legal orientations is difficult and troublesome. One area of customary law that has generated debate is commercial whaling for human consumption. Proving custom amidst the backdrop of objecting nations, ineffective institutions, pirate States, coercion and no clear universal acquiescence is challenging. .
             For the purposes of this essay, aboriginal subsistence whaling will not be considered as it does not come under the definition of a "national fishing fleet.".
             The necessary test to establish international customary law is empirical rather than a normative approach. Consequently it draws the distinction between lex lata and lex ferenda. A court must establish a general acceptance of the rule, firstly by proving that State practice is both extensive and virtually uniform, including those States that will be affected by the norm , and secondly that compliance to the rule is derived from a sense of legal obligation rather than comity - opinio juris necessitates. This former element was first enunciated by the Permanent Court of International Justice in the Lotus Case. .
             Historically, the right to whale for human consumption has been a part of international customary law. The massive depletion in whale stocks brought about the 1946 International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) which duly established the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The convention has 48 parties which are all members of the IWC. .
             A proposal by the Republic of Seychelles at the 34th annual meeting of the IWC in 1982 established a moratorium on commercial whaling.


Essays Related to Customary International Law and Whaling

1. Australia's Relations With Japan And Other Pro-Whaling Nations

Commercial whaling is the focus of a debate between pro-whaling nations such as Japan and Norway and anti-whaling nations like Australia, United States and the UK. ... This small-scale coastal whaling is prohibited by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). ... Because of evidence like this, authorities are almost positive illegal hunting is continuing despite international agreements protecting these species. ... This view is proven on the websites of many international animal welfare and conservation organisations. ... It includes economic and political factors, sovereign rights, cultur...

  • Word Count: 939
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Australia's Relations with Jap

Commercial whaling is the focus of a debate between pro-whaling nations such as Japan and Norway and anti-whaling nations like Australia, United States and the UK. ... This small-scale coastal whaling is prohibited by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). ... Because of evidence like this, authorities are almost positive illegal hunting is continuing despite international agreements protecting these species. ... This view is proven on the websites of many international animal welfare and conservation organisations. ... It includes economic and political factors, sovereign rights, cultur...

  • Word Count: 939
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Harmful Effects of Whaling

In the past, the profit from whaling was huge, not only because every part of the whales' carcass was used, but whaling also provided a significant number of employment opportunities. ... Moreover, whaling countries can damage their economics by frightening away hundreds of anti-whaling tourists every year. ... To increase, or at least stabilize, the number of the most threatened types, seven out of the eleven greater whale species are currently on the international endangered list which means hunting the listed whales is illegal. ... Today, commercial whaling is an illegal activity in...

  • Word Count: 744
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Whaling

In 1983 the International Whaling Convention declared a global moratorium on whaling, but included a clause allowing for countries to issue whaling licenses for scientific research. Using this loophole, Japan implemented a whaling research program that takes an average of 500 Minke whales per year. ... (Normile, 2000) The research program is trying to develop a resource management plan for Minke whaling. ... (Young, 2000) There is no easy solution to the problem of whaling. ... In 1986, when the national moratorium on whaling was declared, many whale populations were near extinction. ...

  • Word Count: 719
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Nature Of International Law

INTERNATIONAL LAW QUESTION: Is international law "law"? ... Customary international law arises through the "general practice" of states" legally relevant actions resulting in stable expectations, and ultimately in rules widely believed by states to be legal requirements. ... States cannot fail to participate in the formation of customary international law concerning their behavior, as it is a product of long term, legally relevant interactions. ... Or they may agree to talk about international law as if it were law, a sort of quasi-law or near-law. ... In this sense, international la...

  • Word Count: 1372
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Whaling

The main issue is whether or not humans need to be concerned about the effects that whaling is having on the population and if whaling is purely to blame for large population decreases. ... The Blue whale had roughly around 150,000 before commercial whaling but now most likely less then 20,000. ... However there are also some points as to why the whaling industry is not such a bad thing to have in today's world. ... There are often strict sanctions imposed against people whaling in Australian waters. ... The only real factor that s documented for such massive population loss is the affe...

  • Word Count: 1244
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography

7. Australian Contemporary Laws and Aboriginal Customary Laws

What are the difference between Aboriginal customary laws and Australian contemporary laws? Aboriginal customary laws, before white settlement in 1788, were considered primitive by the British, if considered at all. ... This was later combined with equity law and mercantile law, which is the basis of Australian law today, known as "statute law". ... Public law is an individual versus the Australian government, for example, criminal law, constitutional law and environmental law. ... Private law involves disputes between private citizens or entities, for example, contract law, family law a...

  • Word Count: 614
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Public International Law

INTRODUCTION Public International Law governs the conduct of states and international organisations such as the United Nations (UN)1, and the relations between them. Areas of public international law include air law, diplomatic relations, the law of armed conflict, environmental law and trade law.2 Therefore, the International Rule of Law is within the context of Public International Law since the rule of law is generally supported at the international level. ... Treaties7 are the main sources of international law. Among other things, international law also deals with other international i...

  • Word Count: 2663
  • Approx Pages: 11
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. New England Whaling

Whaling is a business, an economic endeavor. ... The first type of whaling done was shore whaling. ... The Dutch controlled whaling during the 17th century. ... Whaling was at its peak in New England from 1800-1860, and whaling profits made these seaports some of the wealthiest in America. ... New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established in 1996 to preserve and interpret America's nineteenth century whaling history. ...

  • Word Count: 811
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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