Conventional international law contains various limitations on nuclear weapons, such as possession, testing, deployment, use or threat of use. There are a number of general principles of customary nature that could be considered as well with reference to the legality of these weapons of mass destruction. It is argued that given the current threats in the nuclear proliferation, a comprehensive abolition of nuclear weapons through international legal instruments is crucial. This article examines the jurisprudence of the International court of justice (ICJ) on the question of the legality of nuclear weapons in the light of progressive development of international law and recent state practice. It is suggested that modern technological and political developments in the area of nuclear weapons might be supportive of another advisory opinion by the ICJ that could enhance the debate on the comprehensive legal prohibition of nuclear weapons. Possible subject-matter to be included in a request to the ICJ to render an advisory opinion might be whether nuclear-weapon States fulfil their obligation and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to the comprehensive and effective abolition of these weapons of mass destruction. The article concludes that an appropriate framing of the request would reinforce the practical measures towards effective nuclear disarmament under the law. The ICJ could contribute to changing the whole concept of global and individual States’ security based on a comprehensive convention creating legal obligations for both states and non-states actors.
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3 comments to Are Nuclear Weapons Illegal? The Role of Public International Law and the International Court of Justice |
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[...] post: Are Nuclear Weapons Illegal? The Role of Public International Law … Post a [...]
Let’s for God’s sake, stop thinking of nation and national leaders when thinking about nuclear weaponry. It’s not even “weaponry.” It’s the gateway to Armagaddon. Nations don’t “die”. They have no blood like us humans. They don’t dream or go to the bathroom. THEY ARE POLITICAL FICTION WE HAVE CREATED IN OUR IGNORANCE! They were a response to feudalism as Alvin Toffler and others have pointed out ad nauseum. Anyu and all national so-called leaders who claim that nuclear is “on the table” are ENEMIES OF HUMANITY. That “gun” us pointing at us all. Our human problem is only one: SURVIVAL! This computer I am writing on is multiplied by the millions throughout the world, especially by kids of 11-year’s old. They think we adults are insane to even contemplate the use of such instruments of total annihilation. Einstein, the granddaddy of the nuclear age told us the blinding truth: eliminate war or it will eliminate us. What’s the matter with us? Do we have a death wish? Are we so blinded by our nationalistic and religious “beliefs” that we are willing to die to defend them against…..whom? Other humans? This writer was bombing humans like you at age 21 in a B-17. My brother was blown to bits while on a tin-can destroyer at Salerno. Then Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I opted out of the war game. Renounced nationalism. Claimed world citizenship. And you, reading this? Are you willing to die so that humanity lives? Soldiers kill and die for a fiction.Time is short. 9 men have their fingers poised over nuclear triggers. THEY ARE YOUR PRESENT LEADERS. YUou are at fault therefore. Bottom line: It is your world. Better claim it before it’s gone. Garry Davis
Let’s for God’s sake, stop thinking of nation and national leaders when thinking about nuclear weaponry. It’s not even “weaponry.” It’s the gateway to Armagaddon. Nations don’t “die”. They have no blood like us humans. They don’t dream or go to the bathroom. THEY ARE POLITICAL FICTION WE HAVE CREATED IN OUR IGNORANCE! They were a response to feudalism as Alvin Toffler and others have pointed out ad nauseum. Any and all national so-called leaders who claim that nuclear is “on the table” are ENEMIES OF HUMANITY. That “gun” us pointing at us all. Our human problem is only one: SURVIVAL! This computer I am writing on is multiplied by the millions throughout the world, especially by kids of 11-year’s old. They think we adults are insane to even contemplate the use of such instruments of total annihilation. Einstein, the granddaddy of the nuclear age told us the blinding truth: eliminate war or it will eliminate us. What’s the matter with us? Do we have a death wish? Are we so blinded by our nationalistic and religious “beliefs” that we are willing to die to defend them against…..whom? Other humans? This writer was bombing humans like you at age 21 in a B-17. My brother was blown to bits while on a tin-can destroyer at Salerno. Then Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I opted out of the war game. Renounced nationalism. Claimed world citizenship. And you, reading this? Are you willing to die so that humanity lives? Soldiers kill and die for a fiction.Time is short. 9 men have their fingers poised over nuclear triggers. THEY ARE YOUR PRESENT LEADERS. You are at fault therefore. Bottom line: It is your world. Better claim it before it’s gone. Garry Davis