World Court Project
IALANA, in conjunction with the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) led World Court Project, a world-wide campaign that resulted in an historic opinion from the International Court of Justice ICJ) in July 1996. The ICJ ruled that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is generally illegal, and that states have an obligation to conclude negotiations on their elimination..
The Advisory Opinion is a milestone in the struggle to abolish nuclear weapons, since its specific arguments lend powerful support to the existing moral and political arguments for total nuclear disarmament. The Advisory opinion has significantly eroded the legitimacy of the nuclear arms race.
IALANA is now leading efforts for implementing the ICJ decision. Key developments include:
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United Nations resolutions and a European Parliament resolution welcoming the ICJ decision and calling for multilateral negotiations leading to the conclusion of a Nuclear Weapons Convention.
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Use by anti-nuclear activists of the ICJ decision in court cases to defend their actions.
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Establishment of Citizens Verification Inspection Teams to inspect military facilities and report whether they are in accordance with the decision.
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Resolutions introduced in the US Congress calling for implementation of the ICJ decision through the commencement of nuclear disarmament negotiations.
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Influential declarations such as those by the Canberra Commission and New Agenda Coalition, have highlighted the ICJ decision.
IALANA has started considering the possibilities and potential impact of lodging a follow up case in the ICJ.
Full 1996 ICJ Opinion & Commentary
French version of the Advisory Opinion of the Court
English version of the Advisory Opinion of the Court
Déclaration de M. Bedjaoui, Président
Separate Opinion of Judge Fleischhauer
Déclaration de M. Herczegh
Declaration of Judge Shi Jiuyong
Declaration of Judge Vereshchetin
Déclaration de M. Ferrari Bravo
Opinion Individuelle de M. Guillaume
Opinion Individuelle de M. Ranjeva
Dissenting Opinion of Vice-President Schwebel
Dissenting Opinion of Judge Shahabuddeen
Dissenting Opinion of Judge Oda
Dissenting Opinion of Judge Weeramantry
Dissenting Opinion of Judge Koroma
Dissenting Opinion of Judge Higgins
Citizen Weapons Inspection Teams
Excerpts from Statements to the United Nations on the ICJ Advisory Opinion and the Nuclear Weapons Convention
Review of Journal Articles and Books on the ICJ Opinion
International Review of the Red Cross, 1997 - No. 316
Special issue: The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of nuclear weapons and international humanitarian law
Foreword by Judge Géza Herczegh
Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons by Yves Sandoz
Nuclear weapons: a weighty matter for the International Court of Justice by Luigi Condorelli
The Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the use of nuclear weapons by Eric David
International humanitarian law and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons by Louise Doswald-Beck
The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of nuclear weapons by Hisakazu Fujita
The Advisory Opinion on nuclear weapons and the contribution of the International Court to international humanitarian law by Christopher Greenwood
A non liquet on nuclear weapons - The ICJ avoids the application of general principles of international humanitarian law by Timothy L.H. McCormack
The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion in the Nuclear Weapons Cases - A first appraisal by John H. McNeill
ICRC statement to the United Nations General Assembly on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons - United Nations General Assembly, 51th session, 1996
UN Resolutions and Documents: Follow-up to the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons:
- UN Secretary General's Report on Resolution 53/77W, July 1999
Speech by Malaysian Ambassador to the UN Introducing the 1999 Draft Resolution
- UN Secretary General's Report on Resolution 53/77W addendum, September 1999
Since July 8, 1996, many anti-nuclear activists who have been arrested have attempted to use the International Court of Justice advisory opinion as justification for their action with varying degrees of success.
A detailed database on these cases will be available on this website shortly. Short descriptions of a sample of these cases is available now;
State of Washington v Marie Bernard