Conference: 'Whaling in the Antarctic' before the International Court of Justice

On June 7, 2013, the Australian National University College of Law will host a conference on "'Whaling in the Antarctic' before the International Court of Justice." Here's the idea:

In 2010 Australian commenced proceedings against Japan in the International Court of Justice with respect to Japan’s conduct of its JARPAII whaling program in the Southern Ocean. The case will commence its oral phase on 26 June 2013 with three weeks of hearings before the Court.

This conference seeks to review the background to the Whaling in the Antarctic case, the Australian application before the International Court of Justice, the proceedings to date, and the possible implications of the case for the International Whaling Commission. Consideration will also be given to the anticipated legal argument that will be made before the court, and New Zealand’s 2012 Declaration of Intervention and the February 2013 Order deciding that the New Zealand intervention was permissible.

These proceedings come at a pivotal time in the debate over the conduct of ‘scientific whaling’ under Article 8 of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and the decision of the International Court of Justice will have profound implications for how these issues are considered in the future.