On Monday, the International Court of Justice has banned Japan to continue with its Antarctic whaling program temporarily as it deemed the program not for scientific purposes the defendant had earlier claimed it to be, The Washington Post said. The country of Australia has lodged a case against Japan at the highest court of the United Nations, of which the countries are members of, to resolve disputes between countries. The Post said Australia was aiming to stop the whaling practice in the icy Southern Ocean.
Reading from a 12-4 verdict, Presiding Judge Peter Tomka of Slovakia said the whaling program of Japan did not justify the killings of a large number of minke whales despite the fact that it failed to meet smaller quotas for fin and humpback whales.
Tomka said, "The court concludes that the special permits granted by Japan for the killing, taking, and treating of whales ... are not ‘for purposes of scientific research'."
Former Australian environment minister Peter Garrett, said he felt vindicated about the international court verdict. The Post have said that Garrett oversaw the launch of the suit against Japan in 2010.
Telling the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio, he said, "I'm absolutely over the moon, for all those people who wanted to see the charade of scientific whaling cease once and for all. I think (this) means without any shadow of a doubt that we won't see the taking of whales in the Southern Ocean in the name of science."
The Post said the international court ruling will now force Japan to either end the whaling practice once and for all, or redesign its whaling program in order to comply the requirements deeming it as a scientific program. The country has earlier claimed that it will never end its deep sea practice deeply embedded in its culture.
