著者
稲本 守
出版者
日本大学生物資源科学部
雑誌
人間科学研究 (ISSN:1349063X)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.12, pp.16-43, 2015-03

On March 31,2014,the International Court of Justice delivered a decision on the Japanese whaling case. It ruled that Japan's research whaling (JAPRA II) breached its obligations under the Intemational Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). At the same time,the Court admitted the lethal sampling of whales could be broadly characterized as scientific research and that for certain purposes non-lethal methods are not feasible. The Court also pointed out that the design and implementation of JAPRA II,in particular the scale of lethal sampling,were not reasonable in light of the stated objectives ofthe program. It expected that Japan would take this judgment into consideration when it re-launches the program in the future. After giving the background and general outline of the judgment,this paper examines the reasoning of the judgment and considers some of the controversial issues surrounding judicial decision over scientific matters. It also discusses some possible ramifications of this judgment on future Japanese whaling activities.