3. The Decision of the International Court of Justice in the Nuclear Weapons Case in
1996
The
Nuclear Weapons
is a dispute submitted to the International Court of Justice
to question the legality of possession and use of nuclear weapons under international
law. On December 19, 1994, the United Nations General Assembly convened resolution
A/RES/49/75K which was adopted by 78 countries who voted in favor, 43 against, 38
abstained and 26 did not vote.
From October 30 to November 15 1995, an oral hearing was held with the
participation of 20 countries, namely Australia, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia,
Mexico, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, San Marino,
Samoa, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, United States
and Zimbabwe (Rhinelander, de Chazournes, Weiss, Neubauer, & Matheson, 1997).
On 8 July 1996 the International Court of Justice gave an
Advisory Opinion
on the
question raised. The International Court of Justice is of the opinion that there is no
international law that explicitly regulates specific prohibitions on the development and
use of nuclear weapons in either international treaties or customary international law.
The court also argued that the use of nuclear weapons is not in line with the principle of
good faith
as part of the international community to use nuclear weapons. The court
further argued that the legality of the use of nuclear weapons can be seen in the
provisions of Humanitarian Law, as well as the existing General Law Principles, such as
in the 1949 Geneva Conventions which have stated the prohibition on the use of certain
weapons in war disputes. Nuclear weapons are included in the provisions of the 1949
Geneva Conventions which stipulate the prohibition of the use of weapons that cause
excessive injury and suffering.
However, if the use of nuclear weapons according to the court is an effort to carry
out the
self-defense of
a country in the face of conflict based on Article 51 of the United
Nations Charter, its use does not violate international law, as long as the state can prove
the elements contained in Article 51. The elements contained in Article 51 of the United
Nations Charter are as follows:
[5]
1. Danger (
present danger
)
Self-defense
is based on the need for instant self-defense and there is no other
choice for such action and there is no time for deliberation about the dangers that will
arise from the upcoming attack.
2. Balance (
proportionality)
Balance refers to the force used in
self-defense
should not exceed the danger
posed by the impending attack.
3. Consent of the UN Security Council (
consent
)
The UN Security Council examines existing treaty and statutory arrangements to
determine whether the action is justified or not.