Day Six at the ICJ: Contempt of Court
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Phon van den Biesen quote at the ICJ
This morning at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Republic
of the Marshall Islands (RMI) presented final oral arguments in its
nuclear disarmament case against India during this phase. Phon van den
Biesen, Co-Agent of the Marshall Islands, opened the session with a
strong condemnation of India’s active participation in the nuclear arms
race.
As we reported
<http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tg76w34Nz7kLXz5J5uBR3pT4g2BiQrGZ>
last Thursday, India conducted a test of its new K-4 submarine-launched
ballistic missile on Monday 7 March, the same day that hearings on the
nuclear disarmament case opened at the ICJ. Mr. van den Biesen was not
pleased, particularly about the timing of the nuclear missile test. He
said, “One is tempted to call this ‘contempt of Court’ simply because
naming it an ‘unfortunate coincidence’ would be grossly understating the
meaning of this event.”
While India, in its oral pleadings before the ICJ, has emphasized its
votes in favor of nuclear disarmament at the United Nations General
Assembly, Mr. van den Biesen highlighted how India’s behavior trumps
their hollow words. “In legal terms,” he said, “this is evidence of
India’s not acting in good faith concerning the obligation that is
central to the current proceedings.”
Luigi Condorelli, Counsel to the Marshall Islands and professor of
international law at the University of Florence, added to the Marshall
Islands’ claims on this issue, stating, “The discrepancy between what
India says and what it does is significant.”
Tony de Brum, Co-Agent of the Marshall Islands and former RMI Foreign
Minister, closed today’s oral arguments against India. Reminding the
Court of the real purpose of the case, he said, “The RMI’s horrific
suffering motivates it to bring these proceedings against the nuclear
giant that India has become, because the RMI knows first-hand the
devastation that India’s nuclear arsenal can cause. And it is a nuclear
arsenal that India is proudly and rapidly enhancing and diversifying.
Such conduct is the opposite of satisfying a legal obligation to
negotiate in good faith nuclear disarmament.”
India will present its final oral argument in the case on Wednesday at
10:00 am CET. After India’s pleadings on Wednesday, the judges will
deliberate on the questions of jurisdiction and admissibility of the
case and will rule at a date as yet unannounced.
This afternoon, the United Kingdom presented its final oral arguments in
the RMI vs. UK case. A summary of the UK’s arguments will appear in
Pressenza tomorrow, as there are no hearings at the ICJ on Tuesday.
————————————————————————
/Rick Wayman is Director of Programs at the Nuclear Age Peace
Foundation. He is tweeting about the ICJ hearings at //@rickwayman/
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