从日本退约谈鲸鱼法律保护问题

On Legal Protection of Whales from the Perspective of Japan’s Withdrawal form IWC

日本宣布,从2019年7月起正式退出《国际捕鲸管制公约》,在其专属经济区重启商业捕鲸。日本坚持认为其捕鲸行为不违反国际法,退约前做为缔约国有在南大洋“科研”捕鲸的权利,退约后其对领海和专属经济区内的生物资源拥有主权权利;反捕鲸组织对捕鲸船的暴力行为是海盗行为、生态恐怖主义、违反海上避碰规则。由于国际法院判定日本的“科研”捕鲸是商业行为,日本退约时的声明不符合国家单方行为的法律要件,日本退约并不能停止各国间的“鲸鱼战争”。由于“鲸鱼战争”争夺的是公海和南极的资源,各国都坚持本国利益优先,冲突持续不断。“鲸鱼战争”本质上是以法律形式体现出来的政治问题,政治谈判解决是更优的选择。

Japan unilaterally announced that it would formally withdraw from the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling from July 2019,and resume commercial whaling in its exclusive economic zone.Japan insists that its whaling activities do not violate the international law,for the reasons that it has the right to scientific permit whaling in the South Ocean as the member of IWC before its withdrawing,and that it has sovereign rights over biological resources in territorial waters and exclusive economic zones after withdrawal from IWC,instead that violence against whaling vessels by anti-whaling activist groups is piracy,ecological terrorism and violation of the rules of collision avoidance at sea.Because the International Court of Justice has ruled that Japan's scientific permit whaling is a commercial whaling and does not enjoy immunity,and the declaration made by Japan at the time of withdrawal from IWC does not conform to the legal requirements of the unilateral act of the state,Japan's withdrawal from IWC cannot stop the "whale war" among countries.As the "whale war" contends for the resources of the high seas and Antarctica,every country insists on giving priority to its own interests,which leads to the continuous conflicts.Whale War is essentially a political issue in the form of law,and political negotiation is the better choice.