World Court Project UK
The Public Conscience in Action
Draft response to the Legal Conclusions of the Working Group on Scotland Without Nuclear Weapons Report to Scottish Ministers. Website Publication Date November 18, 2009
Prepared by George Farebrother, World Court Project UK for Trident Ploughshares, edited and adapted by Angie Zelter and Robbie Manson, January 2010 ____________________________________________________________________________________
Prepared by George Farebrother, World Court Project UK for Trident Ploughshares, edited and adapted by Angie Zelter and Robbie Manson, January 2010 ____________________________________________________________________________________
Outline of Argument
We recognise that the Working Group’s analysis of Britain’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is thorough as far as it goes. However, there is little attempt to expose the weaknesses and flaws of the UK Government’s position on these issues. As a result the paper’s legal conclusions and Summary of Options are not only over-cautious but fail to give the Scottish Government the strong arguments it needs to rid Scotland of Trident. Trident Ploughshares recommends much stronger action on the legal issues.
Implications of the NPT
The Report makes full reference to Article VI of the NPT, the 1995 Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, and the consensus adoption of the 2000 NPT final document. The Report rightly invokes the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to show that the Principles and Objectives are legally enforceable and we would ague that the same applies to the 2000 Final Document.
The 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons found that:
There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control". (para 105F).
This conclusion is closely linked with the “general” illegality of nuclear weapons and their threat or use. A binding global framework for a nuclear weapon-free world would put nuclear weapons beyond the bounds of legality once and for all. It builds on Article VI of the NPT in which the parties undertook:
... to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
The Working Group’s report does not pay sufficient attention to important aspects of these statements.
Starting negotiations on the elimination of nuclear weapons
Every year since 1996, the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution following up on the Advisory Opinion which, Calls once again upon all States immediately to fulfil that obligation by