One of the strange contradictions of our contemporary world is that there are nation states pledged to the maintenance of civilised values that at the same time cherish and preserve this power (to use nuclear weapons) despite the fact that it reeks so heavily of barbarism at its worst.

Christopher Weeramantry, former World Court judge, speaking in Edinburgh 2009

 

 

The World Court Project is a global citizens' coalition working for good-faith implementation of the nuclear disarmament obligation upheld by the International Court of Justice.

 

Since 1992 we have worked to hold governments legally accountable for their nuclear disarmament obligations.

 

This is based on treaties signed in Good Faith, and the severe restrictions the law places on nuclear weapons.

 

We believe that these engines of mass destruction violate the values most people live by as expressed in the legal concept of the Public Conscience.


The only rational policy is their total abolition under the law.

 

WORLD COURT PROJECT CALLS ON STATES TO SUPPORT A NEW APPROACH TO THE WORLD COURT 

                 

International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA), working with the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) at Harvard Law School, have called for a new advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ)in a report they released at a major UN conference taking place in New York in May. Good Faith Negotiations Leading to the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: Request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice has been presented to governments meeting to prepare for the next five-year review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2010. The report examines the nuclear disarmament obligation undertaken by all states, the failure to fulfill it to date, and the principle of good faith under international law. 

 

“More than a decade has passed since the Court so categorically formulated this obligation, and yet we see a continued readiness to develop nuclear weapons and maintain nuclear arsenals,” Judge Christopher Weeramantry, president of IALANA and former vice-president of the ICJ, wrote in a foreword to the report. “It is vitally important that no uncertainty should exist in regard to the interpretation or application of this pronouncement.” 

To read the full press release, see here

To read a press article about the report see here

To read the full report, see here 

IALANA has recently made a simple statement which provides an up-to-date picture of our demands.  You can read this here

You can also read a brief account of the IALANA Conference in Berlin in June 2009