Take whalers to court: legal expert

Australia would have a "very strong" case if it took international legal action to
try and stop Japanese whaling in Antarctic waters, a legal expert says.
And the expert has dug out a new legal avenue which Australia could pursue.
Before the 2007 federal election, Labor promised to take Japan to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop whaling.
That hasn't happened yet. The government is trying diplomacy first.
The Japanese fleet is in Antarctic waters this summer with plans to take about 1,000
whales.
Don Rothwell, a professor of international law at Canberra's Australian National
University, said the legal avenue was looking good.
"Australia has a very strong, arguable case to present on this matter," Prof
Rothwell told AAP.
"They could go for it.
"There has to be a point in time at which any government has to say we've exhausted
our diplomatic options."
Prof Rothwell said Australia could take Japan to the ICJ, the United Nations' court,
and allege Japan was breaching the Whaling Convention.
The Convention says there is to be no commercial whaling in Antarctic waters; a
discussion would ensue about whether Japan's whaling was research-based or not.
There is another option.
Prof Rothwell and other experts, convened by the International Fund for Animal
Welfare, released a report on Tuesday suggesting Australia use the Antarctic Treaty
System to crack down on whaling.
The treaty, which was set up to oversee the frozen continent, says most activities
need environmental approval.
Prof Rothwell said Japan did not get these approvals for its whaling but it might
need to.
Their ships might not be up to standard, and refuelling at sea and disposing of
whale offal could breach environmental standards.
Prof Rothwell said insisting on environmental standards be met could make Antarctic
whaling so expensive that Japan would abandon it.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Peter Garrett said he welcomed the experts'
reports and will take a close look at it.
She said legal action was still on the table, but reiterated that diplomacy was
being tried first.
"The outcomes of diplomatic initiatives, together with all other relevant
considerations, will inform the government's ultimate decision on legal action," she
said.