THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Attorney-General
MEDIA RELEASE
WHALING CASE TO COMMENCE THIS WEEK AT THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE IN THE HAGUE
The final phase of legal proceedings in the case against Japan's so-called scientific whale hunting will begin this week with Australia and Japan making oral presentations at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Australia will be represented by an expert legal team with hearings set down for three weeks from 26 June to 16 July.
Australia's views on whaling are well established we strongly oppose all commercial whaling, including so-called scientific whale hunting by Japan. More than 10,000 whales have been killed since 1988 as a result of Japan's whaling programs in the Southern Ocean (JARPA and JARPA II), said Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC, who will represent Australia in the final week of the hearings.
We believe Japan's so-called scientific whaling is contrary to its international obligations and we want to see this practice brought to a halt once and for all.
The Government initiated legal action in 2010 in the International Court of Justice after attempting to resolve the issue diplomatically over a number of years.
Australia and Japan agree the International Court of Justice is the best place to resolve differences between friends. Both countries value our strong bilateral relationship and the friendship forged between our nations over many years, said Mr Dreyfus.
We hope for a decision from the Court by the end of the year, he said.
The hearings will take place before 16 judges of the International Court of Justice including Professor Hilary Charlesworth AM of the Australian National University who was nominated by Australia and appointed to the Court as Judge ad hoc. Australia will make its opening argument at 6.00pm (AEST) on 26 June.
General information about the International Court of Justice and media arrangements for the Whaling Case can be found at www.ag.gov.au/whalinglitigation.
The public hearings will also be broadcast live and in full on the International Court of Justices website at www.icj-cij.org/presscom/multimedia.php?p1=6 and will be available on UN Web TV at http://webtv.un.org/.
Broadcast quality vision and stills of Australian scientific whale observation and tagging are available at ftp://ftp.aad.gov.au/Public/News_Media_Files/AttorneyGeneral/
FRIDAY, 23 JUNE 2013
Biographies - Australia's Legal Team
The Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP
The Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP became Australia's Attorney-General and Minister for Emergency Management in February 2013, and Special Minister of State and Minister for the Public Service and Integrity in March 2013.
Before entering federal Parliament as the Member for Isaacs in 2007, Mr Dreyfus was a Melbourne barrister with a wide-ranging practice, appearing at trial and appellate level in cases involving commercial law, administrative law, constitutional law, building and construction law, media law, intellectual property, town planning and environment law. Mr Dreyfus appeared in a number of landmark cases in the High Court including the Stolen Generations litigation. He was appointed Queens Counsel in 1999.
Mr Justin Gleeson SC
Mr Justin Gleeson SC was appointed Australia's Solicitor-General in February 2013. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney, as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford.
In 1989, Mr Gleeson signed the bar roll and commenced practice as a barrister at the New South Wales Bar. He developed a broad-based commercial and equity practice, with a strong focus on administrative and constitutional law. More recently Mr Gleeson has focused on appellate work, appearing in a number of significant appeals in the High Court of Australia.
He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2000. Mr Gleeson is a former member of the New South Wales Bar Council. In 2012 he was appointed by the federal government as a member of the Commonwealth Takeovers Panel. He is also a part-time lecturer of Legal History at the University of Sydney.
Mr Henry Burmester QC
Mr Henry Burmester AO QC is a former Head of the Office of International Law in the Attorney-General's Department, and former Chief General Counsel at the Australian Government Solicitor. He has appeared frequently for the Commonwealth before State and Federal Courts including the High Court. He has been Counsel and Adviser in all Australia's contentious cases before the International Court of Justice and International Tribunal for Law of the Sea.
Professor James Crawford SC
Professor Crawford is Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge and also holds a Research Chair at La Trobe University. He is appointed Senior Counsel in New South Wales and is also a member of the English Bar practising from Matrix Chambers. He appears frequently before the International Court of Justice and other international tribunals, and is engaged as expert, counsel and arbitrator in international arbitration. He has previously been engaged as Counsel for Australia on a number of occasions, including before the International Court of Justice: Case Concerning East Timor (Portugal v. Australia) (1995); and before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: Case Concerning Southern Blue-fin Tuna (Australia & New Zealand v. Japan) (Annex VII arbitration) (1999); The Volga (Russian Federation v. Australia) (2002).
He lectured and held chairs at the University of Adelaide (1974 1986) and the University of Sydney (1986 1992). Professor Crawford was a full-time Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission between 1982 and 1984.
On 30 October 2012 the Australian Government announced its support for the candidature of Professor Crawford for election as a Judge of the International Court of Justice.
Professor Philippe Sands QC
Professor Sands is the Director of the Centre of International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. He is a barrister at Matrix Chambers, practising in international law before English and international courts and tribunals and took silk in 2003. He has extensive experience litigating cases before the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the European Court of Justice.
His academic publications include Bowetts Law of International Institutions (Sweet & Maxwell, 6th ed., 2009), From Nuremberg to The Hague (CUP, 2003), Principles of International Environmental Law (CUP, 3rd ed., 2012, with Jacqueline Peel), and the Manual of International Courts and Tribunals (2nd ed., 2010, OUP, co-editor).
Professor Laurence Boisson de Chazournes
Professor Boisson de Chazournes is Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva and also Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Geneva) and the University of Aix-Marseille III (France). She has previously appeared before the International Court of Justice and various international arbitral tribunals.
Mr Bill Campbell QC
Mr Bill Campbell QC is General Counsel (International Law), Office of International Law, Attorney-General's Department. He has advised the Australian Government on international law for over thirty years. He graduated in law from the University of Sydney in 1976 and completed a Masters Degree from the University of London in 1979, specialising in international law. He was, for a period, Vice-President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law. He was Agent and Counsel for Australia in the Southern Bluefin Tuna and Volga Cases before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
