On 8 July 1996 the International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations, issued an Advisory Opinion concerned with the "Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons".[1] The Advisory Opinion states that the threat or use of any existing nuclear weapon is unlawful as it would be in violation of the following articles of international law:
- The Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868, because nuclear weapons would cause unnecessary suffering (paragraphs 72, 75 and 77 of the advisory opinion);
- The Martens Clause, 1899, because the use of nuclear weapons would cause humanity not to remain under the protection of international law (78);
- The Hague Conventions, 1907, because nuclear weapons would cause unnecessary suffering and the inviolability of neutral nations could not be guaranteed (88);
- The UN Charter, 1945, because the use of nuclear weapons would not be proportionate (48);
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, because long-lasting effects of radioactive contamination would interfere with the right to life and health (35);
- The Geneva Conventions, 1949, because the wounded, sick, infirm, expectant mothers, civilian hospitals and medical staff could not be guaranteed protection (81);
- The First and Second Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 (directly brought into United Kingdom Law through the 1995 Geneva Conventions (Amendments) Act), because the missiles would cause massive incidental losses of civilian lives and severe environmental damage (27, 31, 75, 84, 85).
- ^ The full text of the advisory opinion can be found at http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/icases/iunan/iunan_judgment_advisory%20opinion_19960708/iunan_ijudgment_19960708_Advisory%20Opinion.htm; a summary of the advisory opinion can be found at http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idecisions/isummaries/iunanaummary960708.htm