Conclusions
Nelissen and van der Velde come to two basic conclusions. The first is that
...one might come to the conclusion that Japan is circumventing the ban on commercial whaling, and therefore defeating the object and purpose of the ICRW, and thus its performance in good faith of the Convention.
The second conclusion is that since Japan intends to catch fin whales under its research program in the Antarctic even though its objection to paragraph 7(b) of the schedule does not include fin whales, the ICJ “...might come to the conclusion that Japan’s behavior is incompatible with a proper execution of the ICRW”.
The first conclusion could only be logically derived if JARPA II was in fact commercial whaling or if it were deemed frivolous or of inconsequential scientific value. Clearly, the IWC’s Scientific Committee’s review of the results of JARPA referenced above demonstrates the opposite. No doubt, however, numerous individual scientists from countries with an anti- whaling position, including Australia, will claim otherwise.