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The cetacean right to life revisited

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2015

David Mence
David Mence*
Affiliation:
School of Social and Political Science, University of Melbourne. Email: dmence@unimelb.edu.au
*
dmence@unimelb.edu.au
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Abstract

Many cetaceans are borderline persons and, as such, have a right to life. This is partly a normative and partly a positive legal claim. While many philosophers agree that cetaceans possess limited moral rights, it can also be shown that most states already behave as though they possess limited legal rights. The most basic of these, the right to life, reflects shifting contemporary norms – especially given scientific evidence as to cetacean sentience, intelligence and autonomy – and the consolidation of customary international law. The recent decision of the International Court of Justice in Whaling in the Antarctic (2014) includes important obiter dicta to this effect and arguably suggests an avenue for future doctrinal development in this area. Nevertheless, while the cetacean right to life already exists, there are a number of obstacles that preclude its enforcement. Perhaps the most significant of these remain the traditional status of the world's oceans as a global commons and the weak sovereignty of international law.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 17 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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