Japanese whaling in Antarctica: Humane Society International Inc. v. Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd

The Japanese whaling company Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha Ltd has been conducting whaling activities on or near the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) since they said that their activity is for scientific purposes and that the Antarctic Treaty does not grant any nation to reign over foreign once. On the other hand, Australia has laws on whaling beyond its Exclusive Economic Zone and that any permit given by the Minister of Environment is subject to jurisdiction. The Japanese did not apply for any permit since they are not registered in Australia. The Australian position is rather weak here, since under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, parties are limited from applying their laws and regulations to non-nationals. In addition, Article IV of the Treaty places limitations on the capacity of claimant States to assert new claims whilst the Treaty is in force. On the other hand, Kyodo would now avoid entering Australian jurisdiction at any time in the future. Such cases only demonstrate the difficulty of applying municipal environment and other laws in Antarctica when foreign nationals are engaged.