Leviathan, the International Whaling Commission and Conservation as Environmental Aspects of International Law
| Published date | 01 December 1972 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591297202500410 |
| Date | 01 December 1972 |
| Author | Forest L. Grieves |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
711
LEVIATHAN,
THE
INTERNATIONAL
WHALING
COMMISSION
AND
CONSERVATION
AS
ENVIRONMENTAL
ASPECTS
OF
INTERNATIONAL
LAW
FOREST
L.
GRIEVES
University
of
Montana
HIS
STUDY
concerns
the
whale
as
an
object
of
international
conservation
and
the
ability
of
international
legal
mechanisms,
not
only
to
protect
the
-M-
whale,
but
more
broadly
to
deal
with
international
conservation.
Although
presented
as
a
case
study,
the
following
material
is
intended
to
accomplish
three
general
goals.
First,
in
light
of
the
growing
public
interest
in
the
status
of
whales
(expressed
for
example
at
the
recent
United
Nations
Stockholm
Convention
on
the
Environmentl),
it
is
essential
that
social
scientists
have
some
familiarity
with
the
substance
of
the
issue
in
order
to
face
more
effectively
the
interdisciplinary
aspects
of
whales
as
a
policy
problem.
Second,
the
example
of
the
International
Whaling
Commission,
which
has
the
responsibility
of
managing
whaling,
suggests
some
of
the
legal
and
political
dimensions
of
trying
to
cope
with
an
international
conservation
problem.
Finally,
the
case
of
the
whales
is
intended
to
draw
attention
to
the
fact
that,
as
a
facet
of
the
overall
apparent
&dquo;environmental
crisis,&dquo;
conservation
has
not
received
the
attention
it
deserves.
As
several
types
of
whales
appear
to
be
verging
on
extinction,
their
situation
thus
focuses
most
poignantly
on
the
conservation
aspect
of
ecological
concern.
_
I
A
great
deal
of
attention
and
effort
within
international
law
circles
in
recent
years
has
been
directed
toward
international
legal
aspects
of
the
environment.
This
has
been
in
response
both
to
an
avalanche
of
crisis
literature
and
to
the
immediacy
of
practical
problems
of
the
day.
The
thrust
of
recent
international
legal
literature
reflects
major
concern
in
several
identifiable,
and
overlapping,
problem
areas:
(a)
acquisition
of
mineral
resources;
(b)
acquisition
and
control
of
living
resources
of
the
sea;
(c)
emplace-
ment
and
use
of
military
weapons
systems
and
other
devices in
&dquo;international&dquo;
areas
(e.g.,
the
deep
sea
bed) ;
(d)
conduct
of
scientific
research;
and
(e)
establishment
of certain
&dquo;special&dquo;
areas
(e.g.,
Outer
Space,
Antarctica)
with
concomitant
rules
of
expected
behavior.
Cutting
across
all
of
these
areas
are
the
particularly
impor-
tant
issues
of
jurisdiction,
pollution
and
conservation.
Jurisdiction
is
of
course
the
most
basic
issue
because
it
is
at
the
heart
of
deline-
ating
&dquo;international&dquo;
from
&dquo;national&dquo;
and
distinguishing
one
state’s
claims
from
NOTE :
Research
for
this
study
was
aided
by
grants
from
the
Penrose
Fund
of the
American
Philosophical
Society
and
the
University
of
Montana
Foundation.
I
am
grateful
to
Dr.
J.
L.
McHugh,
U.S.
Commissioner
to
and
chairman
of
the
International
Whaling
Com-
mission,
and
to
Dr.
John
Tibbs,
Director
of
the
University
of
Montana
Biological
Sta-
tion,
for
reading
and
commenting
on
the
manuscript.
Sole
responsibility
for
its
contents
is
of
course
mine.
’ Good
coverage
of
the
Convention
can
be
found
in
the
June
1972
issues
of
the
New
York
Times.
The
whale
is,
however,
by
no
means
a
"newcomer"
as
a
conservation
issue.
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