World court rejects Marshall Islands’ nuclear arms race case

The UN’s highest court has thrown out landmark cases brought by the tiny Marshall Islands against India, Pakistan and Britain for allegedly failing to halt the nuclear arms race.

In majority decisions, the 16-judge bench at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled there was no evidence that Majuro had had a prior dispute with any of the three nuclear giants or sought
bilateral negotiations on the issue.

“The court upholds the objection to jurisdiction” raised by each of the countries, presiding judge Ronny Abraham said in separate rulings, and therefore the tribunal “cannot proceed to the merits of the case”.

The tiny Pacific island nation was ground zero for a string of devastating nuclear tests on its pristine atolls between 1946-58, carried out by the US as the cold war arms race gathered pace.

After the hearings in The Hague, the Marshalls said it will now “study the ruling”, which is final and without appeal. “Obviously it’s very disappointing,” Marshall Islands lawyer Phon van der Biesen told reporters after the ruling.