International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Committee Profile

To Whale, Or Not To Whale. That Is The Question…

In 1946, member states from all across the globe gathered at the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). This treaty set forth bans on all commercial whaling efforts in an unprecedented conservation effort. However, specific provisions were set that regarded the killing, taking, or treating of whales as an acceptable practice if whaling was used as a scientific research method. This research provision was meant to allow countries to collect scientific data and better formulate conservation efforts. Under the ICRW, Japan announced its "Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in Antarctica,” or JARPA I as it came to be known. JARPA I has provided the ICRW with significant data on the Antarctic ecosystem that has helped member states in their deliberations on International conservation efforts. However, this JARPA I project (and its later JARPA II project) was subject to intense international scrutiny when it was revealed that Japan had hunted and sold thousands of whales, many of which were endangered, as part of its project.

As a committee, you will need to collaborate with your fellow judges to determine whether or not Japan's whaling efforts not only fall under the provisions of its ICRW scientific research permit, but you must also weigh its effects on other member states' long-term, non-lethal scientific conservation efforts. This committee will be made up of 20 ICJ judges who, on the first day, will work to debate critical points of this case with the help of non-responsive updates. On the second day, judges will form blocs and create draft court opinions that detail innovative and detailed arguments that address the nuances of this case. Once created, the committee will vote on these rulings to issue the court's official declaration.

Chair Letter

Dear Delegates,

My name is Laila Khalilieh, and I am so excited to be your chair for BruinMUN 31's International Court of Justice (ICJ) committee! I am a sophomore here at UCLA and am a psychology major with an intended double minor in statistics. I want to attend grad school upon leaving UCLA (either law or Ph.D., I am still deciding). I plan on pursuing a career as an FBI special agent in the human trafficking or crimes against women and children units. I hope to become an FBI behavioral analysis profiler (yes, like on criminal minds).

My Model United Nations career began last year as a freshman at UCLA. My high school did not have a MUN team, so I was on the mock trial team for three years instead. This history is one of the many reasons I am so excited to be doing an ICJ committee because it will allow me to combine my new and old passions. I am both a staffer and a travel team member and have been lucky enough to have enjoyed many conferences with my incredible team. MUN at UCLA has helped me to foster my quick thinking and conflict resolution skills. I'm truly so grateful to have found an organization that allows me to learn more about the world while simultaneously letting me use my randomly acquired fun facts about geopolitics. I am so happy to be given a chance to be your chair this year and help make your MUN career even more special!

International law is one of the most fundamental ways nations keep peace in a world of conflicting politics and turbulent relationships. While the UN does not have traditional enforcement powers that are seen at a national level, the International Courts (the ICC and the ICJ) are some of the UN's top enforcement and regulatory bodies. While in other GA committees, you will make resolutions and treaties, in the ICJ, you will be given the important task of analyzing past treaties and arguing whether or not a violation has occurred through a unique and engaging set of ROP.

Sincerely,

Laila Khalilieh | Chair | BruinMUN 31

icj@bruinmun.org