Protecting whales by hue and cry – is there a role for non-state actors in the enforcement of international law?

Abstract

The 2009/10 whaling season in the Southern Ocean witnessed a dramatic escalation in the clashes between the Japanese whaling fleet and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In January a collision between the Sea Shepherd’s Ady Gil and the Japanese whaler Shonan Maru No. 2 resulted in the sinking of the Ady Gil. Then in February the skipper of the Ady Gil, Pete Bethune, boarded the Shonan Maru No. 2 to effect a ‘citizen’s arrest’ of its Master whilst also presenting a demand for compensation. This paper considers the place, if any, for the sort of hue and cry enforcement of international law envisioned by Sea Shepherd.