<P class=first><IMG class=lightbox9923a989cb3d98eec6f0a552ef78bca3 title="Fishermen slaughter a 10m-long bottlenose whale at the Wada port, Chiba prefecture, Japan in June 2008. Australia is to fire the opening salvoes in a legal battle before the United Nations' highest court in June aimed at stopping Japan's whaling research programme in Antarctica" alt="Fishermen slaughter a 10m-long bottlenose whale at the Wada port, Chiba prefecture, Japan in June 2008. Australia is to fire the opening salvoes in a legal battle before the United Nations' highest court in June aimed at stopping Japan's whaling research programme in Antarctica" src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/xNF4JkPxWueJ6eVQ1SH4uQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9Mzk1O2NyPTE7Y3c9NTEyO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zOTU7cT04NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_GB/News/AFP/photo_1365729535946-2-0.jpg" width=512 height=395></P> <P class=first>Australia will fire the opening salvoes in a legal battle before the United Nations' highest court in June to try to stop Japan's whale hunt in Antarctica.</P> <P>"The International Court of Justice... will hold public hearings in the case concerning whaling in the Antarctic, Australia versus Japan, from Wednesday 26 June," the Hague-based ICJ said in a statement Thursday.</P> <P>Canberra took Tokyo to court on May 31, 2010, alleging "Japan's continued pursuit" of a large-scale whaling hunt, which Japan calls scientific research, put the nation in breach of international conventions and its obligation to preserve marine mammals and their environment.</P> <P>Unlike Norway and Iceland, which openly flout the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling agreed through the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan hunts 이(영소문자)xploit a loophole that allows lethal scientific research.</P> <P>Japan's annual whale hunt has long drawn worldwide criticism but Tokyo defends the practice, saying eating whale is a culinary tradition.</P> <P>In Sydney on Friday, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who will appear before the court, said in a statement: "Australia wants this slaughter to end.</P> <P id=yui_3_8_1_1_1365775018906_680>"We will now have our day in court to establish, once and for all, that Japan's whaling hunt is not for scientific purposes and is against international law."</P> <P>His statement went on: "The fixing of the date sets up the final stage in this case brought by the Australian Government. The oral hearings are the last phase of legal proceedings before the Court makes its decision.</P> <P>"We hope the court will deliver its decision on the legality of Japan's whaling before the start of the next whaling season."</P> <P>Both parties have already made written submissions.</P> <P>Environment Minister Tony Burke said: "Australia's views on whaling are well known -- we condemn all commercial whaling, including Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling.</P> <P>"The Australian Government's decision to bring this legal action demonstrates our determination to end commercial whaling."</P> <P>But Tokyo vowed to fight its corner.</P> <P>"Japan will defend its whale hunt as it is within the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling rules, which is the founding document of the IWC," a Japanese fisheries agency official told AFP.</P> <P>A Japanese foreign ministry official in charge of the case added: "We will argue that our whaling activity is being done legally."</P> <P>Dreyfus and Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson will front the court from the opening day, followed a week later by Japan's representatives on July 2.</P> <P>A ruling may not be handed down for several months.</P> <P>Japan last week announced its whaling haul from the Southern Ocean was a "record low" this year, blaming "unforgivable sabotage" by activists.</P> <P>The hunt netted 103 Antarctic minke whales, the lowest since "research whaling" began in 1987, blamed on the actions of the Sea Shepherd conservation group.</P> <P>Canberra and New Zealand -- which will also make a submission at the ICJ hearings -- have been outraged by the hunt, with Burke saying last week Japan's latest whale tally "is 103 whales too many".</P> <P>Established in 1945, the ICJ is the UN's highest judicial body and settles disputes between states</P> <P>-----afp 보도</P> <P> </P> <P>호주정보는 국제 고래보호 협회(icj)의 규정을 계속 어기고 고래 포획을 일쌈고 있는 일본 정부를 6월 un최고 법정에 제소키로 했습니다</P> <P>그런데도 뻔뻔한 일본은 적극 대응 할 것으로 공식 입장을 내 놓았는데요 이 같은 행위는 만행이며 결코 잊을 수 없는 행위라며</P> <P>호주정부는 일본을 맹비난하고 있습니다</P> <P>길어서 요점만 간다히 적습니다</P>