The Challenge of the Quorum at the International Whaling Commission

Abstract

The failure to adopt a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary (SAWS) under the ambit of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was twice caused by a deliberate breaking of the quorum by those members opposing the establishment of the SAWS. This situation has led the IWC to initiate the process of amending its Rules of Procedure (RoPs) to clarify whether the quorum is reached by simple attendance at the meeting or by being present in the room in which the session is held. This article provides some background on the issue at hand and analyses the RoPs of other bodies and meetings concerning the quorum. It then discusses the RoPs of the IWC and provides an analysis of the terms used in the document, after which the challenge of the quorum with regard to absentee voting is touched upon. Based on this discussion, this article provides further proposals for the amendment of the RoPs that, in the author’s view, would be beneficial for eradicating diverging interpretations.

Notes

1 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) (adopted 2 December 1946, entered into force 10 November 1948) 161 UNTS 72.

2 IWC, ‘The Revised Management Procedure’, https://iwc.int/management-and-conservation/rmp.

3 On the interpretation of the ICRW, see M Fitzmaurice, ‘The Whaling Convention and Thorny Issues of Interpretation’ in M Fitzmaurice and D Tamada (eds), Whaling in the Antarctic: The Significance and Implications of the ICJ Judgment (Leiden/Boston, Brill, 2016) 53–138.

4 22 U.S.C. § 1978(a)(2).

5 N Sellheim, International Marine Mammal Law (Heidelberg, Springer, 2020) 109–111.

6 See, for example, Jonathan Iversen, An Angry Rift in the Year 2000: Japan’s Scientific Whaling’ (2001) 12 Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 121.

7 The ICRW recognises three types of whaling: commercial whaling, special permit whaling, and aboriginal subsistence whaling (ASW).

8 S Fisher, ‘Japanese Small Type Coastal Whaling’ (2016) 3 Frontiers in Marine Science 121.

9 For example, TS Illingworth, ‘The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) vs. the International Whaling Commission: Who Can Legitimately Regulate Whaling?’ (1999) 3 Eco-Notes 1.

10 A Gillespie, ‘Iceland’s Reservation at the International Whaling Commission’ (2003) 14 European Journal of International Law 977.

11 E Couzens, ‘“Opening Up a Procedure”: Might the Re-adherence of Iceland to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in 2002 Provide an Example for Japan to follow?’ in N Sellheim and J Morishita (eds), Japan’s Withdrawal from International Whaling Regulation (Abingdon, Routledge, in press).

12 See for example IWC, Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission 2003 (Cambridge, IWC, 2004) 97.

13 JR Strand and JP Tuman, ‘Foreign Aid and Voting Behavior in an International Organization: The Case of Japan and the International Whaling Commission’ (2012) 8 Foreign Policy Analysis 409.

14 C Perry, ‘Blogging Live from the IWC: July 2011’, https://eia-international.org/blog/blog-iwc-fin-whale-updates. See also IWC, Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission 2011 (Cambridge, IWC, 2012) 24.

15 Japan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Iceland, Norway, Nauru, Mongolia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Grenada, Kiribati, Morocco, Republic of Korea, Palau, Togo, Tuvalu, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia.

16 IWC, Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations (Cambridge, IWC, 2022) Rule B.1.

17 IWC, Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission 2011 (Cambridge, IWC, 2012)

18 IWC, Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission 2012 (Cambridge, IWC, 2013) 60.

19 Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cambodia, Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Iceland, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Nauru, Palau, St Lucia and the Solomon Islands.

20 IWC, Chair’s Report of the 68th Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (Cambridge, IWC, 2022) 23.

21 IWC (n20) 122.

22 IWC (n14), Rule E.4.

23 IWC, ‘Martha Rojas-Urrego, Confirmation of Appointment as IWC Executive Secretary’, 4 August 2023, https://archive.iwc.int/pages/download.php?direct=1&noattach=true&ref=20360&ext=pdf&k=.

24 C Wang, ‘Issues on Consensus and Quorum at International Conferences’ (2010) 9 Chinese Journal of International Law 717.

25 L Randolph, The Fundamental Laws of Governmental Organization (New Haven, College & University Press, 1971) 49.

26 Paul Rincon, ‘Pluto Vote ‘Hijacked’ in Revolt’ BBC News, 25 August 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5283956.stm.

27 The various RoPs are reproduced in full here: Cartagena Convention: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/32680/UNEP, 2010-Rules of Procedures-en.pdf?sequence = 1&isAllowed = y; CBD: https://www.cbd.int/convention/rules.shtml; CITES: https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/E16-Rules.pdf; CMS: https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/document/COP11_Doc_04_Rules_of_Procedure_E.pdf>; European Council: https://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/2014/11/5/00df8091-d7e0-4740-8867-ff0175fb6eb0/publishable_en.pdf; European Parliament: <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RULES-9-2023-07-10-TOC_EN.html; ICC: https://asp.icc-cpi.int/sites/asp/files/asp_docs/ASP7/ICC-ASP-Rules_of_Procedure_English.pdf; IWC: https://archive.iwc.int/pages/download.php?direct=1&noattach=true&ref=3605&ext=pdf&k=; Ramsar: https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/ramsar_rules_of_procedure_e.pdf; Stockholm: https://www.basel.int/Portals/4/download.aspx?d=UNEP-FAO-CHW-RC-POPS-PUB-COP-RulesOfProcedures.English.pdf; UNCCD: https://knowledge.unccd.int/sites/default/files/inline-files/Manual%20on%20Procedural%20Aspects.pdf; UNFCCC: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/02_0.pdf; UN General Assembly: https://www.un.org/en/ga/about/ropga/index.shtml; World Heritage Committee: https://whc.unesco.org/document137812&usg=AOvVaw3ki1HOhuwcog0pRa_u1ALd&opi=89978449.

28 European Parliament, Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, May 2023, Rule 171.

29 Deutscher Bundestag, Geschäftsordnung, 2 July 1980 (BGBl. I S. 1237), § 45.

30 Votes concerning the German Constitution, any federal law or the Rule of Procedure themselves require different majorities; Ibid., § 48.

31 Deutscher Bundestag, ‘Hammelsprung’, https://www.bundestag.de/services/glossar/glossar/H/hammelsprung-444858.

32 Die Zeit, ‘AfD scheitert vor Gericht im Streit um Hammelsprung’, Die Zeit, 24 September 2019; https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-09/bundesverfassungsgericht-afd-hammelsprung-bundestag-antrag-abgelehnt.

33 Deutscher Bundestag, ‘Abstimmungen’; https://www.bundestag.de/services/glossar/glossar/A/abstimmungen-245316.

34 UNGA, Resolution 362 (IV) Methods and Procedures of the General Assembly, 22 October 1949.

35 Emphasis added; UNGA, XIII. Committees, Rule 108.

36 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (adopted 2 February 1971, entered into force 21 December 1975) 996 UNTS 245 (amended 1982 and 1987).

37 Emphasis added; Ramsar Convention, Rules of Procedure for meetings of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, 1 June 2015 (n27).

38 The proceedings of each Ramsar CoP can be accessed here: https://www.ramsar.org/official-documents.

39 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (adopted 23 June 1979, entered into force 1 November 1983) 1651 UNTS 333.

40 The proceedings of each CMS CoPe can be accessed here: https://www.cms.int/en/meetings/conference-of-parties, accessed 7 August 2023.

41 United Nations, The Report of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly, UN Doc. A/8426 [1971].

42 See also Wang (n24), 727.

43 We turn to the issue of semantics in the IWC RoPs below.

44 Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, ‘Presence’, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/presence?q=presence.

45 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (adopted 3 March 1973, entered into force 1 July 1975) 993 UNTS 243.

46 CITES, Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties, https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/E16-Rules.pdf, accessed 26 July 2023, Rule 7.

47 CITES, Summary Report of the Committee II meeting [2000] 28.

48 IWC (n16) Rule B.1.

49 Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, ‘Attendance’, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/attendance?q=attendance.

50 Ibid.

51 IWC (n16) 24.

52 Emphasis added; IWC (n16) Rule D.1.(a).

53 Original emphasis; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, ‘Participation’, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/participation?q=participation.

54 Teachers were asked to solicit student participation; Those who declined participation were excused and sent back to the classroom; We were very pleased with the high level of participation in the charity events; the decline in voting and civic participation.

55 IWC (n16) Rule E.2.(a).

56 See further N Sellheim and J Schumacher, ‘Increasing the Effectiveness of the Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species’ (2022) 25 Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy 367.

57 See IWC, Voting Rights and Contracting Government Contributions at the International Whaling Commission, FA/68/4.1.1/01/EN [2022].

58 IWC (n20) 3.

59 IWC (n15) Rule E.1.

60 Even though China is an IWC member, it has not participated in many meetings in the past.

61 D Panke, ‘Absenteeism in the General Assembly of the United Nations: Why Some Member States Rarely Vote’ (2014) 51 International Politics 729.

62 Available at https://www.youtube.com/@IwcInt.

63 In case of connectivity problems, it could also possible for other members to represent the fully absent member for as long as these technical issues persist.