Sunday July 10: Public Reading of the Court’s Opinion.
“The threat or use of nuclear weapons wold generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law.”
With those words, the International Court of Justice rendered its opinion on July 8, 1996; the court also ruled, unanimously, that “there exists an obligation to pursue and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.”
OREPA will mark the fifteenth anniversary of the World Court’s landmark decision with a public reading of the opinion on Sunday, July 10, 2011 on the front lawn of the University of Tennessee Law School. The reading will begin at 1:00pm and should be concluded about three hours later.
This is the sixth year OREPA members have held a public reading of the opinion to mark the anniversary. Initially, we thought we would have one reading, on the tenth anniversary; we anticipated three hours of dry legalese. But at the conclusion of that first reading, the verdict was unanimous”the arguments so carefully laid out by the court proved to be compelling reading, at times even inspiring.
Everyone is welcome to join us for the reading. If you are interested in reading a portion of the opinion, you can contact OREPA’s coordinator, Ralph Hutchison, at 865 776 5050 or leave an email comment on the web site. Be sure you let us know how best to contact you.
