U.S. Federal Judge Dismisses Marshall Islands Suit Alleging U.S. Breach of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (February 3, 2015) [1]
On February 3, 2015, a U.S. Federal District Court judge dismissed [3] a suit by the Marshall Islands in The Republic of the Marshall Islands v. The United States of America et al. that accused the United States of breaching “its obligations under Article VI of the [Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] Treaty [4] by allegedly failing to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures for nuclear disarmament.” The judge ruled that the Marshall Islands lacked standing to bring the suit, the case was “nonjusticiable because it involve[d] a political question,” and the injury claimed could not “be redressed by compelling the specific performance by only one nation to the Treaty.” According to one report [5], the United States conducted sixty-seven nuclear weapons tests on the Islands between 1946 and 1958, but despite reports of ongoing health and environmental problems resulting from the tests, Marshall Islands did not seek compensation. Instead, it sought an interpretation of the treaty, a determination of whether the United States was in breach, and an injunction directing the United States to comply within a year. The Islands submitted applications [6] on the same matter against nine nuclear states, including the United States, to the International Court of Justice in April 2014.