THE DIPLOMATIC DIMENSION: AUSTRALIA AND THE NUCLEAR TESTS CASE

Abstract

'Diplomacy' is the form of international engagement that offers the best prospect of resolving differences and maintaining friendly relations between states. While the Nuclear Tests case - Australia's first encounter with the International Court of Justice as an applicant demonstrates that diplomacy is not always successful when national and foreign policy interests are irreconcilable, diplomacy has to be the first course of action and must be allowed to 'run its course'. Only when that process has been exhausted should action be taken to resort to the Court (or engage in other international dispute settlement procedures) for a decision - based on a sound analysis of the legal issues, a rigorous assessment of the strength of Australia's legal case and when there is a compelling national or foreign policy imperative in doing so. Show more