Belhavia and post-1981 nuclear testing controversies
Belhavia and post-1981 nuclear testing controversies refer to a series of controversies both within and outside of Belhavia to the reauthorization of nuclear testing by Belhavia in March 1981 by presidential decree under President Julian Settas in violation of WC Resolution 005, which banned all forms of nuclear testing in August 1967.
After a series of controversial testing authorized by the Imperial Senate but opposed by President Vern Callan, in January 1973 the Senate passed Callan-written legislation that conformed Belhavia to the WC Resolution and ceased nuclear testing.
Presidential Decree #112
By 1981, in the so-called Settas Revolution, newly-inaugurated President Julian Settas, a hawkish conservative, sought to undue what he called the "left-wing failures" of the Callan-Levine era. On March 17th, 1981, he signed a presidential decree reauthorizing the Imperial military to resume nuclear testing, invoking his national security powers. With a commanding majority in the Senate by his fellow Tories, his decree was upheld and the Senate voted to repeal the January 1973 nuclear testing ban legislation.
Weinberg v. Settas (1982)
Anti-nuclear weapons opposition Liberal Democrats filed suit in court, losing in both Imperial district and appeals-level courts. The case, titled Weinberg v. Settas, reached the Imperial Supreme Court in August 1982, which upheld Settas' decree as constitutional.
The majority opinion states that:
The question before this court is whether the President of Belhavia has the authority under his Article I(A)(iii-iv) national security and foreign policy perogative powers to overturn an Act of Senate [...] and whether an international treaty or world body ordinance [such as a] World Council resolution contractually binds Belhavia to said treaty or obligations even if Belhavia's elected government officers decide to cease adherence to the international law...
I. Executive Constitutional Authority
[...] We find that the Chief Executive of our most august Empire is indeed entitled to supersede an Act of Senate if, as we said in Stein v. Rabin [1945] "the state of our Nation is in such extraordinary risk that the Senate has itself behaved unconstitutionally by passing legislation illegally tying the hands of the Government's duly-elected Executive Officers to follow their constitutional duties to ensure the safety and security of the Imperial citizenry." Thus, the Decree is a constitutional act.
II. State Sovereignty and International Law
[...] ...and thus, we find that the Imperial Constitution, not an international body or treaty, regardless of whether the Empire is a signatory or member of it, is the supreme law of the land as expressed unambiguously and explicitly in our Constitution's Preface and embedded throughout the document in creating our structure of government and laws. State sovereignty in Belhavia shall always trump supranational law.
1985 WCGT Claim
In 1985, the DSRA filed a claim against Belhavia to the World Council Grand Tribunal but in a five-line order, the Tribunal, by 6-3 vote, dismissed the claim. All four Anticommunist members were joined by Non-aligned Tribunal chief Tippercommon and, unexpectedly, Communist member Estovnia.
1988 Rodarian Phantom Test
In early December 1988, a 800kt explosion was detected in the Antarctic Ocean off Estovakiva by Belhavia and was credited by Belhavian intelligence as likely a nuclear test by the Papal Republic of Rodarion. However, the Imperial Government declined to comment on the test in what most analysts believe what President Settas, a key ally of Rodarion at the time, as well as the likely fact Belhavia itself was violating WC Resolution 005.
Many left-leading pundits criticized the administration in the media but as a lame-duck president whose Vice-President, Naftali Katz, was president-elect and would largely sustain and continue Settas' legacy and policies, the criticism faded away and soon-to-be President Katz faced little backlash for the government's actions.
Aftermath
After 1985, opposition to Belhavian violations of the resolution slackened somewhat, thought domestic anti-nuclear movement activists continued to organize and protest after every nuclear test. Between 1981 and 1992, Belhavia conducted 37 tests.
By the 1988 presidential election, anti-nuclear sentiment had become mainstream in the Liberal Democratic Party just as, in the opposite, pro-nuclear testing opinion within the governing Conservative Party was solidified and had been reinforced, and would be sustained by Settas' successor, Naftali Katz.
In the 1992 presidential election, Liberal Democratic presidential nominee Garret Holleran pledged to end nuclear testing if elected among other issues on his platform. After his election, he signed a new presidential decree overturning Settas's 1981 order.