Whaling Treaty

Whaling Treaty
Treaty on the Elimination of Piracy, Overfishing and Other Criminal Maritime Activities
Signed	April 6, 2016
Location	Kutacar, Tuthina
Effective	November 16, 2016
Condition	15 ratifications
Parties	15 states
Depositary	Governments of the Aininian Republic and the Most Serene Empire of Tuthina
Languages	French, Literary Tuthinan

The Treaty on the Elimination of Piracy, Overfishing and Other Criminal Maritime Activities (French: Traité pour l'élimination de la piraterie, de la surpêche et d'autres activités maritimes criminelles, Literary Tuthinan: 𠟯𣹹水寇竭䱷又𠔁水辠㞢𡚑𠣩 chwo'myet suykō ket'yo u'pyet suycoy ci kongyak), commonly known as the Whaling Treaty or the Whale Treaty (French: Traité baleinier, Literary Tuthinan: 護䲔灋 hokyengpyop, "law to protect whale"), is the international agreement that restricts privateering, overfishing (especially of whales) and ocean dumping in international waters throughout Esquarium. Along with the High Seas Treaty, it forms the nucleus of the body of public international law concerning the law of the sea.

History

The catalyst for the treaty came in the form of the Whale War, in which a Fjallandic whaling vessel was sunk by the Tuthinan maritime civil defence force for whaling in waters that Tuthina claims as its exclusive economic zone after a fatal confrontation. Subsequent diplomatic consultations between Tuthina and Ainin, the latter a staunch defender of Tuthinan actions, led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Huimont between the two countries on the necessity of establishing standards for behaviour in international waters. Talks between officials of the two countries led to the drafting of a treaty heavily restricting harmful actions on the high seas. It was unveiled and signed by foreign ministers Hiroyuki Tesigahara of Tuthina and Remy Micheaux of Ainin on April 6, 2016.

Description

Article 1 declares the treaty to be jus cogens that all states, not just signatories, are compelled to follow and not permitted to violate, under threat of "restitutive action" by signatories. It then goes on to establish the International Fisheries Commission (CFI), responsible for setting fishing quotas, updating lists of endangered maritime species and resolving disputes over treaty violations between signatories. It declares the membership of the Commission to "constitute of one (1) delegate from each high contracting party" to the treaty.

Article 2 deals with piracy and permits any nation to deal with threats to international shipping as they see fit, reinforcing the customary view of pirates as hostis humani generis, or enemies of mankind. It furthermore bans all states from engaging in the act of privateering and considers the use of military force against warships engaging in the act as self-defence. It reinforces the freedom of navigation principle that "free ships make free goods."

Articles 3 and 4 prohibit the use of certain destructive fishing methods in international waters and authorize the Commission to set quotas for specific species and regions, as well as allocate the quotas among concerned countries.

Article 5 declares the oceans to be the common heritage of mankind and establishes that all states have the responsibility to conserve its ecosystems for future generations. It further sets out restrictions on ocean dumping and includes a near-total prohibition on the dumping of radioactive waste in the ocean. It also encourages signatories to reduce the quantity of plastics and fishing debris released into the ocean.

Status

List of parties

Denotes a depository of the treaty

Entity	Signed	Deposited	Method
Ainin	April 6, 2016	April 11, 2016	Ratification
Aucuria	April 28, 2016	May 25, 2016	Ratification
Desenan Republic	May 6, 2016	May 18, 2016	Ratification
Esquarian Community	December 7, 2017	December 7, 2017	Accession
Karazawa	May 2, 2016	May 22, 2016	Ratification
Katranjiev	May 1, 2016	May 11, 2016	Ratification
Template:Country data Jathana	May 3, 2016	May 8, 2016	Ratification
Lecia	June 25, 2016	July 3, 2016	Ratification
Senria	April 25, 2016	May 7, 2016	Ratification
Sjealand	October 19, 2016	December 1, 2016^{[n 1]}	Ratification
Siphria	June 21, 2016	August 4, 2016	Ratification
Swastria	October 19, 2016	December 1, 2016^{[n 1]}	Ratification
Tuthina	April 6, 2016	April 8, 2016	Ratification
UNIR	May 6, 2016	August 1, 2016	Ratification
Xiaodong	May 3, 2016	May 22, 2016	Ratification