legal position of injured state and State other than an injured State to invoke the international responsibility of the State: With emphasis on the whaling case (Australia vs Japan)

This article examines the grounds for raising the international responsibility by the claimant state, in the light of the 2014 judgment of the international court of justice (ICJ) in the case concerning whaling in the Antarctic (Australia vs. Japan; New Zealand intervening). In this context, first the nature of international obligations of states toward each other is discussed, and the position of injured and non-injured states are examined based on the ILC's Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States. The legal position of Australian government and its position in protecting a collective interest, in line with article 48 of the Draft Articles is, thereupon, analyzed in the whaling case. From the analysis and interpretation presented, it follows that Australia has instituted the proceedings as a non-injured state, to protect a collective interest on behalf of the international community.