"Article VI
of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(the “Treaty” or the “Non-Proliferation Treaty”) . . . calls on each party to the Treaty “to pursue
negotiations in good faith on effective measures” to end the
nuclear arms race and accomplish nuclear disarmament. Armed with Article VI, one of the treaty parties, the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, filed suit, asking the
federal court to declare the United States in breach of its
treaty obligations and to order the United States to engage in
good-faith negotiations."
Uh, dude. To state the facts of the case is pretty much all I need to know in order to tell you how it's going to come out.
But lest you take it from me, here's how the Ninth Circuit summarizes things:
"These claims are nonjusticiable -- Article VI is not directly enforceable in federal court, the Marshall Islands’ asserted injuries are not redressable, and
the claims raise nonjusticiable political questions. At bottom, the suit is doomed because diplomatic
negotiations among parties to this Treaty fall
quintessentially within the realm of the executive, not the
judiciary. Parleying a halt to the nuclear arms race and
achieving nuclear disarmament involve decision-making
delegated to the political branches. We affirm the district
court’s dismissal of the complaint. Asking the federal court
to order the United States to negotiate in “good faith” on
“effective measures” for nuclear disarmament puts the
judiciary in the role of nanny to the executive. Under our
system of separation of powers, the federal court cannot give
the Marshall Islands the judicial relief it seeks."
And that's even from an author (Judge McKeown) who's probably generally somewhat sympathetic to the plaintiff's cause.
In short, no, you're not going to win this lawsuit. No chance. Zero.
