국제법상 환경보호를 위한 핵무기 규제에 관한 연구

Abstract

In view of past historical experiences, there have been growing concerns that the development, use and proliferation of nuclear weapons can cause widespread and severe damage to the global environment, in spite of differences in the perceptions of environmental risks of nuclear weapons depending on the time period and situation. Thus, the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons has long been one of the major issues in the international community, including environmental aspects. As a result, international legal regulations have been attempted for the manufacture, production, acquisition, possession, transportation, deployment, stockpiling, tests and use of nuclear weapons through multilateral treaties, including international environmental law, and the issue was subjected to judicial judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).BR In light of the potential danger of environmental destruction and damage caused by nuclear weapons, which is more severe and massive than by any other conventional weapons, regulation of nuclear weapons for environmental protection is recognized as a major task in modern international law. The traditional approach to nuclear weapon regulation has been primarily discussed in connection with national security, the prohibition of use of force, nuclear disarmament, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, partially establishing relevant international norms in the respective fields.BR However, comprehensive regulation is still a long way off through the traditional approach. In addition, as ICJ indicated in its 1996 advisory opinion, this approach is somewhat inappropriate in obtaining a clear answer as to whether there is an international legal obligation to protect the environment from nuclear weapons, whether in peace or at war. Moreover, it is still questioned whether current international norms on nuclear weapon regulation can be an effective international legal basis for environmental protection.BR The author, based on this perception, reviewed the main relevant provisions of major international treaties in the fields of nuclear disarmament and denuclearization (Chapter Ⅱ), international humanitarian law (Chapter Ⅲ), and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) (Chapter Ⅳ), which have been discussed as the influential legal basis to regulate nuclear weapons for the environmental protection in international law, and respectively analyzed their effectiveness as well. Through these discussions, from the perspective of ‘environmental protection’ in the non-ideological and non-political points of view, the author looks forward to being able to provide helpful motives to establish regional and/or global legal regime to not only protect the global environment, but also realize genuine humanitarianism and human rights protection by permanently removing nuclear weapons and achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.