Opening Pandora’s Box: a New Era Nuclear Weapon Proliferation?

Abstract

This chapter seeks to examine the current nuclear non-proliferation regime under international law, assesses India's stance in this regard, and the consequences. It addresses the issues concerning the status of nuclear weapons in international law. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force in 1970, after its acceptance by the United Nations General Assembly in 1968. It has been equated in importance to the Charter of the United Nations. In 1994, the UN General Assembly voted for a resolution calling for a comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT). Negotiations took place in the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva till September 1996, when the General Assembly adopted the CTBT and opened it for signature. The advisory opinion of the International Court of justice Opinion (ICJ) was an opportunity for the highest international judicial body to comment on the state of international legal norms relating to nuclear weapons. Keywords:comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT); Conference on Disarmament (CD); International Court of justice Opinion (ICJ); international judicial body; international law; international legal norms; Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT); nuclear weapons; United Nations General Assembly