Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has welcomed the UN's decision to ban Japan's whaling program. Source: AAP
THE decision by an international court to declare Japan's Southern Ocean whale hunt illegal was a vindication of Labor's decision to take the original court action, federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday demanded Japan cease its whaling program "with immediate effect" as it didn't comply with the country's obligations under the international whaling convention.
The court agreed with Australia's long-held view that Japan's JARPA II research program wasn't "for purposes of scientific research" as allowed under Article 8 of the 1946 convention.
That argument was first brought to court after a push by former environment minister Peter Garrett, and Mr Shorten said that had ultimately led to a decision which would be welcomed by most.
"This is great news for everyone who wants to see whales protected and not hunted for commerce," Mr Shorten said.
"The decision that Labor made to take this to the international court was a policy that was not supported by (Prime Minister) Tony Abbott.
"The wisdom of the approach was vindicated by this successful decision. Our seas will be better for it.
"I think most Australians regardless of politics are probably happy that there won't be commercial whaling in our seas."
The decision comes less than a week before Mr Abbott heads to Tokyo in a bid to finalise a free trade agreement with Japan, Australia's second-largest trading partner.
Mr Shorten said he did not think the decision would affect Australian-Japanese relations.
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