Press Releases & Updates 1999

Questioned by Advocate John Mayer, on behalf of Ulla Roder, he explained that according to a range of international humanitarian protocols and principles, culminating in the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (July 1996), there was no way that Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons could be legal. A key point was that Trident is a weapon which cannot discriminate between civilians and military targets. Its use against a military target close to a town would not lead to mere collateral damage, but would be wanton destruction.

In the questioning it was explained that the Trident missiles were rented from the US.

Advocate John Mayer: " What if I built a submarine in my backyard and fitted it out with 48 Trident warheads, would the mere possession of that submarine be illegal?"

Boyle: "Trident is already in your backyard. It is not a matter of mere possession. They are ready to be fired at 15 minutes notice."

Boyle pointed out that nuclear weapons had been developed in secrecy, under conditions of war, and were not at that stage subject to legal audit. Both the US and UK had been present at the World Court proceedings in 1996 but none of the scenarios they presented to the court in which their nuclear armoury would be potentially used were accepted as legal.

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