§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards efforts being made at the United Nations to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of use and threat of use of nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Garel-JonesThe Government see no need for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal status of nuclear weapons. There is no treaty which outlaws nuclear weapons. On the contrary, the non-proliferation treaty explicitly recognises the possession of nuclear weapons by "nuclear-weapon States". The use of nuclear weapons would have to be judged as lawful or not in the light of the particular circumstances in which they were used. Since the use of nuclear weapons might according to the circumstances be lawful, the deterrent threat of their use must also be considered lawful.