Institute of Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

725 F.3d 940 (2013)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Institute of Cetacean Research v. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
725 F.3d 940 (2013)

  • Written by Haley Gintis, JD

Facts

In 1946, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) was passed. The ICRW provided that whale hunting was permissible if a signatory nation granted the hunter a research permit. The United States and Japan were among the signatories to the ICRW. As authorized under the ICRW, Japan issued a research permit to researchers associated with the Institute of Cetacean Research (Cetacean) (plaintiff). While Cetacean was on the high seas, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (Sea Shepherd) (defendant), in protest to whale hunting, damaged Cetacean’s ship and threw containers of acid and smoke bombs at the crew. Cetacean sued Sea Shepherd under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, which creates a cause of action for a committed tort that is violative of a treaty or the law of nations. Cetacean alleged that Sea Shepherd violated the law of nations, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the High Seas Convention by committing piracy. The district court dismissed the case on the ground that Sea Shepherd’s actions did not meet the definition of piracy provided in the conventions. Cetacean appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kozinski, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership