Rainbow Warrior (New Zealand v. France)

In 1985, a civilian vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, was moored in a harbor in Auckland, New Zealand (plaintiff). The Rainbow Warrior was a Greenpeace vessel set to depart for protests against French nuclear testing. To prevent the protests, two French agents, Mafart and Prieur, placed explosive devices and sunk the vessel, causing extensive property damage and one death. The two French agents were arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison by a New Zealand court. France (defendant) and New Zealand then entered into negotiations concerning the sentences of the two agents. The United Nations secretary-general ruled that the French agents were to serve their sentences on the French military base on the isolated island of Hao for three years. The agents began their sentences in July 1986. In December 1987, Mafart was returned to France for emergency hospital treatment and later released by the French government for “health reasons.” In May 1988, the French government received notification that Prieur was pregnant and her father was terminally ill. Thus, the French government released Prieur for “humanitarian reasons.” New Zealand was not consulted about the transfers and eventual releases of Mafart and Prieur and brought an action against France. France argued that Mafart and Prieur’s situations constituted distress, which required the government to take the action it did.