ABSTRACT
In 1985, French agents boarded the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior while it stood moored in the harbor at Auckland, New Zealand.1 They set explosive devices that sank the ship and killed one person on board. The Rainbow Warrior had come to New Zealand to take part in a planned protest against the open-air testing of nuclear weapons at Mururoa Atoll by the French government. Greenpeace had orchestrated a plan whereby the Rainbow Warrior would lead a large group of ships into the test area. By this action, they hoped to stop the test or to embarrass the French government if it carried out the test regardless of the potential damage. The resolution of this case, which we will discuss later, illustrates many of the principles and problems we discussed in Chapter 1 concerning “enforcement.” It also illustrates in broad form the issues connected with state responsibility.
