Editorials & Articles

What international jurisprudence

says about the use of nuclear
weapons
All the nations of the world – nuclear and non-nuclear – must join
together to establish a regime of a nuclear-free world. “Wars begin in the
minds of men, and it is in the minds of men (and women) that the
defenses of peace must be constructed.”
Directions: A passage has been given in which, [A] is a jumbled sentence,
[B] has four highlighted words and [C & D] may contain more than one
error. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions accordingly.
In the past few days there has been much talk (and considerable apprehension) about
the use of nuclear weapons as a result of the Ukraine conflict.
What is the law on the subject? Nearly 30 years ago the International Court of Justice
was requested by the UN for an Advisory Opinion “as to whether the threat or use of
Nuclear Weapons in any circumstance was permitted under International law”. In
other words, could the use of nuclear weapons be reconciled with the basic principles
of humanitarian law? Representatives of 22 nation-states appeared before the ICJ and
made written and oral submissions. In the end, a majority of 12 out of 15 judges said
“that humanitarian law has to be read subject to an exception viz. that it permitted a
State to use Nuclear Weapons in self defence when its survival was at stake, even
where such use would otherwise be a breach of humanitarian law.” Alarming, but
true. Only three judges disagreed — Judge Weeramantry of Sri Lanka, Judge
Shahbuddin of Guyana and Judge Koroma of Sierra Leone.
All three were from the developing world. They said that the concept of the
humanitarian laws of war was not a recent invention, nor the product of any one
culture. It was deep rooted in many ancient cultures — Buddhist, Hindu, Chinese,
Christian, Islamic and traditional African. [A] a variety of means(a)/ that can be used
for the purposes of fighting one’s enemy(d) / had given expression to(b)/each of these
cultures(c). They also said that the problem under consideration was universal, and

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the world court being a universal court, its composition “should reflect the world’s
principal cultural traditions”.
[B] Of special (1) prohibition in connection with nuclear weapons (the three judges
said) was the ancient South Asian (2) tradition regarding the (3) relevance of the use
of “hyper destructive weapons”, as they used to be called in (4) ancient texts. The
celebrated Indian epics — the Ramayana and Mahabharatha — were actually referred
to in their Opinions: The stories in these epics were regularly re–enacted through the
length, and breadth of South and South East Asia as a part of the living cultural
tradition of the entire region.
For instance, the Ramayana told the story of a war between Rama, prince of Ayodhya
in Bharat, and Ravana, the ruler of Sri Lanka. [C] In the course of this epic struggle —
described in minute detail — a weapon of war became(a)/ available to Rama’s half
brother, Lakshmana,(b)/ which can “destroy the entire race of the enemy,(c)/
including those who will not bear arms”(d)/ No Error(e). Rama warned Lakshmana
that the weapon should not be used in the war because such destruction en masse
was forbidden by the ancient laws of war, even though Ravana was fighting an unjust
war with an unrighteous objective. These laws of war were ancient even in Rama’s
time. The judges also quoted from the Mahabharata to emphasise the embargo on
the use of “hyper-destructive” weapons.
Equipped with the necessary array of principles and cultural traditions with which to
respond, all three judges at the ICJ felt that international law could have contributed
significantly towards rolling back the shadow of the nuclear age. But it was not to be.
Their dissent could only be addressed to “the brooding spirit of the future”. All the
nations of the world — nuclear and non-nuclear — must join together to establish a
regime of a nuclear-free world. Why? The following story from after World War II may
illustrate the reason.
[D] J Robert Oppenheimer — the man(a)/ whom invented the atom bomb(b)/ — was
called to testify against(C)/ the US Senate Armed Services Committee(d)/No Error(e).
The committee asked: “Doctor, is there any defence against a nuclear weapon?” He
promptly replied: “Yes, peace.”
This is why in the preamble to the constitution of UNESCO there is a sentence,
addressed appropriately to all of humanity, which reads: “Wars begin in the minds of
men, and it is in the minds of men (and women) that the defences of peace must be
constructed.”

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Practice Questions
Q1. Why Rama warned Lakshmana not to use the weapon of mass destruction?
A. Because mass destruction weapons are heavy to carry by foot soldiers.
B. Weapons of mass destruction were complicated to operate in the ancient
times.
C. In ancient times, such destruction on mass was forbidden by the laws of war at
that time.
D. No one in the army of Lord Rama has the knowledge to operate such weapons.
E. There was no such weapons present at that time, to use it they have to steal
from the Ravana’s army.

Q2. Directions: In the given question there are two statements given identify the
erroneous pair & mark the correct option accordingly.
I. a weapon of war became(A)/ available to Rama’s half brother, Lakshmana,(B)/
which can “destroy the entire race of the enemy,(C)/ including those who can not
bear arms”(D)/ No Error(E).
II. J Robert Oppenheimer — the man(A)/ whom invented the atom bomb(B)/ —
was called to testify against(C)/ the US Senate Armed Services Committee(D)/No
Error(E).

A. I-A, C II-B, C
B. I-C, D II-A, C
C. I-B, D II-A, D
D. I-C, D II-B, C
E. No improvement required.

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Q3. Choose the correct synonym of the ‘Array’?
A. Confuse
B. Disorganize
C. Dainty
D. Assemblage
E. Denude

Q4. There is a sentence given in jumbled form, identify the correct pair which can
form the sentence contextually and grammatically right.
a variety of means(a)/ that can be used for the purposes of fighting one’s enemy(d) /
had given expression to(b)/each of these cultures(c).
A. abcd
B. cdba
C. adbc
D. cbad
E. None of these.

Q5. Choose the correct antonym of the ‘Dissent’?

A. Disagreement
B. Demur
C. Acceptance
D. Acme
E. Incite

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Q6. Swap the underlined words contextually and meaningfully correct.

Of special (1) prohibition in connection with nuclear weapons (the three judges said)
was the ancient South Asian (2) tradition regarding the (3) relevance of the use of
“hyper destructive weapons”, as they used to be called in (4) ancient texts.
A. Prohibition >> tradition
B. Relevance >> tradition
C. Prohibition >> relevance
D. Ancient >> prohibition
E. No improvement required.

Q7. What does the author mean by the line, “the brooding spirit of the future”
given in the passage?
A. All the nuclear powered nation must join a coalition to establish the peace in
the current scenario.
B. All non nuclear powered nation like Iraq, Iran and Syria must sign the nuclear
prohibition treaty to secure the nukes from the sinister groups.
C. Russia have to think of the people of Ukraine before the use of weapons of
mass destruction in his enlargement war.
D. All the nuclear and non nuclear nations of the world must join the union to
established a regime of a nuclear free world.
E. In order to develop a nuclear free world, United States of America must take
the role of the global leader and should collaborate with nuclear and non
nuclear countries of the world.

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Q8. What is the Tone of the passage?

A. Sardonic
B. Vindictive
C. Anxious
D. Reflective
E. Dramatic

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Answers:
Q1. C Q2. D Q3. D Q4. D Q5. C Q6. C Q7. D Q8. D

Passage Vocabulary
1. Jurisprudence (n) - The word jurisprudence derives from the Latin term juris
prudentia, which means “the study, knowledge, or science of law.”
The court and trial system used to administer law and justice is an example of
jurisprudence.

2. Regime (n) – शासन - a particular government or a system or method of

government:
Example - The emerging capitalist order was giving rise to harsh regimes.

3. International court of justice – sometimes known as the World Court, is one of

the six principal organs of the United Nations. It settles disputes between states in
accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international
legal issues.

4. Reconciled (v) - स्वीकार करना - to find a way in which two situations or beliefs that
are opposed to each other can agree and exist together:
Example - It's difficult to reconcile such different points of view.

5. Humanitarian law - International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules that seeks,
for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict.

6. Viz. (Adv) - used, especially in written English, when you want to give more detail
or be more exact about something you have just written:
Example - We both shared the same ambition, viz., to make a lot of money and
to retire at 40.

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7. At Stake – दाांव पर - in danger of being lost; at risk.

Example - Thousands of lives will be at stake if emergency aid does not arrive
in the city soon.

8. En masse (adv) – all together and in large numbers

Example - The shop's 85 workers have resigned en masse.

9. Length and breadth (phrase) - If you travel the length and breadth of a place, you
go to every part of it.
Example - She travelled the length and breadth of Ireland looking for her
missing brother.

10.Embargo (n) – प्रतिरोध - an order to temporarily stop something, especially trading

or giving information
Example - They have put an embargo on imports of clothing.

11.Dissent (n) – ववरोध, मिभेद - a strong difference of opinion on a particular subject,

especially about an official suggestion or plan or a popular belief:
Example- When the time came to approve the proposal, there were one or
two voices of dissent.

12.Promptly (adv) – िुरांि - immediately; without delay.

Example - He paid the fine promptly

13.Preamble - The preamble sets the stage for the Constitution

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