case was heard at the ICJ. The hearing ran from June 26, 2013, until July 6, 2013. In its deposition to the ICJ, the Australian government has claimed that Japan "has breached and is continuing to breach" its obligations under the international convention, and further asserted that Japan has refused to accept IWC recommendations. Solicitor-General of Australia Justin Gleeson appeared for Australia before the ICJ. The ICJ's 16-judge bench received and then decided upon the case. Rothwell stated that the case "is a complex one which raises novel legal issues not previously considered by any international court". Tony Press, CEO of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania, Australia, provided weekly reports of the ICJ hearings for The Conversation Australia media publication. Following the second week, Press relayed that Japan articulated in certain terms its intentions in the Southern Ocean: "the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry", further explaining that a whale must be killed to obtain certain types of information, such as the collection of ear plugs to estimate the age of a whale. During the second week, Professor Lars Walløe, of the University of Oslo and a former Norwegian Commissioner to the Whaling Commission was presented by Japan as its sole expert witness. During the week beginning July 8, 2013, New Zealand delivered its intervention, in which it provided a history of the origin of the 1946 Whaling Convention and Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus affirmed that his nation had not "colluded" with New Zealand to launch the ICJ proceedings. Dreyfus concluded Australia's contribution by emphasizing the friendship shared by Australia and Japan, and stated: "Australia respectfully requests the Court to bring Japan’s whaling program to an end." The ICJ hearing concluded on July 16, 2013. In Japan's final presentation Professor Payam Akhavan of McGill University stated: ""it would not be an exaggeration to say that Australia’s case now hangs by a thread". On March 31, 2014, the ICJ ruled that Japan's whaling program was not for scientific purposes. The Court ordered that "Japan revoke any extant authorization, permit or licence to kill, take or treat whales" and refrain from granting any further permits. The court's judges agreed with Australia that the number of Japanese scientific research publications were not proportionate to the number of animals killed. Two former Australian Environment ministers applauded