Lawyers acting for the Marshall Islands in landmark cases against the world's nuclear powers say a US ruling will have little affect on lawsuits it's bringing against other countries.
Rinok Riklon (left) and Namiko Anjain are survivors of US nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands during the 1950s. Photo: RNZ
The US District Court last week dismissed the case against Washington but an appeal is planned aimed at ordering it to honour nuclear disarmament obligations.
The Marshall Islands, which was used as a nuclear testing ground in the 1950s, still has cases pending against Britain, India and Pakistan at the International Court of Justice.
One of its lawyers in the action, Laurie Ashton, says constitutional reasons for dismissing the case in the US won't apply at The Hague.
"The judge found that because the United States constitution gives the President the authority to negotiate treaties, this case, on breach of a treaty, can't go forward because of the President's authority to negotiate treaties. But that fundamentally is not at issue in the cases at the International Court of Justice."
Laurie Ashton.