Keller Rohrback Client Named 2016 Arms Control Person of the Year

[caption id="attachment_3556" align="alignnone" width="1080"> A US nuclear weapon is detonated at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. (Image has been colorized.) Photo: US Government via International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons on Flickr (Public Domain).[/caption]

We are delighted to announce that the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and its former Foreign Minister Tony deBrum, have been officially named the “2016 Arms Control Person of the Year,” based on the RMI’s unprecedented legal actions to enforce the obligation to negotiate nuclear disarmament in good faith.

Read the Arms Control Association’s announcement of this prestigious award.

Keller Rohrback represented the RMI in the Nuclear Zero lawsuits at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and also represents them in the United States, where the RMI has asked the Court to order the U.S. to fulfill its binding and inescapable legal obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to negotiate nuclear disarmament in good faith. Based on the legal actions, the RMI previously received the Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “alternative Nobel Prize,” and also was nominated by the International Peace Bureau for the Nobel Prize.

Laurie Ashton, who leads the U.S. litigation and was on the legal team representing the RMI in The Hague, said, "It is such an honor to represent the RMI in these important proceedings and we congratulate them on being named the 2016 Arms Control Person of the Year. Every single one of us owes the RMI an enormous debt of gratitude for the fearless actions they take not only on their own behalf, but on behalf of humanity." Nuclear Age Peace Foundation President David Krieger, who has actively championed the Nuclear Zero lawsuits since their inception, added, “This honor demonstrates the enthusiasm people share for concrete and courageous action to enforce nuclear disarmament obligations.” The legal briefing is available at http://www.nuclearzero.org/in-the-courts

Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is a law firm based in the United States that represents clients throughout the world. The firm has offices in Seattle, New York, Phoenix, and Santa Barbara, and is affiliated with independent law firms in Europe, South America, and Asia.