Wednesday, November 1, 1995 THE HAGUE (Reuter) -- France urged the International Court of Justice Wednesday to reject a United Nations request for advice on the legality of nuclear weapons. A French foreign ministry legal official argued that the request was inappropriate and that a nuclear deterrent was key to national self- defense. The World Health Organization and the U.N. General Assembly have asked the court, the United Nation's main judicial body, to give an historic, though non-binding, pronouncement on whether international law permits the threat or use of nuclear weapons. On the second day of public hearings at the court, France argued that the requests were "manifestly inadmissible" and "disturbing" and should be rejected. Marc de Brichambaut, foreign ministry legal affairs director, insisted that individual nations should be allowed to determine their own defense policies, particularly in the case of self-defense. "I would warn the court against a formula which...would imply an assessment of a defense policy based on deterrence," he told the 14 judges. "Such an approach would call into doubt the very basis of legitimate defense, a principle which...protects the existence of states when they suffer armed aggression." Last Friday France staged its third nuclear test in the South Pacific since September, one of a series planned by Paris before it signs an international treaty banning all tests. The tests have met widespread international condemnation. De Brichambaut said France was committed to working toward a nuclear-free world, but only through the existing channels of negotiation and not through an abstract legal finding. On the first day of hearings Monday Australia, one of the fiercest opponents of French nuclear tests, also urged the court to offer no opinion, but said that, if it did, it should declare a ban on all nuclear arms. The court's decision is expected early next year.