Antarctica is Earth’s fifth-largest and southernmost continent. It is located in the Antarctic region of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice. It has no human population of its own, except for some permanent manned scientific research stations. Seven sovereign states have claimed sectors of land in Antarctica, but none of these claims have been recognized by other countries. In 1959 the Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington to establish Antarctica as a region of peace and cooperation, and to deal with issues relating to claims of sovereignty. Its primary purpose is to ensure “in the interests of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord”. The Treaty is at the core of a number of related agreements which, together with the measures taken under the Antarctic Treaty and related agreements are often called the Antarctic Treaty system.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for legal research on Antarctica. It provides the basic materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library’s classification index code 68a. Polar Regions and subject headings (keywords) Antarctica and Antarctic Treaty (Washington, D.C., 1 December 1959) are instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
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Governing the Frozen Commons examines the Antarctic Treaty System as a complex legal regime for managing resource activities in the Antarctic and assesses what innovative legal arrangements might be needed to regulate future political and economic developments there. In this study, Christopher C. Joyner analyzes a number of critical considerations affecting the circumpolar south, including the status of Antarctica as a global commons; the legal regime currently in place for managing Antarctic affairs; the legal, economic, and political implications of applying a common heritage of mankind regime to the Antarctic; the viability of the legal regimes now established for resource management, conservation, environmental protection, and scientific investigation in the Antarctic; and the prospect that Antarctica might be considered a world park.
Joyner, C.C., 1998The Yearbook of Polar Law, based at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at the University of Akureyri in Iceland, covers a wide variety of topics relating to the Arctic and the Antarctic. These include: – human rights issues, such as autonomy and self-government vs self-determination, the rights of indigenous peoples to land and natural resources and cultural rights and cultural heritage, indigenous traditional knowledge, – local and national governance issues, – environmental law, climate change, security and environment implications of climate change, protected areas and species, – regulatory, governance and management agreements and arrangements for marine environments, marine mammals, fisheries conservation and other biological/mineral/oil resources, – law of the sea, the retreating sea ice, continental shelf claims, – territorial claims and border disputes on both land and at sea, – peace and security, dispute settlement, – jurisdictional and other issues re the exploration, exploitation and shipping of oil, gas and minerals, bioprospecting, – trade law, potential shipping lines through the northwest and northeast passages, maritime law and transportation law, and – the roles and actual involvement of international organizations in the Polar regions, such as the Arctic Council, the European Union, the International Whaling Commission, the Nordic Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the United Nations, as well as NGOs.
Alfredsson, G. and T. Koivurova (eds.), 2009 - ...Whales – large, mysterious, intelligent, and endangered. Has any mammal inspired such romantic images of the sea and love for nature as much as the whale, yet aroused such controversy in global environmental conservation ? King of the Seas, symbol of the environmental movement, meat and oil for commercial whaling. Over the years, large-scale commercial [...]
Read moreEnvironmental problems caused by tourism in Antarctica
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The Antarctic Treaty System in World Politics / , 1991
Governing the Frozen Commons : the Antarctic Regime and Environmental Protection / , 1998
The Yearbook of Polar Law / , 2009 - ...
International Law for Antarctica / , 1996
Antarctica : Legal and Environmental Challenges for the Future / , 2007
Governing the Antarctic : the Effectiveness and Legitimacy of the Antarctic Treaty System / , 1996
