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The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded to by many other nations. The total number of Parties to the Treaty is now 54.
Some important provisions of the Treaty:
- Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only - Art. I
- Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end… shall continue - Art. II
- Scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available - Art. III
Among the signatories of the Treaty were seven countries - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom - with territorial claims, sometimes overlapping. Other countries do not recognize any claims. The US and Russia maintain a “basis of claim”. All positions are explicitly protected in Article IV, which preserves the status quo:
No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the present Treaty is in force.
To promote the objectives and ensure the observance of the provisions of the Treaty, "All areas of Antarctica, including all stations, installations, and equipment within those areas …shall be open at all times to inspection" (Art. VII).
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The purpose of the Convention sets out the ability of the IWC to establish regulations "such as are necessary to carry out the objectives and purposes of the Convention and to provide for the conservation, development, and optimum utilization of whale resources. "The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed in 1946 and it is the International Whaling Commission’s founding document (IWC). The Convention includes a legally binding Schedule which, amongst other things, sets out catch limits for commercial and aboriginal subsistence whaling. The Schedule is an integral part of the Convention, but its provisions, for example, catch limits, may be amended by the Commission. In practice, amendments to the Schedule are almost always agreed at the Commission’s Annual Meeting" (https://iwc.int). All the Arctic States are part of the Convention, but Canada, by note of June 24, 1981, gave notice of Canada's withdrawal from the Convention effective June 30, 1982.
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The Svalbard Treaty was signed in Paris on 9 February 1920 and came into force on 14 August 1925.
The treaty establishes Norway’s full and undivided sovereignty over Svalbard. Svalbard is part of the Kingdom of Norway, and it is Norway that ratifies and enforces the legislation that is to apply to the archipelago. Nevertheless, the treaty does include some conditions restricting the enactment of Norwegian sovereignty, and Norwegian authorities are required to see to it that Norwegian legislation and administration respect these conditions.
The 8 Arctic States are all parties to the treaty.