Publikationer

Research | Forskning - peer review

Arctic Indigenous Peoples have, through their own persistence, advanced the development of the Western European legal norms in a system that once facilitated their colonisation. The fiftieth anniversary of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference took place in 2023. The occasion was marked with another Confer… Arctic Indigenous Peoples have, through their own persistence, advanced the development of the Western European legal norms in a system that once facilitated their colonisation. The fiftieth anniversary of the Arctic Peoples’ Conference took place in 2023. The occasion was marked with another Conference, this time in Ilulissat, Greenland. It was a moment to reflect on the achievements of Arctic Indigenous Peoples, to build upon the 1973 resolutions and to address contemporary challenges. The resultant Joint Statement addresses the need for enhanced engagement in the forums of international law, intergenerational justice, intersecting rights to wellbeing, land, water and natural resources, and to address the risks posed by climate change and colonialism. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

Polar law describes the normative frameworks that govern the relationships between humans, States, Peoples, institutions, land and resources in the Arctic and the Antarctic. These two regions are superficially similar in terms of natural environmental conditions but the overarching frameworks that a… Polar law describes the normative frameworks that govern the relationships between humans, States, Peoples, institutions, land and resources in the Arctic and the Antarctic. These two regions are superficially similar in terms of natural environmental conditions but the overarching frameworks that apply are fundamentally different. The Routledge Handbook of Polar Law explores the legal orders in the Arctic and Antarctic in a comparative perspective, identifying similarities as well as differences. It points to a distinct discipline of "Polar law" as the body of rules governing actors, spaces and institutions at the Poles. Four main features define the collection: the Arctic-Antarctic interface; the interaction between global, regional and domestic legal regimes; the rights of Indigenous Peoples; and the increasing importance of private law. While these broad themes have been addressed to varying extents elsewhere, the editors believe that this Handbook brings them together to create a comprehensive (if never exhaustive) account of what constitutes Polar law today. Leading scholars in public international and private law as well as experts in related fields come together to offer unique insights into polar law as a burgeoning discipline. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

Russian aggression against Ukraine has triggered doubts about the viability of international law to address complex problems, including in the polar regions. Nevertheless, this article demonstrates that international legal approaches remain important tools to address challenges and disputes in polar… Russian aggression against Ukraine has triggered doubts about the viability of international law to address complex problems, including in the polar regions. Nevertheless, this article demonstrates that international legal approaches remain important tools to address challenges and disputes in polar law. The article argues that international law remains of critical importance for the peaceful governance of the Poles. It illustrates this argument with a review of, amongst other institutions, the functioning of the Arctic Council, the Antarctic Treaty System, selected issues in the law of the sea and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

This paper examines the legal concept of occupation of territory and its historic application to the Polar regions, to disclose the fallacies at the heart of the colonial projects at both Poles. It also considers how the increasing recognition of non-use value disrupts positivist accounts of occupat… This paper examines the legal concept of occupation of territory and its historic application to the Polar regions, to disclose the fallacies at the heart of the colonial projects at both Poles. It also considers how the increasing recognition of non-use value disrupts positivist accounts of occupation. The colonisation of populated lands was justified by European theories of property that insisted that effective occupation required both a psychological and a physical element. The psychological element of occupation requires the sovereign to engage in a legal action that it controls the land and exercises dominion over it but this conceit is not shared by Arctic Indigenous Peoples. The physical element of occupation according to the positivist account requires an owner or sovereign to transform the land in some physical manner. The self-serving European legal theories construed the Indigenous relationship with land as a non-relationship and declared it retrospectively terra nullius. According to their own laws, the colonisers declared their own sovereign authority over Indigenous territories, notwithstanding the existing civilisations. However, in the Polar regions, the colonisers themselves did very little in the way of physical occupation or transformation of the vast majority of the lands that they claimed. Colonisers demonstrated occupation through the naming of places, mapping, taking resources, building basic structures for shelter, and applying laws over their own people. But Indigenous Peoples had long been doing all those things in the Arctic. 20th century courts accepted that in territories remote from the colonising claimant with little or no population, the degree of physical occupation and exercise of jurisdiction could be very limited. However, they refused to consider the much longer and more extensive use and management by Indigenous Peoples. In the Antarctic, the territorial claims of the seven claimant states do not pivot on any real physical occupation or transformation of the land at all. This would have been impossible on any scale of significance, given the size and challenging climate of the continent at the time of European discovery. Today, the principles that govern the Antarctic continent favour non-use and a minimisation of impacts. At both Poles, justifications for the exercise of jurisdiction are increasingly based on promises to protect wilderness by minimising human impacts. Sovereignty is demonstrated through non-occupation in a complete reversal of the classical legal theory. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

This article discusses the history of international law in respect of colonisation, from Francisco de Vitoria to the present day. It reveals the inconsistencies and injustices with regard to Indigenous Peoples that continue to constrain their rights to self-determination today on an equal basis with… This article discusses the history of international law in respect of colonisation, from Francisco de Vitoria to the present day. It reveals the inconsistencies and injustices with regard to Indigenous Peoples that continue to constrain their rights to self-determination today on an equal basis with other Peoples. By deconstructing the legal explanations for the occupations of the polar regions, it demonstrates the contradictions at the heart of the colonial project and challenges international lawyers, in particular “positivist” international lawyers, to re-evaluate their hypotheses regarding occupation and state sovereignty. It highlights the gaps between the theory and practice of occupation of the polar regions and questions the legitimacy of states’ territorial claims. Instead, it shows that Indigenous occupation in the Arctic is much older and legally stronger than that of any state. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

The paper demonstrates how the evolution of international law on colonial and indigenous peoples, in particular evolving rights to sovereignty over natural resources, shaped the changing relationship between Greenland and the rest of the Danish Realm. Greenland today is in a unique position in inter… The paper demonstrates how the evolution of international law on colonial and indigenous peoples, in particular evolving rights to sovereignty over natural resources, shaped the changing relationship between Greenland and the rest of the Danish Realm. Greenland today is in a unique position in international law, enjoying an extremely high degree of self-government. This paper explores the history, current status and future of Greenland through the lens of international law, to show how international obligations both colour its relationship with the Kingdom of Denmark and influence its approaches to resource development internally. It considers the invisibility of the Inuit population in the 1933 Eastern Greenland case that secured Danish sovereignty over the entire territory. It then turns to Denmark’s registration of Greenland as a non-self-governing territory (colony) in 1946 before Greenland’s-purported decolonisation in 1953 and the deficiencies of that process. In the second part of the 20th century, Denmark began to recognise the Greenland Inuit as an indigenous people before a gradual shift towards recognition of the Greenlanders as a people in international law, entitled to self-determination, including the right to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources. This peaked with the Self-Government Act of 2009. The paper will then go on to assess competing interpretations of the Self-Government Act of 2009 according to which the Greenland self-government is the relevant decision-making body for an increasing number of fields of competence including, since 1 January 2010, the governance of extractive industries. Some, including members of the Greenland self-government, argue that the Self-Government Act constitutes full implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP 2007), but this view is not universally shared. The paper also considers the status and rights of two Greenland minorities: the North Greenlanders (Inughuit) and the East Greenlanders, each of whom has distinct histories, experiences of colonisation, dialects (or languages) and cultural traditions. While the Kingdom of Denmark accepts the existence of only one indigenous people, namely, the Inuit of Greenland, this view is increasingly being challenged in international fora, including the UN human rights treaty bodies, as the two minorities are in some cases considered distinct indigenous peoples. Their current position in Greenland as well as in a future fully independent Greenland is examined, and the rights that they hold against the Greenland self-government as well as the Kingdom of Denmark explored. Greenland’s domestic regime for governance of non-renewable natural resources (principally mining and hydrocarbons) is briefly analysed and compared with international standards, with a particular emphasis on public participation. The paper assesses the extent to which it complies with the standards in key international instruments. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

Colonization of the Poles was driven, as in most of the rest of the world, by the promise of resources. Living resources have long been exploited at both Poles,1 but only in the North have law, politics and economics aligned to permit exploitation of non-living resources. Diversity amongst the Arcti… Colonization of the Poles was driven, as in most of the rest of the world, by the promise of resources. Living resources have long been exploited at both Poles,1 but only in the North have law, politics and economics aligned to permit exploitation of non-living resources. Diversity amongst the Arctic states in climate, terrain, resource potential, population density, infrastructure and political economy means that no single pattern could describe accurately the entire region. This Chapter will provide only a cursory summary before focusing on the freedoms and constraints of international law on governance of non-renewable, non-living natural resources. It will then explain the history, current status and potential challenges to the sui generis regime in the Antarctic, according to which extractive industries are entirely prohibited. Although non-living resources is a broad term that could cover renewable energy and ice-harvesting, this Chapter concentrates on traditional extractive industries: mining and hydrocarbons. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

On February 25, 2019, the International Court of Justice issued its advisory opinion on Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The judges held by a majority of 13:1 that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius is incomplete, owing to the separation… On February 25, 2019, the International Court of Justice issued its advisory opinion on Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The judges held by a majority of 13:1 that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius is incomplete, owing to the separation of the Chagos Archipelago shortly before Mauritian independence, that the United Kingdom should end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible, and that all Member States of the United Nations should cooperate to complete the decolonisation of Mauritius. The (partial) decolonisation of Mauritius in 1968 and the treatment of the Chagos islanders (Chagossians) have important parallels with the purported decolonisation of Greenland in 1952–54. In both cases, the consultative body of the colonised people was neither fully independent nor representative of all the people concerned. No real choice was given to either body; rather the colonial power offered only the continuation of the status quo or professed self-determination on terms defined by the colonial power itself. Furthermore, the process of decolonisation was inherently linked to the forcible transfer of people in order to make way for a United States military facility. Nevertheless, there are some relevant differences. First of all, Greenland was purportedly decolonised in 1953, some seven years before the UN General Assembly Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (UNGA Res. 1514(XV) 1960). Second, the UN General Assembly accepted the Danish government’s representations regarding the full decolonisation of Greenland (UNGA Res. 849 (1954), in contrast to their position regarding Mauritius that decolonisation was and remains incomplete, owing to the separation of the Chagos Archipelago (UNGA Res(XX) 1965). Third, though the Chagossians have been recognised as indigenous at the UN, the British government has continually denied this status and (mis)characterises them as a transient people, while Denmark has accepted the status of the Greenlanders as both an indigenous people and a colonial people, entitled to self-determination. This article examines the implications for the judgment for the Greenland case as well as broader questions of self-determination of peoples. It concludes that the colonial boundaries continue to govern in decolonisation cases, with the consequence that the Greenlanders are likely to be held to be a single people; that the erga omnes character of the right to self-determination means that all States must cooperate to facilitate Greenlanders’ choices for their future; and that there remain significant procedural hurdles that prevent colonial and indigenous peoples having their voices heard, even in the matters that concern them most of all. Læs mere

Research | Forskning

This comprehensive text explains the relationship between the Arctic and the wider world through the lenses of international relations, international law, and political economy. It is an essential resource for any student or scholar seeking a clear and succinct account of a region of ever-growing im… This comprehensive text explains the relationship between the Arctic and the wider world through the lenses of international relations, international law, and political economy. It is an essential resource for any student or scholar seeking a clear and succinct account of a region of ever-growing importance to the international community. Highlights include: Broad coverage of national and human security, Arctic economies, international political economy, human rights, the rights of indigenous people, the law of the sea, navigation, and environmental governance. A clear review of current climate-related change. Emphasis on the sources of cooperation in the Arctic through international relations theory and law. Examination of the Arctic in the broader global context, illustrating its inextricable links to global processes. Læs mere

Research | Forskning - peer review

Greenland’s independence to some extent pivots on the exploitation of natural resources, including offshore hydrocarbon resources. The exploitation of oil and gas is inherently hazardous and offshore activities and marine oil transports bring a risk of a serious pollution incident affecting the inte… Greenland’s independence to some extent pivots on the exploitation of natural resources, including offshore hydrocarbon resources. The exploitation of oil and gas is inherently hazardous and offshore activities and marine oil transports bring a risk of a serious pollution incident affecting the interests of other States. The long-established principle of full reparation for injuries indicates that should a major accident occur under an independent Greenland’s watch, Greenland would bear a potentially unlimited liability to compensate affected parties. However, for a post-colonial State of under 60,000 souls, an overwhelming compensation claim could be disastrous: indeed, it could be sufficiently overwhelming as to compromise the rights of the Greenlandic people to self-determination and permanent sovereignty over their own resources, as well as a number of fundamental human rights found in international customary and conventional law. This chapter examines how such a conflict between the principle of full reparation and the rights of peoples to self-determination might be resolved in practice in light of the ILC Articles on State Responsibility, international customary law and ius cogens, international human rights treaties and the few pertinent, though limited and distinguishable, cases that have been decided to date. The chapter concludes by finding that the principle of self-determination has a peremptory status and thus in the event of conflict with the principle of full reparation, the latter must be considered subservient. However, there may be scope for greater flexibility in the mode and timescale of reparation than in its quantum. Læs mere

Research | Forskning

In this paper, we examine the potential applicability of international legal principles on decolonisation, self-determination, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, human rights law and the right to know apply to cases of displaced archives in the Arctic. The paper seeks to identify and evaluate the sui… In this paper, we examine the potential applicability of international legal principles on decolonisation, self-determination, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, human rights law and the right to know apply to cases of displaced archives in the Arctic. The paper seeks to identify and evaluate the suitability of various established and emerging norms of international law to Indigenous-state archival relationships and archival heritage. While this paper points to a lack of legal instruments specifically addressing displaced and disputed archives in colonial and post-colonial contests, it examines how established norms supporting can assist in unravelling these claims. In assessing current norms, we highlight that the right to archives can apply to both individuals and collective political entities, particularly Indigenous and Colonial Peoples. For individuals, such a right mainly pertains to access, which is crucial for protecting rights related to family life, property, and remedies for rights violations. In the case of Peoples, access is fundamental for exercising self-determination, identifying members, territories, and resources, and defending their rights against external interference. However, our preliminary conclusion is that true self-determination requires control over the records, including the ability to decide what gets archived and how, following their own cultural protocols and legal systems. Læs mere