Publikationer

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

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 13th October 2015, Iceland quietly submitted its instrument of accession to the Antarctic Treaty to the US Department of State (the depositary for the Antarctic Treaty). Iceland’s accession was not accompanied by any official declaration or public discussion in Iceland or elsewhere. This paper in… On 13th October 2015, Iceland quietly submitted its instrument of accession to the Antarctic Treaty to the US Department of State (the depositary for the Antarctic Treaty). Iceland’s accession was not accompanied by any official declaration or public discussion in Iceland or elsewhere. This paper investigates some of the factors that are likely to have spurred the decision to join the Antarctic treaty system, examines current Icelandic interests in the Antarctic and proposes constructive policies to enhance Icelandic involvement in Antarctic governance and cooperation following the accession. The authors conclude that logistical operations and adventure tourism involving Icelandic companies in the Antarctic are the most likely triggers for the accession and they propose that Iceland consider ratification of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol). Læs mere

Research | Forskning

In the Routledge Handbook of Polar Law, only a few chapters are devoted specifically to Indigenous Peoples. Nevertheless, the role and influence of Indigenous Peoples in shaping international law and policy in the Arctic is evident throughout. This area of law is rapidly evolving, as evidenced by de… In the Routledge Handbook of Polar Law, only a few chapters are devoted specifically to Indigenous Peoples. Nevertheless, the role and influence of Indigenous Peoples in shaping international law and policy in the Arctic is evident throughout. This area of law is rapidly evolving, as evidenced by developments even since the submission of the manuscript. This talk will examine some of these, including the release of a draft Greenland constitution; the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in the Arctic and three new historic inquiries in Greenland; and increasing recognition of Indigenous knowledge, including at the International Maritime Organisation and at the first COP of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement. Læs mere