Polar Opposites: Environmental Discourses and Management in Antarctica and the Arctic
ENVIRONMENTAL DISCOURSES IN PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, Brad Jessup and Kim Rubenstein, eds, Cambridge University Press, 2012
26 Pages Posted: 16 Mar 2012
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
In 2009 the 1959 Antarctic Treaty celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Its resilience in managing the Antarctic continent and parts of the adjacent Southern Ocean is generally seen as one of the great ‘success stories’ of contemporary international law. This is especially the case when it is considered that the treaty was negotiated during the height of the Cold War at a time when the USSR and US had significant interests in Antarctica, and that the treaty never sought to resolve simmering sovereignty tensions over parts of the continent especially those between Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom over their competing claims to parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. Now, in the early part of the Twenty First century and notwithstanding the lack of recognition which has been granted to the seven territorial claims to the Antarctic continent, the Antarctic Treaty now includes not only the original 12 states parties, but an additional 36 states parties from varied parts of the globe, and retains its capacity to effectively manage Antarctic affairs.
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