Antarctic Treaty System

The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only uninhabited continent. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all land and ice shelves south of the southern 60th parallel. The treaty has now been signed by 45 countries [1] , including the Soviet Union (now defunct) and the United States, and set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation and banned military activity on that continent. This was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War.

The Antarctic Treaty System

The (Main) Antarctic Treaty

The main treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961. The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 and willing to accept a US invitation to the conference at which the treaty was negotiated. These countries were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States (which opened the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station for the International Geophysical Year).

Articles of the Antarctic Treaty

• Article 1 - area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose;
• Article 2 - freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue;
• Article 3 - free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation with the United Nations and other international agencies;
• Article 4 - does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force;
• Article 5 - prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes;
• Article 6 - includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south;
• Article 7 - treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and of the introduction of military personnel must be given;
• Article 8 - allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states;
• Article 9 - frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations;
• Article 10 - treaty states will discourage activities by any country in Antarctica that are contrary to the treaty;
• Article 11 - disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the International Court of Justice;
• Articles 12, 13, 14 - deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations.

The main objective of the ATS 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 forbids any measures of a military nature, but not the presence of military personnel per se. It avoided addressing the question of existing territorial claims asserted by some nations and not recognized by others.

Other agreements

Other agreements - some 200 recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments - include:

• Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964) (entered into force in 1982)
• The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972)
• The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980)
• The Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (1988) (although it was signed in 1988, it was subsequently rejected and never entered into force)
• The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed 4 October 1991 and entered into force 14 January 1998; this agreement prevents development and provides for the protection of the Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine pollution, fauna, and flora, environmental impact assessments, waste management, and protected areas. It prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except scientific.

Meetings

The Antarctic Treaty System's yearly Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) are the international forum for the administration and management of the region. Only 28 of the 45 parties to the agreements have the right to participate in decision-making at these meetings, though the other 18 are still allowed to attend. The participants are the Consultative Parties and, in addition to the 12 original signatories, include 16 countries that have demonstrated their interest in Antarctica by carrying out substantial scientific activity there.^[1]

Members

* Claims overlap.
** Reserved the right to claim areas.

At the end of 2006, there were 46 treaty member nations: 28 consultative and 18 acceding. Consultative (voting) members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory. The 21 nonclaimant nations do not recognize the claims of others.

Legal system

Antarctica has no "permanent population" and hence no citizenship or government. All personnel present on Antarctica at any time are citizens or nationals of some sovereignty outside of Antarctica, as there is no Antarctic sovereignty. Various countries claim most areas of it, with some areas claimed by several nations, but most countries do not recognise those claims. The area on the mainland between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west is the only land on Earth not claimed by any country.

Argentina and Chile

According to Argentine regulations, any crime committed within 50 kilometers of any Argentine base is to be judged in Ushuaia (as capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands). In the part of Argentine Antarctica that is also claimed by Chile, the person to be judged can ask to be transferred there.

United States

The law of the United States, including certain criminal offenses by or against U.S. nationals, such as murder, may apply to areas not under jurisdiction of other countries. To this end, the United States now stations special deputy U. S. Marshals in Antarctica to provide a law enforcement presence. [2]

Some U.S. laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. section 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation of statute:

• the taking of native Antarctic mammals or birds;
• the introduction into Antarctica of nonindigenous plants and animals;
• entry into specially protected or scientific areas;
• the discharge or disposal of pollutants into Antarctica or Antarctic waters;
• the importation into the U.S. of certain items from Antarctica.

Violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison. The Departments of Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, and Interior share enforcement responsibilities.

Public Law 95-541, the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, requires expeditions from the U.S. to Antarctica to notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs of the State Department, which reports such plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty.

A dispute which may test the criminal jurisdiction is presently in progress as a result of the death of Australian national Dr Rodney Marks, in May 2000. Dr Marks died while wintering over at the American run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, (which is not on the geographic South Pole, but within the Ross Dependency claimed by New Zealand). Prior to autopsy, the death was attributed to natural causes by the National Science Foundation and the contractor administering the base. However an autopsy in New Zealand revealed Dr Marks died from methanol poisoning. The New Zealand Police launched an investigation; however frustrated by lack of progress, in 2006 the Christchurch Coroner said that it was unlikely that Dr Marks ingested the methanol knowingly, although there is no certainty that he died as the direct result of the act of another person. During media interviews the police detective in charge of the investigation criticised the National Science Foundation and contractor Raytheon for failing to co-operate with the investigation.^[2][3][4].

Further information is provided by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation.

See also

• Antarctic Treaty Secretariat

Notes

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