Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
11.4 Antarctica
The legal regime of Antarctica, the groundwork for which was established by the Treaty of
Washington(1December,1959),wasnegotiated duringtheyears1958and1959.Itprovides
interesting analogies and solutions, especially in regard to questions raised pertaining to the
conduct of human activities on the Moon and other celestial bodies. The law of Antarctica
has also influenced the space regime, since Antarctica deals with terra firma, solid ground,
as is the case for the Moon and planets.
The status of Antarctica, governed by the 1959 Treaty of Washington, freezes the
claims ofcertain statesovertheterritory,whichis'apartoftheinternational domainwithout
any territorial sovereign' (Peterson,
1997
). This provides the rationale for avoiding territori-
al claims and provides an alternative to territorial sovereignty.
In 1983, the countries claiming parts of Antarctica began negotiations for finalizing a
Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resources (CRAMRA) with the aim of
establishing a mineral regime. This Convention, concluded in 1988, has never entered in-
to force. It was replaced by a Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
(Madrid Protocol), which entered into force in January 1991 and which bans all mining
activity in Antarctica until 2048. It has proclaimed the Antarctic continent as a nature re-
serve, devoted to peace and science.
The harsh environment, the unexplored territory and its resources, and the difficulties
in defending the region from a military perspective are conditions shared by both Antarctica
and outer space. Because of the coexistence of the non-appropriation principle and the con-
trol retained over humans and installations, along with the freedoms of exploration and sci-
entific research not subject to interference by other states, the demilitarization and prohibi-
tionofnuclearexplosionscanbeevokedasausefulmodel.Thisisconfirmedbytheopinion,
expressed by President Eisenhower of the United States in 1960, that the Treaty of Washing-
ton should be used as a model for the new space regime (Lyall and Larsen,
2009
).
