The Aland Islands constitute a very special case in international law. This island territory under Finland's sovereignty has been demilitarised and neutralised for more than one hundred and forty years and autonomous for more than seventy years. In 1921 the Council of the League of Nations laid down international guarantees for the autonomy and the Swedish character of Aland, and a multilateral convention on Aland's demilitarisation and neutralisation was concluded in the same year. The convention is still in force and Aland's autonomy is firmly anchored in both customary international law...