This book deals with international law in Antarctica and the Arctic. It reviews how each region is managed by the individual legal regimes, and how the special international laws developed specifically to deal with polar problems (for instance, protection of the environment) have contributed to the development of international law.

Navigational rights and freedoms have been central to the development of the law of the sea since the original debates over whether the seas were open' or closed' to maritime traffic. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea recognises the legitimate rights of coastal states to proclaim sovereignty and assert jurisdiction over vast areas of maritime space. In return, maritime states are given a range of navigational rights over waters ranging from the territorial sea through to the high sea. The new regime of the law of the sea created by the Convention presents an opportunity to review...

The volume surveys and discusses the range of current issues arising in the law of the sea from an Asian-Pacific perspective. There have been major developments in the law of the sea in the region: many current controversies (e.g. over archipelagic sealanes passage, drift-net fishing and environmental management) have their origins, or important exemplars, in the region. The contributors include international lawyers, political scientists and government officials with expertise in the region. Particular aspects of the book which are of interest are: (a) its discussion of the perspectives of...

The Antarctic Treaty (1959) was adopted for the purpose of bringing peace and stability to Antarctica and to facilitate cooperation in scientific research conducted on and around the continent. It has now been over fifty years since the signing of the treaty, nevertheless security continues to drive and shape the laws and policy regime which governs the region. Antarctic Security in the Twenty-First Century: Legal and Policy Perspectives assess Antarctic security from multiple legal and policy perspectives. This book reviews the existing security construct in Antarctica, critically assesses...

The Law of the Sea and the Polar Regions: Interactions between Global and Regional Regimes analyzes of the contemporary law of the sea and related areas of international law in Antarctica and the Arctic, with a particular focus upon the interaction of global and regional regimes. The global component of the international law of the sea - principally the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - applies to the entire marine domain in both polar regions but explicitly requires regional implementation or acknowledges its usefulness. This volume critically examines regional regimes...

Human activities have taken place in the world's oceans for most of human history. With the oceans being used for trade, being exploited for fisheries and mineral resources extraction, and becoming the focal point for security crises, the legal regime regulating the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans has long been a crucial part of international law. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea comprehensively defined the parameters of the law of the sea in 1982, and since the Convention was concluded it has seen considerable development. This...