The continental shelf in the polar regions: cold war or black-letter law?

• Autores: Alex G. Oude Elferink
• Localización: Netherlands yearbook of international law, ISSN 0167-6768, Nº. 40, 2009, págs. 121-181
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The polar regions stand apart from other areas of the globe because of their severe climate and remoteness. Those conditions have also impacted on the development of the legal regime of the polar regions and led to questions concerning the applicability of general public international law to these regions. The present Article investigates this interaction from the perspective of one specific issue: the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf in accordance with Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea. Article 76 at present is being implemented worldwide by coastal States and the polar regions are no exception. The present analysis indicates that the implementation of Article 76 in the polar regions is largely similar to other regions of the world. Article 76 contains an arrangement of considerable legal complexity, which often has to be applied in a complex legal and politico-geographical context. The major differences with other regions are no doubt presented by Antarctica, in which case at least for the moment the process of implementing Article 76 also will not be finalized.