Middle-aged but still strong... the Antarctic Treaty at 54

The Antarctic Treaty is a remarkable piece of legal drafting that has survived completely in its original form since it was adopted in 1959. It has endured the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States and their allies; apartheid South Africa; the Falklands Islands conflict between Britain and Argentina and the horrors of global terrorism affecting all countries of the world. Yet it is still as strong and relevant today as it was in 1959. Why?

Julia Jabour is the Leader of the Ocean and Antarctic Governance Research Program at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania. She has been researching, writing and lecturing about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean for 20 years. Julia has been to Antarctica six times, and has been an advisor to the Australian Government at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, the most recent in Brussels in May this year.

Samningurinn um Suðurskautið er einstök lagasetning og hefur verið nær óbreyttur frá því að hann var samþykktur árið 1959. Samningurinn lifði af kalda stríðið milli Sovétríkjanna og Bandaríkjanna og bandamanna beggja; aðskilnaðarstefnu Suður-Afríku; baráttu Breta og Argentínumanna um Falklandseyjar og heimsátök við hryðjuverk sem lætur ekkert land ósnortið.  Þrátt fyrir heimsöguleg átök liðinna áratuga virðist samningurinn um Suðurskautið, ef eitthvað er, styrkjast með tímanum. Hvað veldur? Dr. Julia Jabour, sérfræðingur um málefni Suðurskautsins leitaði svara við þeirri spurning í erindi sínu á Lögfræðitorgi þriðjudaginn 1. október 2013.