DET KONGELIGE DEPARTEMENT FOR HANDEL, SJØFART, INDUSTRI, HANDVERK OG FISKERI NORGES SVALBARD- OG ISHAVS-UNDERSØKELSER LEDER: ADOLF HOEL SKRIFTER OM SVALBARD OG ISHAVET Nr. 36 GUSTAV SMEDAL ACQUISITION OF SOVEREIGNTY OVER POLAR AREAS --(.-- OSLO I KOMMISJON HOS JACOB DYBWAD 1931 Translated from Norwegian by Ch r. Me yer, Commander Royal Norwegian Navy_ .\, \X'. BRO Ci Cl E H S B () K T H Y K K E I� I \,'S Contents. Page Introduction ........... .... 5 Occupation ............................................................... 13 A short historicaI review . ... ...... .............. .. 13 Who can occupy and what territories can be occupied? ............. 24 Effective possession ...... ....................................... 32 Notification ................................. ... .............. ... 40 Extent of an occupation ................................................ 42 Obligation of the occupying State to respect acquired rights and interests in occupied territory .................................................. 46 Discovery and fictitious occupation ....... .. ......................... ... 48 The Sector Principle ... .......... ....... .. ... ...... ...................... 54 General remarks on the sector principle .......... ................. ..... 54 Sector claims [Arctic Regions. Canada 64, The United States of America 67, The Soviet Union 69, Finland 73, Denmark and Norway 73. Antarctic Regions. The Falkland Sector 75, The Ross Sector 75] ...... .......... 64 East Greenland ........................ .... .... .. .. ................... ... 77 East Greenland, with the exception of Angmagssalik, was in 1924 a No-man's-land. 77 Danish and Norwegian industry in East Greenland and the economic impor- tance of the country . .... _ . ..... ......_ . ........ ............ .. .... 100 Scientific expeditions and exploration ...... ........ ......._ . ...... ... 115 Colonization, and the question of whether parts of East Greenland have come under sovereignty since 1924 .................................. � ..... 123 Maps: The north polar region . _ ............................................ 56 The south polar region.. .. ...... .... 57 Greenland 79 East Greenland from Scoresby Sound to Germania Land .............. .. 80-81 Literature . 129 Index . ............. 135 Introduction. T o define the conception of Polar Regions in such a manner that no objection can be raised is a very difficult task; nor shall we attempt to do so; for our presentment of the question does not require us to find a definition that would be acceptable to all. It is sufficient to make clear the sense in which the conception will be applied in this book. It should be mentioned at once that many attempts have been made to define this conception.1 At first glanee the polar circles would seem to give a good clue to the solution of the question. It should, however, be noted that these circles are astronomical lines, giving no exact guide to climatic conditions. To the north of the northern polar circle there are severai regions having a temperate climate, and between both polar circles there are many regions with a polar climate. Those who have essayed to define the polar regions have also laid decisive stress on the limits of floating ice, the areas between the Poles and these limits being the polar regions. Against this definition, which is particularly unsatisfactory as regards the Arctic regions, various objections have been rai sed ; we shall, however, not enter upon them here. In defining the polar regions we will adhere to the theory put forward by the English geographer, Rudmose Brown 2. He points out that it is a peculiarity of these regions that they are either completely treeless or, at any rate, devoid of what may be called a close tree growth. The areas in the northern hemisphere lying to the north of the limit of tifTIber, and the areas in the southern hemisphere lying to the south of that limit, are therefore the polar regions. If we build on this definition we find that the northern polar region includes Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Svalbard, Greenland, and the other islands of the Arctic Ocean; also Labrador, Northern Canada and Alaska, the northern coasts of Siberia and Europe with the White Sea as the western boundary. The southern polar region includes the Antarctic Continent and adjacent islands, such as Graham Land, the 1 Rudmose Brown, 1927, p. 1-4. 2 Rudmose Brown, 1927, p. 2. 6 GUSTAV SMEDAL South Shetlands, South Orkneys, South Georgia and South Sandwich, Bouvet, the Crozets, Kerguelen, Macquarie, and Peter I. Island. For the present purpose we shall adopt this delimitation of the polar regions with one exception; that is to say, we shall exclude from the northern polar region the American, Asiatic, and European Continents. In the distribution of sea and land there is a considerable contrast between the north and the south polar regions. The predominant feature of the latter is the great masses of land, most likely forming an unbroken continent, Antarctica, surrounded by the ocean on all sides. The size of this continent cannot be stated quite accurately, because vast parts of its coasts are not yet known. It is, however, quite clear that its land area is so enormous as to justify the application of the term continent. It is supposed that Antarctica is as large as Europe and Australia put together 1. The principal feature of the northern polar region is the vast ice-covered ocean girdled by continental land. In the north this ocean covers about the same space as does Antarctica in the south. The extent of the Arctic Ocean does not differ much from that of Antarctica2. From a legal point of view it is significant that the polar areas are, to a great extent, still terra nullius, and that they are either uninhabited or have only a scanty population. The fact that they are covered by ice to a considerable extent raises certain questions of a legal character, as we shall see later on. Interest in the Arctic and Antarctic regions has for years been increasing. There are severai reasons for this. First and foremost, attention has been directed to the economic importance of these regions. In particular, the Norwegian whaling operations in the Antarctic have attracted attention to the value of the Antaretie regions. At the same time a craving for acquisition of land in these parts of the world has arisen. A State securing land gives its subjects a safe basis for their hunting industry. In that way such a State will also frequently be able to control hunting operations and render them dependent upon licences and dues collected by itself. The British policy in Antarctic waters gives . the best illustration of this. Lately, the opinion has frequently been expressed that Antarctica contains valuable metals and minerals. This question has been discussed particularly in connection with the Australian expedition to Antarctica under the leadership of Sir Douglas Mawson (1929-30), and British, and especially American, newspapers have written a great deal about I Gordon Hayes, 1928, p. 6�7. 2 Rudmose Brown, 1927, p. 4 and 64. ACQUISITION OF SOVEREIGN TY OVER POLAR AREAS 7 it 1. Mr. Bruce, the Prime Minister of Australia, stated in a communica­ tion to the Australian Parliament on the 21st February 1929, relating to this expedition, which was working mostly between Ross Sea and Enderby Land, that one of the objects of the expedition was to in­ vestigate with regard to the economic resources of this area 2. The Arctic regions, too, are of importance as hunting grounds. For the time being their prime value attaches to the sealing industry. Off the west coast of Greenland, and on the banks around Bjornoya (Bear Island), unusually big catches of cod and halibut have recently been made, on a scale sufficient to attract international attention. On severai Arctic islands fur-bearing animals are being hunted on a remuner­ ative scale. Minerals and metals occur at severai places in these regions. By way of example we may mention the coal deposits in Svalbard and the cryolite mines at I vigtut in Western Greenland. From Canada information has been received that great hopes are being entertained of the exploitation of the occurrences of minerals on the islands north of Canada3. The polar regions have gained a new significance through the development of aerial navigation. Plans have been worked out for establishing a permanent trans- Arctic air route from Europe and North America to Japan and China. Mr. W. Bruns, a German, proposed in 1919 to establish an aerial route from Amsterdam-Copenhagen-Lenin­ grad-Archangel - the Arctic-Nome and to Unimak in the Aleutian Islands. From thence the ro ute would continue either to San Francisco or to Yokohama. By choosing this route the traveIling time would be brought down to one third of what it otherwise would be. The Russian Professor Breitfuss writes about this: "The time has now arrived when the ancient dream of seafarers to voyage from Europe to China and India via the North Pole can be fulfilled. The only difference is that the journey will be made in another element and at a much higher speed" 4. Another scherne frequently discussed is to run one of the future air-routes between Europe and America across Greenland. In most of what is now being written about polar conditions the mention of aviation and aviation schernes plays a considerable role. l In this connection the Norwegian "Norvegia"-Expedition to Antarctica 1929-30, has also been mentioned. This expedition discovered a new territory between Kemp Land and Enderby Land, where the Norwegian flag was hoisted in 66J 33' S and 50 ° 40' E. New land was, as far as is known, also discovered from about 8° W to Coats Land. 2 Australian Expedition, 1929. 3 Craig, 1923, p. 10 and p. 26-27; cp. Stefansson, 1928, p. 224-26. 4 Breitfuss, 1928, p. 24. 8 GUSTAV SMEDAL It may be that the importance of aviation in these regions is ex­ aggerated 1. However, it is certain that the acquisition of polar territory - with a view to utilizing it as bases for future air services - is very much to the fore2• Besides practical interests, also those of a scientific nature are connected with the polar regions.