This presentation was submitted as a part of a requirement for our marine governance and policy course. It covers the underlying reason and following issues surrounding the territorial dispute and establishment of the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 in an effort to appease Norway and Russia.

1. The Spitsbergen Treaty
SVALBARD
by Thiviya Nair & Cheuk Ho Wu

2. Contents
1. Introduction (Thiviya)
2. A Timeline of Issues (Thiviya)
3. Solutions (Cheuk Ho)
4. Persisting Issues & Summary (Cheuk Ho)

3. Introduction

4. Svalbard’s Story
● Svalbard is an archipelago
● Northern Europe - midway between continental
Norway and the North Pole (from 74° to 81°
north latitude, 10° to 35° east longitude)
● Largest island is Spitsbergen
● Has a long history of natural resource
exploitation and subsequent settlement
● Was a no-man’s-land for centuries until recently
Svalbard
Norway
European Union
Russia

5. A Timeline of Issues

6. Svalbard’s Story – A Timeline
Pomors & Scandinavians hunt on
Svalbard on occasion – recognising
it as a fertile hunting ground
1100
1596
Dutchman Will Barentz discovers
island while seeking a Northern Sea
route for trading purposes
English ship landed at Benøya island
and began hunting animals
1604
1611
Dutch quickly joined in and began
hunting animals as well.
Bowhead whales became primary
target for oil as energy source, and
baleen for consumer products.
Conflicts between English, Dutch,
Danish and French fleets were
common, due to the claim of ‘mare
liberum’.
Dutch established a settlement
while fewer groups from other
countries overwintered onland.
1619
1611
Russians were interested in the
resources and arrived to hunt land
mammals (walruses and foxes)
Hunting of animals continued until
1941 with little to no regulation,
resulting in the tragedy of commons.

7. Norwegians settled in Longyearbyen
to open a coal mining company –
the Arctic Coal Company - funded
by American businessmen.
Many workers and their families
settled in the town to work for the
mining company. However they
suffered poor working conditions
and inconsistent delivery of supplies
1906
1914
World War I begins.
World War I ends.
The Coal Rush: British, Russian,
Swedish and Dutch companies rush to
open coal mining companies due to the
‘Terra Nullius’ assumption of the land.
Each country’s settlement attempted to
occupy as large a territory as possible to
lay claim to the archipelago.
1918
1917
Coal mining companies are set up
in Ny-Ålesund and Sveagruva.
Many accidents have occurred in
these mines. Coal mining is still
active in 2017 at the latter location.
1920
End of the Rush: Coal mining came to an
abrupt halt as prices fell and Norway’s
interest in controlling the area. Now area is
utilised primarily by Norwegian and Russian
companies.
The Svalbard Treaty was drafted and signed.
ACC sold to the Norwegian
company as mining winds down
1916

8. Norway attained sovereignty of
Svalbard officially, inclusive of
the 12-mile territorial seas
around the islands.
1925
2017
TODAY
Norway establishes a 200-mile
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
off its mainland coast, and a 200-
mile non-discriminatory fisheries
protection zone (FPZ) the
following year. There is also
overlapping of land where natural
ga iss.
Russia disagrees and there is a
dispute on the overlapping
boundary claims in the Barents Sea
– an important fishing zone.
1976
World War II resulted in
evacuation of Norwegian and
Soviet inhabitants, and a short
occupation by a German outpost.
Post-war, Russia offered military
defence to Norway, which rejected
the offer and joined NATO. This
caused a tension between the
parties.
1941

9. Solution
The Svalbard Treaty

10. The Svalbard Treaty
● Formerly the Spitsbergen Treaty
● Signed on 9 Feb 1920 in the Versailles negotiation after World War,
enforced in 1925
● As of 2016, a total of 43 countries are registered as parties to the treaty
○ Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, the
Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, India, Iceland, Italy, Japan, China,
Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UK, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, South Korea,
Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the USA, Venezuela, Austria

11. Content of the treaty in brief (I)
● 10 Articles
○ Article 1: Norway has "full and absolute sovereignty" over all the islands located
between 10° and 35° longitude East of Greenwich and between 74° and 81° latitude
North”
○ Article 2-3: The signatory states shall have "equal liberty of access and entry" to area
stated in Article 1, and can undertake commercial activities "on a footing of absolute
equality subject to Norwegian legislation
○ Article 4: Public wireless telegraphy stations shall be opened "on a footing of absolute
equality" , subject to Norwegian legislation
○ Article 5: Specific conventions shall be concluded to lay down the conditions under
which scientific investigations may be conducted

12. Content of the treaty in brief (II)
○ Article 6: Claims were considered on land that occupied prior signing the treaty, in a
certain time
○ Article 7: Signatory states can acquire, enjoy and exercise the right of property's
ownership based on "complete equality"
○ Article 8: "Taxes, dues and duties levied shall be devoted exclusively" to Norwegian
legislation and administration
○ Article 9: Norway guarantees its peaceful utilization, never be used for warlike purpose
○ Article 10: All States were entitled to become parties to the treaty once it had been
accordingly ratified

13. Summary
● Svalbard is under Norwegian
administration and legislation
● Taxation for Svalbard supports
environmental conservation
● Citizens of all signatory nations
have free access and the right of
economic activity
● Svalbard remains demilitarized

14. Issues that persist
before & today
Case studies

15. Fishery rights & Maritime border
● Rights and border between Russia and Norway have been in dispute in recent decades.
● Legal concepts such as Exclusive Economic Zones and Maritime Zone outside the territorial
sea was introduced before signing of treaty  which means territory in Norway only covers
the land and territorial sea to a distance of 12 nautical miles, some other signatory states
regard the treaty as applying to the fisheries zone and the continental shelf.

16. Fisheries right & Maritime border
● However, in 1977, Norway set up a 200-
nautical mile non-discriminatory
Fisheries Protection Zone off the
Svalbard, thus Soviet Union protested
that this violated the treaty
● In 2010, Russia compromised and
negotiated with Norway for their
maritime border in the Barents sea

17. Military
● The satellite data downloaded from
Svalbard is either of a military
character or being used for military
purposes, which go against the spirit of
Svalbard Treaty to a certain extent
● Opening of the airport near
Longyearbyen, Russian facilities can be
suspicious

18. Commercial activity by Trust Arktikugol (TA)
● TA is a Russian coal mining company.
● TA operates tourist helicopter flights from
Longyearbyen to Barentsburg to compensate for the
decreasing income of mining.
● Subsequently, Norway stated that only flights related
to mining activities were allowed .
● TA asserted tourism is a commercial activity covered
by the treaty, but eventually, TA was penalised for
illegal flights and prohibited to operate such activities
in the future.

19. Scientific Research
● Establishment of research stations in
Svalbard by other countries is regarded
as political activity and also an
instrument for government and
Norwegian Polar institute to achieve
influence
● The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is of
course an initiative to preserve genetic
diversity, whilst it involves a number of
countries assenting to Norway's
sovereignty

20. Commercial activities by Asian countries
● Make use of the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage for shipping
manufactured and processed goods to Europe and the Eastern seaboard of the
United States
● Transportation distance is about 64-70km lesser than original route
● Asian countries can save EUR50-101 billion annually

21. Summary
● To conclude:
○ No mechanism for dealing with disagreements
and accusations such as those of alleged
military usage, nor are there any multilateral
mechanisms that allow parties to meet and
interact.
○ Persisting legal uncertainties in the offshore
areas surrounding Svalbard, along with
increased commercial activities in those areas.

22. References
● Willem barentsz and the discovery of Svalbard. Retrieved from http://svalbardmuseum.no/en/kultur-og-historie/oppdagelsen/
● The disputed maritime zones around Svalbard. (2010) Retrieved from http://ulfstein.net/wp-
content/uploads/2012/08/ChurchillUlfstein20101.pdf
● Norway and Russia Agree on Maritime Boundary in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean (2010). Retrieved from
https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/14/issue/34/norway-and-russia-agree-maritime-boundary-barents-sea-and-arctic-ocean
● The Arctic in International Law and Policy (2017)
● Keil, K. (2017). The Svalbard Treaty faces new challenges. Retrieved from https://www.arcticnow.com/politics-policy/2017/03/14/the-
svalbard-treaty-faces-new-challenges/
● Svalbard Treaty. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.sysselmannen.no/en/Toppmeny/About-Svalbard/Laws-and-regulations/Svalbard-
Treaty
● The Svalbard Treaty. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.jus.uio.no/english/services/library/treaties/01/1-11/svalbard-treaty.xml
● Grydehøj, A., Grydehøj, A., & Ackrén, M. (2012). The Globalization of the Arctic: Negotiating Sovereignty and Building Communities
in Svalbard, Norway. Island Studies Journal, 7(1), 99–118.
● Anderson, D. H. (2007). The Status under International Law of the Maritime Areas around Svalbard. In Symposium on Politics and
Law – Energy and Environment in the Far North (pp. 1–16).
● Churchill, R., & Ulfstein, G. (2010). The disputed maritime zones around Svalbard. Changes in the Arctic Environment and the Law of
the Sea, 551–593. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10588/4419
● Hartley, A. (2012). No where is land. Art Review, 88–93.