Abstract:

The Arctic Region and the Svalbard Archipelago located in the Arctic have become one of the focal points of political and economic agenda of global and regional powers due to potential energy resources, impacts of climate change, new maritime routes and issues over maritime jurisdiction. Signing of the 1920 Svalbard Treaty and international conventions on the law of the sea at different times let Norway and other contracting parties to interpret the Svalbard Treaty differently. It creates legal disputes between the contracting parties on maritime jurisdiction around the archipelago. While Norway's claim on the Svalbard continental shelf and declared fisheries protection zone are the main causes of disputes, fishing quota regulations and Norwegian sanctions against contracting parties also increase the tension in the region. In this study, conventions on the law of the sea and their notions are discussed in the case of Svalbard; and legal disputes are examined in the context of cause and effect relation.

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