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The Antarctic Treaty
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Antarctic Treaty System
Flag of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
Type	Condominium
Signed	December 1, 1959
Location	Washington, D.C., United States
Effective	June 23, 1961
Condition	Ratification of all 12 signatories
Signatories	12
Parties	54
Depositary	Federal government of the United States
Languages	English, French, Russian, and Spanish
Full text
Antarctic Treaty at Wikisource

The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. The treaty entered into force in 1961 and currently has 54 parties. The treaty sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, establishes freedom of scientific investigation, and bans military activity on the continent. The treaty was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. Since September 2004, the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat headquarters has been located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The main treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and officially entered into force on June 23, 1961. The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–58. The twelve countries that had significant interests in Antarctica at the time were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries had established over 55 Antarctic stations for the IGY. The treaty was a diplomatic expression of the operational and scientific co-operation that had been achieved "on the ice".

History

International conflicts

Various international conflicts motivated the creation of an agreement for the Antarctic. After the Second World War, the U.S. considered establishing a claim in Antarctica. From August 26, 1946 and until the beginning of 1947, Operation Highjump was carried out, the largest military expeditionary force that the United States has sent to Antarctica to the present, consisting of 13 ships, 4700 men and numerous aerial devices. Its goals were to train military personnel and test material in conditions of extreme cold for an eventual war in the Antarctic.

Some incidents had occurred during World War II, and a new one occurred in Hope Bay on February 1, 1952, when the Argentine military fired warning shots at a group of Britons. The response of the United Kingdom was to send a warship that landed marines on February 4, at the scene. This occurred; however, after 1949, Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom signed a Tripartite Naval Declaration committing not to send warships south of the 60th South parallel, which was renewed annually until 1961 when it was deemed unnecessary when the treaty entered into force. This tripartite declaration was signed after the tension generated when Argentina sent to Antarctica in February 1948 a fleet of 8 warships.

On January 17, 1953, Argentina reopened the Lieutenant Lasala refuge on Deception Island, leaving a sergeant and a corporal in the Argentine Navy. On February 15, in the incident on Deception Island, 32 royal marines landed from the British frigate HMS Snipe armed with Sten machine guns, rifles, and tear gas capturing the two Argentine sailors. The Argentine refuge and a nearby uninhabited Chilean shelter were destroyed, and the Argentine sailors were delivered to a ship from that country on February 18 in the South Georgias Islands. A British detachment remained three months on the island while the frigate patrolled its waters until April.

On May 4, 1955, the United Kingdom filed two lawsuits, against Argentina and Chile respectively, before the International Court of Justice to declare the invalidity of the claims of the sovereignty of the two countries over Antarctic and sub-Antarctic areas. On July 15, 1955, the Chilean Government rejected the jurisdiction of the Court in that case, and on August 1, the Argentine Government also did so, so on March 16, 1956 the claims were filed.

Previous agreements

On September 2, 1947, the American quadrant of Antarctica (between 24 ° W and 90 ° W) was included as part of the security zone of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, committing its members to defend it in case of external aggression.

In August 1948, the United States proposed that Antarctica be under the guardianship of the United Nations as a trust administered by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Still, the idea was rejected by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, and Norway. Before the rejection, on August 28, 1948, the United States proposed to the claimants some form of internationalization of Antarctica, with the support of the United Kingdom. Chile responded by presenting a plan to suspend any Antarctic claim for 5 to 10 years while negotiating a final solution, which did not prosper. The interest of the United States to keep the Soviet Union away from Antarctica was frustrated when in 1950, this country informed the claimants that it would not accept any Antarctic agreement in which it was not represented. The fear that the USSR would react by doing a territorial claim transferring the Cold War to Antarctica led the United States to do none. In 1956 and 1958, India tried unsuccessfully to bring the Antarctic issue to the United Nations General Assembly.

International Geophysical Year

In 1950 the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) discussed the possibility of holding a third International Polar Year. At the suggestion of the World Meteorological Organization, the idea of the International Polar Year was extended to the entire planet, thus creating the International Geophysical Year that took place between July 1, 1957, and December 31, 1958. In this event, 66 countries participated. At the ICSU meeting in Stockholm from September 9 to 11, 1957, the creation of a Special Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) was approved, inviting the twelve countries conducting Antarctic investigations to send delegates to integrate the committee, with the purpose of exchanging scientific information among its members regarding Antarctica. The SCAR was later renamed to the Scientific Committee for Research in Antarctica.

Both Argentina and Chile expressed that researching during the International Geophysical Year would not give any territorial rights to the participants and that the facilities that were erected during that year should then be dismantled at the end of it. After the United States proposed to extend the Antarctic investigations for another year, in February 1958, the Soviet Union reported that it would maintain its scientific bases until the studies that were carried out were completed.

Negotiation of the treaty

Scientific bases increased in international tension concerning Antarctica, and the danger of the Cold War spreading to that continent, caused the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, to convene an Antarctic Conference to the twelve countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year, to sign a treaty. In the first phase, representatives of the twelve nations met in Washington, who met in 60 sessions from June 1958 to October 1959, to define the basic negotiating framework. Still, no consensus was reached on a preliminary draft. In the second phase, a conference of the highest diplomatic level was held from October 15 to December 1, 1959, the date of the signing of the treaty. The central ideas with full acceptance were the freedom of scientific research in Antarctica and the peaceful use of the continent. Still, their demilitarization and the maintenance of the status quo also had consensus.

The positions of the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand coincided in the establishment of an international administration for Antarctica, proposing the latter to be within the framework of the United Nations. Australia and the United Kingdom expressed the need for inspections by observers, and the second proposed the use of military means for logistics functions. Argentina proposed that all atomic explosions be banned in Antarctica, which caused a crisis that lasted until the eve of the firm, since the United States, along with other countries, intended to ban only those that were made without prior notice and without prior consultation. The support of the USSR and Chile to the Argentine proposal finally caused the United States to retract its opposition.

The signing of the treaty was the first arms control agreement that occurred in the framework of the Cold War, and the complaining countries managed to avoid the internationalization of Antarctic sovereignty.

Articles of the Antarctic Treaty

Article I

1. Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be prohibited, inter alia, any measures of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military maneuvers, as well as the testing of any type of weapons.

2. The present treaty shall not prevent the use of military personnel or equipment for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes.

Article II

Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end, as applied during the International Geophysical Year, shall continue, subject to the provisions of the present treaty.

Article III

1. To promote international cooperation in scientific investigation in Antarctica, as provided for in Article II of the present treaty, the Contracting Parties agree that, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable:

(a) information regarding plans for scientific programs in Antarctica shall be exchanged to permit maximum economy and efficiency of operations;

(b) scientific personnel shall be exchanged in Antarctica between expeditions and stations;

(c) scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available.

2. In implementing this Article, every encouragement shall be given to the establishment of cooperative working relations with those Specialized Agencies of the United Nations and other international organizations having a scientific or technical interest in Antarctica.

Article IV

1. Nothing contained in the present treaty shall be interpreted as:

(a) a renunciation by any Contracting Party of previously asserted rights of or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;

(b) a renunciation or diminution by any Contracting Party of any basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica which it may have whether as a result of its activities or those of its nationals in Antarctica, or otherwise;

(c) prejudicing the position of any Contracting Party as regards its recognition or non-recognition of any other States right of or claim or basis of claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.

2. No acts or activities taking place while the present treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim, or enlargement of an existing claim, to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the present treaty is in force.

Article V

1. Any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the disposal there of radioactive waste material shall be prohibited.

2. In the event of the conclusion of international agreements concerning the use of nuclear energy, including nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste material, to which all of the Contracting Parties whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings provided for under Article IX are parties, the rules established under such agreements shall apply in Antarctica.

Article VI

The provisions of the present treaty shall apply to the area south of 60-degree South Latitude, including all ice shelves, but nothing in the present treaty shall prejudice or in any way affect the rights, or the exercise of the rights, of any State under international law with regard to the high seas within that area.

Article VII

1. To promote the objectives and ensure the observance of the provisions of the present treaty, each Contracting Party whose representatives are entitled to participate in the meetings referred to in Article IX of the treaty shall have the right to designate observers to carry out any inspection provided for by the present Article. Observers shall be nationals of the Contracting Parties which designate them. The names of observers shall be communicated to every other Contracting Party having the right to designate observers, and like notice shall be given of the termination of their appointment.

2. Each observer designated in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall have complete freedom of access at any time to any or all areas of Antarctica.

3. All areas of Antarctica, including all stations, installations and equipment within those areas, and all ships and aircraft at points of discharging or embarking cargoes or personnel in Antarctica, shall be open at all times to inspection by any observers designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.

4. Aerial observation may be carried out at any time over any or all areas of Antarctica by any of the Contracting Parties having the right to designate observers.

5. Each Contracting Party shall, at the time when the present treaty enters into force for it, inform the other Contracting Parties, and thereafter shall give them notice in advance, of

(a) all expeditions to and within Antarctica, on the part of its ships or nationals, and all expeditions to Antarctica organized in or proceeding from its territory;

(b) all stations in Antarctica occupied by its nationals; and

(c) any military personnel or equipment intended to be introduced by it into Antarctica subject to the conditions prescribed in paragraph 2 of Article I of the present treaty.

Article VIII

1. To facilitate the exercise of their functions under the present treaty, and without prejudice to the respective positions of the Contracting Parties relating to jurisdiction over all other persons in Antarctica, observers designated under paragraph 1 of Article VII and scientific personnel exchanged under subparagraph 1(b) of Article III of the treaty, and members of the staffs accompanying any such persons, shall be subject only to the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party of which they are nationals in respect of all acts or omissions occurring while they are in Antarctica for the purpose of exercising their functions.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, and pending the adoption of measures in pursuance of subparagraph 1(e) of Article IX, the Contracting Parties concerned in any case of dispute with regard to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica shall immediately consult together with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.

Article IX

1. Representatives of the Contracting Parties named in the preamble to the present treaty shall meet at the City of Canberra within two months after the date of entry into force of the treaty, and thereafter at suitable intervals and places, for the purpose of exchanging information, consulting together on matters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica, and formulating and considering, and recommending to their Governments, measures in furtherance of the principles and objectives of the treaty, including measures regarding:

(a) use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only;

(b) facilitation of scientific research in Antarctica;

(c) facilitation of international scientific cooperation in Antarctica;

(d) facilitation of the exercise of the rights of inspection provided for in Article VII of the treaty;

(e) questions relating to the exercise of jurisdiction in Antarctica;

(f) preservation and conservation of living resources in Antarctica.

2. Each Contracting Party which has become a party to the present treaty by accession under Article XIII shall be entitled to appoint representatives to participate in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article, during such time as that Contracting Party demonstrates its interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial scientific research activity there, such as the establishment of a scientific station or the despatch of a scientific expedition.

3. Reports from the observers referred to in Article VII of the present treaty shall be transmitted to the representatives of the Contracting Parties participating in the meetings referred to in paragraph 1 of the present Article.

4. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall become effective when approved by all the Contracting Parties whose representatives were entitled to participate in the meetings held to consider those measures.

5. Any or all of the rights established in the present treaty may be exercised from the date of entry into force of the treaty whether or not any measures facilitating the exercise of such rights have been proposed, considered or approved as provided in this Article.

Article X

Each of the Contracting Parties undertakes to exert appropriate efforts, consistent with the Charter of the United Nations, to the end that no one engages in any activity in Antarctica contrary to the principles or purposes of the present treaty.

Article XI

1. If any dispute arises between two or more of the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present treaty, those Contracting Parties shall consult among themselves with a view to having the dispute resolved by negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement or other peaceful means of their own choice.

2. Any dispute of this character not so resolved shall, with the consent, in each case, of all parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice for settlement; but failure to reach agreement on reference to the International Court shall not absolve parties to the dispute from the responsibility of continuing to seek to resolve it by any of the various peaceful means referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Articles XII, XIII, XIV

Deals with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations.

The main objective of the ATS is to ensure in the interests of all humankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. Pursuant to Article 1, the treaty forbids any measures of a military nature, but not the presence of military personnel or equipment for the purposes of scientific research.

Other agreements

Other agreements — some 200 recommendations adopted at treaty consultative meetings and ratified by governments — include:

• Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (1964) (entered into force in 1982)
• The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (1972)
• The Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1982)
• The Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (1988) (signed in 1988, not in force)
• The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed October 4, 1991, and entered into force January 14, 1998; this agreement prevents development and provides for the protection of the Antarctic environment through five specific annexes on marine pollution, fauna and flora, environmental impact assessments, waste management, and protected areas. It prohibits all activities relating to mineral resources except scientific. A sixth annex on liability arising from environmental emergencies  was adopted in 2005, but is yet to enter into force.

Bilateral treaties

• Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement between the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the French Republic, regarding Aerial Navigation in the Antarctic (Paris, October 25, 1938)
• Treaty Between the Government of Australia and the Government of the French Republic on Cooperation in the Maritime Areas Adjacent to the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF), Heard Island and the McDonald Islands (Canberra, November 24, 2003)
• Agreement on Cooperative Enforcement of Fisheries Laws between the Government of Australia and the Government of the French Republic in the Maritime Areas Adjacent to the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Heard Island and the McDonald Islands (Paris, January 8, 2007)

Meetings

The Antarctic Treaty System's yearly Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) are the international forum for the administration and management of the region. Only 29 of the 54 parties to the agreements have the right to participate in decision-making at these meetings, though the other 25 are still allowed to attend. The decision-making participants are the Consultative Parties and, in addition to the 12 original signatories, include 17 countries that have demonstrated their interest in Antarctica by carrying out substantial scientific activity there. The Antarctic Treaty also has Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (SATCM), which are generally summoned to treat more important topics but are less frequents and Meetings of Experts.

Parties

As of 2019, there are 54 states party to the treaty, 29 of which, including all 12 original signatories to the treaty, have consultative (voting) status. Consultative members include the seven nations that claim portions of Antarctica as national territory. The 46 non-claimant nations either do not recognize the claims of others, or have not stated their positions. 40 parties to the Antarctic Treaty have also ratified the "Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty".

Country	Signature	Ratification/ Accession	Consultative status	Notes
Argentina (claim)*	Dec 1, 1959	Jun 23, 1961	Jun 23, 1961
Australia (claim)	Dec 1, 1959	Jun 23, 1961	Jun 23, 1961
Austria	No	Aug 25, 1987
Belarus	No	Dec 27, 2006
Belgium	Dec 1, 1959	Jul 26, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
Brazil	No	May 16, 1975	Sep 27, 1983
Bulgaria	No	Sep 11, 1978	Jun 5, 1998
Canada	No	May 4, 1988
Chile (claim)*	Dec 1, 1959	Jun 23, 1961	Jun 23, 1961
China	No	Jun 8, 1983	Oct 7, 1985
Colombia	No	Jan 31, 1989
Cuba	No	Aug 16, 1984
Czech Republic	No	Jan 1, 1993	Apr 1, 2014	Succession from  Czechoslovakia, which acceded on June 14, 1962.
Denmark	No	May 20, 1965
Ecuador	No	Sep 15, 1987	Nov 19, 1990
Estonia	No	May 17, 2001
Finland	No	May 15, 1984	Oct 20, 1989
France (claim)	Dec 1, 1959	Sep 16, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
Germany (not formally claimed)	No	Feb 5, 1979	Mar 3, 1981	Ratified as  West Germany.  East Germany also acceded on November 19, 1974, and received consultative status on October 5, 1987, prior to its reunification with West Germany.
Greece	No	Jan 8, 1987
Guatemala	No	Jul 31, 1991
Hungary	No	Jan 27, 1984
Iceland	No	Oct 13, 2015
India	No	Aug 19, 1983	Sep 12, 1983
Italy	No	Mar 18, 1981	Oct 5, 1987
Japan (not formally claimed)	Dec 1, 1959	Aug 4, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
Kazakhstan	No	Jan 27, 2015
Malaysia	No	Oct 31, 2011
Monaco	No	May 31, 2008
Mongolia	No	Mar 23, 2015
Netherlands	No	Mar 30, 1967	Nov 19, 1990
New Zealand (claim)	Dec 1, 1959	Nov 1, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
North Korea	No	Jan 21, 1987
Norway (claim)	Dec 1, 1959	Aug 24, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
Pakistan	No	Mar 1, 2012
Papua New Guinea	No	Mar 16, 1981		Succession from  Australia. Effective from their independence on September 16, 1975.
Peru	No	Apr 10, 1981	Oct 9, 1989
Poland	No	Jun 8, 1961	Jul 29, 1977
Portugal	No	Jan 29, 2010
Romania	No	Sep 15, 1971
Russia**	Dec 1, 1959	Nov 2, 1960	Jun 23, 1961	Ratified as the  Soviet Union.
Slovakia	No	January 1, 1993		Succession from  Czechoslovakia, which acceded on June 14, 1962.
Slovenia	No	April 22, 2019
South Africa	Dec 1, 1959	Jun 21, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
South Korea	No	Nov 28, 1986	Oct 9, 1989
Spain	No	Mar 31, 1982	Sep 21, 1988
Sweden	No	Apr 24, 1984	Sep 21, 1988
Switzerland	No	Nov 15, 1990
Turkey	No	Jan 24, 1996
Ukraine	No	Oct 28, 1992	Jun 4, 2004
United Kingdom (claim)*	Dec 1, 1959	May 31, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
United States**	Dec 1, 1959	Aug 18, 1960	Jun 23, 1961
Uruguay	No	Jan 11, 1980	Oct 7, 1985
Venezuela	No	May 24, 1999

* Claims overlap.
** Reserved the right to claim areas.

Antarctic Treaty Secretariat

The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat was established in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September 2004 by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). Jan Huber (Netherlands) served as the first Executive Secretary for five years until August 31, 2009. He was succeeded on September 1, 2009, by Manfred Reinke (Germany).

The tasks of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat can be divided into the following areas:

• Supporting the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP).
• Facilitating the exchange of information between the Parties required in the Treaty and the Environment Protocol.
• Collecting, storing, arranging and publishing the documents of the ATCM.
• Providing and disseminating public information about the Antarctic Treaty system and Antarctic activities.

Bold text== Legal system == Antarctica currently has no permanent population and therefore it has no citizenship nor government. All personnel present on Antarctica at any time are citizens or nationals of some sovereignty outside Antarctica, as there is no Antarctic sovereignty. The majority of Antarctica is claimed by one or more countries, but most countries do not explicitly recognize those claims. The area on the mainland between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west is the only major land on Earth not claimed by any country. Until 2015 the interior of the Norwegian Sector, the extent of which had never been officially defined, was considered to be unclaimed. That year, Norway formally laid claim to the area between its Queen Maud Land and the South Pole.

Governments that are party to the Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection implement the articles of these agreements, and decisions taken under them, through national laws. These laws generally apply only to their own citizens, wherever they are in Antarctica, and serve to enforce the consensus decisions of the consultative parties: about which activities are acceptable, which areas require permits to enter, what processes of environmental impact assessment must precede activities, and so on. The Antarctic Treaty is often considered to represent an example of the common heritage of mankind principle.

Australia

Since the designation of the Australian Antarctic Territory pre-dated the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, Australian laws that relate to Antarctica date from more than two decades before the Antarctic Treaty era. In terms of criminal law, the laws that apply to the Jervis Bay Territory (which follows the laws of the Australian Capital Territory) apply to the Australian Antarctic Territory. Key Australian legislation applying Antarctic Treaty System decisions include the Antarctic Treaty Act 1960, the Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Act 1980 and the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Act 1981.

United States

The law of the United States, including certain criminal offences by or against U.S. nationals, such as murder, may apply to areas not under jurisdiction of other countries. To this end, the United States now stations special deputy U.S. Marshals in Antarctica to provide a law enforcement presence.

Some U.S. laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the Antarctic Conservation Act, Public Law 95-541, 16 U.S.C. § 2401 et seq., provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation or statute:

• the taking of native Antarctic mammals or birds
• the introduction into Antarctica of non-indigenous plants and animals
• entry into specially protected or scientific areas
• the discharge or disposal of pollutants into Antarctica or Antarctic waters
• the importation into the U.S. of certain items from Antarctica

Violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to US$10,000 in fines and one year in prison. The Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, and the Interior share enforcement responsibilities. The Act requires expeditions from the U.S. to Antarctica to notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs of the State Department, which reports such plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty. Further information is provided by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation.

New Zealand

In 2006, the New Zealand police reported that jurisdictional issues prevented them issuing warrants for potential American witnesses who were reluctant to testify during the Christchurch Coroner's investigation into the death by poisoning of Australian astrophysicist Rodney Marks at the South Pole base in May 2000. Dr. Marks died while wintering over at the United States' Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station located at the geographic South Pole. Prior to autopsy, the death was attributed to natural causes by the National Science Foundation and the contractor administering the base. However, an autopsy in New Zealand revealed that Dr. Marks died from methanol poisoning. The New Zealand Police launched an investigation. In 2006, frustrated by lack of progress, the Christchurch Coroner said that it was unlikely that Dr. Marks ingested the methanol knowingly, although there is no certainty that he died as the direct result of the act of another person. During media interviews, the police detective in charge of the investigation criticized the National Science Foundation and contractor Raytheon for failing to co-operate with the investigation.

South Africa

South African law applies to all South African citizens in Antarctica, and they are subject to the jurisdiction of the magistrate's court in Cape Town. In regard to violations of the Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, South Africa also asserts jurisdiction over South African residents and members of expeditions organised in South Africa.

See also

• Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC)
• Antarctic Protected Areas
• Antarctic Treaty issue
• Arctic Council
• Arctic sanctuary
• Crime in Antarctica
• Multilateral treaty
• National Antarctic Program
• Category: Outposts of Antarctica
• Research stations in Antarctica
• Svalbard Treaty

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34. (USMS), U.S. Marshals Service. "U.S. Marshals Service". usmarshals.gov.
35. Hotere, Andrea. "South Pole death file still open". Sunday Star Times, December 17, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
36. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Death of Australian astrophysicist an Antarctic whodunnit". Monstersandcritics.com, December 14, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
37. Chapman, Paul. "New Zealand Probes What May Be First South Pole Murder". The Daily Telegraph, (December 14, 2006), reprinted in The New York Sun (December 19, 2006). Retrieved December 19, 2006.
38. Booker, Jarrod. "South Pole scientist may have been poisoned". The New Zealand Herald, (December 14, 2006). Retrieved December 19, 2006.
39. "South Pole Death Mystery – Who killed Rodney Marks?" Sunday Star Times (January 21, 2007)
40. Section 2 of the South African Citizens in Antarctica Act, No. 55 of 1962, as amended by the Environmental Laws Rationalisation Act, No. 51 of 1997.
41. Antarctic Treaties Act, No. 60 of 1996.

External links

• Antarctic Treaty Secretariat
• Full Text of the Antarctic Treaty
• Original facsimile of Antarctic Treaty
• Australian Antarctic Territory
• National Science Foundation – Office of Polar Programs
• List of all Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings
• An Antarctic Solution for the Koreas San Diego Union-Tribune, August 25, 2005 (Both South Korea and North Korea are members of the Antarctic Treaty)
• Emblem of the Antarctic Treaty

v t e Territorial claims in Antarctica
Claims	Adélie Land (Fr.) Argentine Antarctica Australian Antarctic Territory Enderby Kemp Mac. Robertson Princess Elizabeth Kaiser Wilhelm II Queen Mary Wilkes George V Oates British Antarctic Territory Queen Elizabeth Land Chilean Antarctic Territory Peter I Island (Nor.) Queen Maud Land (Nor.) Ross Dependency (N.Z.)
Former claims	New Swabia (Ger.) Yamato Yukihara (Jap.)
Unclaimed	Marie Byrd Land
Unrecognized and Proposed claims	Brazilian Antarctica Uruguayan Antarctica American Antarctica Russian Antarctica Spanish Antarctica

v t e Antarctica
Geography	Antarctic sea ice Climate Climate change Heat waves Ice shelves Geology Glaciers Mountains Tundra Volcanoes Regions Biogeographic realm Antarctic Peninsula East Antarctica ice sheet shield Extreme points Floristic Kingdom Islands South Pole South magnetic pole West Antarctica ice sheet Bodies of Water Antarctic/Southern Ocean Lake CECs Lake Mercer Lake Vostok List of rivers McMurdo Sound Ross Sea Weddell Sea Life Flora Microorganisms Wildlife Birds Mammals Krill
History	Expeditions Heroic Age World War II Colonization COVID-19 pandemic Years
Politics	Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs Military activity National programs Territorial claims Treaty System
Society	Antarctica Day Antarctic English Crime Demographics Economy Field camps Firefighting Flags Gateway cities Midwinter Day Protected areas Religion Research stations Telecommunications Time Tourism Transport Women
Famous explorers	Roald Amundsen Richard E. Byrd Douglas Mawson Ui-te-Rangiora (legendary) James Clark Ross Robert Falcon Scott Ernest Shackleton
Category Commons Index

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• 1959 in Washington, D.C.
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