The Pros And Cons Of The Antarctic Treaty

466 Words1 Page

The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by twelve contracting states. This treaty came into force in 1961 and had since been participated by various nations with the total number of parties to the Treaty is currently 53. There are two further treaties being concluded. Firstly is the conservation of Antartic seals which was adopted on 1 June 1972. Second is the convention for the conservation of Antartic Marine Living Resources adopted on 20 May 1980. Thus, not only the Antartic continent was being covered but also the large areas of the surrounding ocean as well. It provides for management of the living resources, the peaceful uses and freedom of scientific research. This is supported by certain Articles from the …show more content…

The are about 17 states as parties to the treaty. The moon itself as another part of the outer space had been declared as part of the common heritage of mankind. According to Article 11 of the Moon Treaty, the moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind and envisages that the state parties will attempt to establish an international regime in order to govern the exploitation of its natural resources with the purpose of ensuring orderly and safe development, rational management, and the expansion of opportunities in the use of those resources. However, this treaty was also a disappointment from the angle of worldwide law since it has yet to be ratified by states that engages in self-launched manned space exploration. [ Marko, D. E. (1992). A kinder, gentler Moon Treaty: a critical review of the current Moon Treaty and a proposed alternative. J. Nat. Resources & Envtl. L., 8, 293.] Apart from this, for instance, is the satellites which is becoming increasingly important in world telecommunications is also nonetheless considered as the common heritage of

Open Document