Svalbard Treaty

{{Short description|Treaty recognising Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard}}

{{Infobox treaty

| name = Svalbard Treaty

| long_name = Treaty recognising the sovereignty of Norway over the Archipelago of Spitsbergen, including Bear Island
Traité reconnaissant la souveraineté de la Norvège sur l'archipel du Spitsberg, y compris l'île aux Ours

| image = Svalbard signatories.svg

| image_width = 335

| caption = Ratifications of the treaty

| type =

| date_drafted =

| date_signed = 9 February 1920

| location_signed = Paris, France

| date_sealed =

| date_effective = 14 August 1925

| condition_effective = Ratification by all the signatory powers

| date_expiration =

| signatories =

| parties = 48 – see list

| ratifiers =

| depositor = Government of the French Republic

| language =

| languages = French and English

| wikisource = Spitsbergen Treaty

}}

The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and not all Norwegian law applies. The treaty restricts military uses of the archipelago, but it is not demilitarized.

{{cite journal

| last = Jensen

| first = Øyvind

| author-link =

| title = The Svalbard Treaty and Norwegian Sovereignty

| journal = Arctic Review on Law and Politics

| volume = 11

| issue =

| pages = 82–107

| publisher = Cappelen Damm

| date = 2020

| language =

| url = https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/2348/4673

| jstor = 48710626

| issn = 2387-4562

| doi = 10.23865/arctic.v11.2348

| id =

| mr =

| zbl =

| jfm =

| access-date = 2023-01-21| hdl = 11250/2765342

| hdl-access = free

}}

The signatories were given equal rights to engage in commercial activities (mainly coal mining) on the islands.{{Citation |last=Berg |first=Roald |title=The Genesis of the Spitsbergen/Svalbard Treaty, 1871–1920 |date=2023 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-the-polar-regions/genesis-of-the-spitsbergensvalbard-treaty-18711920/6D6C5C9439E7E890F2B982EB43827179 |work=The Cambridge History of the Polar Regions |pages=354–377 |editor-last=Howkins |editor-first=Adrian |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108555654.015 |isbn=978-1-108-42993-1 |editor2-last=Roberts |editor2-first=Peder}} {{As of|2024}}, Norway and Russia make use of this right.

Uniquely, the archipelago is an entirely visa-free zone under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty.[http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2006/07/200841012024779644.html Immigrants warmly welcomed], Al Jazeera, 4 July 2006.

The treaty was signed on 9 February 1920 and submitted for registration in the League of Nations Treaty Series on 21 October 1920.League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 2, pp. 8–19 There were 14 original High Contracting Parties: Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,On Dutch interest and historical claims see Muller, Hendrik, 'Nederland's historische rechten op Spitsbergen', Tijdschrift van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap 2e serie, deel 34 (1919) no. 1, 94–104. Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and India), and the United States.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lovdata.no/traktater/texte/tre-19200209-001.html |title=Original Spitsbergen Treaty |access-date=8 August 2021 |archive-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702183404/http://emeritus.lovdata.no/traktater/texte/tre-19200209-001.html |url-status=dead }} Of the original signatories, Japan was the last to ratify the treaty on 2 April 1925, and the treaty came into force on 14 August 1925.[http://www.lovdata.no/all/hl-19200209-000.html Spitsbergen Treaty and Ratification] (in Norwegian)

Many additional nations acceded to the treaty after it was ratified by the original signatories, including several before it came into force. {{As of|2024}}, there are 48 parties to the treaty.{{cite web |url=https://basedoc.diplomatie.gouv.fr/exl-php/recherche/mae_internet___traites |title=Traités et accords de la France |trans-title=Treaties and agreements of France |publisher=Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France |language=fr |access-date=1 August 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://verdragenbank.overheid.nl/en/Verdrag/Details/004293 |title=Treaty concerning the Archipelago of Spitsbergen, including Bear Island |publisher=Treaty Database of the Netherlands |access-date=1 August 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/BgblAuth/BGBLA_2024_III_125/BGBLA_2024_III_125.pdfsig |title=Kundmachung: Geltungsbereich des Vertrages über Spitzbergen |trans-title=Announcement: Area of application of the Treaty on Spitsbergen |publisher=Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria |date=30 July 2024 |language=de}}

Name of the treaty

The original treaty is titled the Treaty recognising the sovereignty of Norway over the Archipelago of Spitsbergen. It refers to the entire archipelago as Spitsbergen, which had been the only name in common usage since 1596 (with minor variations in spelling). In 1925, five years after the conclusion of the treaty, the Norwegian authorities proceeded to officially rename the islands "Svalbard". This new name was a modern adaptation of the ancient toponym {{lang|non|Svalbarði}}, attested in the Norse sagas as early as 1194. The exonym Spitsbergen subsequently came to be applied to the main island in the archipelago.{{cite web|url=http://www.npolar.no/en/services/maps/polar-place-names/history.html|title=Norwegian place names in polar regions|publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute}}{{cite web|url=https://www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/spitsbergen-information/history.html|title=History – Spitsbergen – Svalbard|website=spitsbergen-svalbard.com}} Accordingly, in modern historiography the Treaty of Spitsbergen is commonly referred to anachronistically as the Svalbard Treaty to reflect the name change.{{cn|date=January 2022}}

History

The archipelago was discovered by the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz in 1596.{{Citation|last=Grydehøj|first=Adam|title=Svalbard: International Relations in an Exceptionally International Territory|work=The Palgrave Handbook of Arctic Policy and Politics|year=2020|pages=267–282|publisher=Springer International Publishing|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-20557-7_17|isbn=978-3-030-20556-0|s2cid=211340284}} [https://www.academia.edu/42881581/Svalbard_International_Relations_in_an_Exceptionally_International_Territory Alt URL] It was named Spitsbergen, meaning 'sharp-peaked mountains' (literally 'spits-berg'). It was uninhabited.{{cite book |title=Svalbard: vårt nordligste Norge |author=Torkildsen, Torbjørn|year=1984 |publisher=Forlaget Det Beste |location=Oslo |language=no |isbn=82-7010-167-2|display-authors=et al |page=30}} The islands were renamed in the 1920s by Norway as Svalbard.{{cite book |title=Guide to Spitsbergen |last=Umbreit |first=Andreas |year=2005 |publisher=Bradt |location=Bucks |isbn=1-84162-092-0 |pages=XI–XII}}

Spitsbergen/Svalbard began as a territory free of a nation, with people from different countries participating in industries including fishing, whaling, mining, research and later, tourism. Not belonging to any nation left Svalbard largely free of regulations or laws, though there were conflicts over the area due to whaling rights and sovereignty disputes between England, the Netherlands and Denmark–Norway in the first half of the 17th century.Torkildsen (1984), pp. 34–36 By the 20th century mineral deposits were found on the main island and continual conflicts between miners and owners created the need for a government.{{cite book |title=Svalbards historie |last=Arlov |first=Thor B. |year=1996 |publisher=Aschehoug |location=Oslo |language=no |isbn=82-03-22171-8 |pages=249, 261, 273}}

The Spitsbergen Treaty was signed in Paris on 9 February 1920, during the Versailles negotiations after World War I. In this treaty, international diplomacy recognized Norwegian sovereignty (the Norwegian administration went in effect by 1925) and other principles relating to Svalbard. This includes:

Svalbard is part of Norway: Svalbard is completely controlled by and forms part of the Kingdom of Norway. However, Norway's power over Svalbard is restricted by the limitations listed below:
Taxation: Taxes are allowed to be collected, but only enough to support Svalbard and the Svalbard government. This results in lower taxes than mainland Norway and the exclusion of any taxes on Svalbard supporting mainland Norway directly. Svalbard's revenues and expenses are separately budgeted from mainland Norway.
Environmental conservation: Norway must respect and preserve the Svalbard environment.
Non-discrimination: All citizens and all companies of every nation under the treaty are allowed to become residents and to have access to Svalbard including the right to fish, hunt or undertake any kind of maritime, industrial, mining or trade activity. The residents of Svalbard must follow Norwegian law, though Norwegian authority cannot discriminate against or favour any residents of any given nationality. Russia has exercised this right of residency and in 2022 announced new investment plans to support its presence at Barentsburg and Pyramiden.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/17/climate-change-arctic-00071169 |title=A Battle for the Arctic Is Underway. And the U.S. Is Already Behind. |last=Rosen |first=Kenneth |access-date=2023-08-18|date=17 December 2022 |website=Politico }}
Military restrictions: Article 9 prohibits naval bases and fortifications and also the use of Svalbard for war-like purposes. Norway interprets this provision as still permitting access to the territory by the Norwegian Armed Forces to exercise sovereignty and protect the environment. This largely encompasses visits by Norwegian military forces, particularly Norwegian Coast Guard vessels, to the territory. However, certain other signatory states, particularly Russia, dispute this interpretation. Notably, while Norway maintains that it has exclusive rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to the continental shelf around Svalbard, Russia rejects this position. Russia also objects to Norwegian or NATO military activities around Svalbard which, Russia claims, undermine the treaty’s military restrictions.{{Cite web|title=Svalbard: NATO's Arctic 'Achilles' Heel' |url=https://perconcordiam.com/svalbard-natos-arctic-achilles-heel/ |website=Per Concordiam |last=Wither |first=James |date=8 September 2021 |access-date=16 August 2023}}

Disputes regarding natural resources

There has been a long-running dispute, primarily between Norway and Russia (and before it, the Soviet Union) over fishing rights in the region.{{cite book |author=Alex G. Oude Elferink |title=The Law of Maritime Boundary Delimitation: A Case Study of the Russian Federation |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |year=1994 |pages=230–231}}{{cite book |author=Willy Østreng|author-link=Willy Østreng |chapter=Norway in Northern Waters |title=Northern Waters: Security and Resource Issues |editor=Clive Archer & David Scrivener |year=1986 |publisher=Routledge |pages=165–167}} In 1977, Norway established a regulated fishery in a {{convert|200|nmi|km|adj=off}} zone around Svalbard (though it did not close the zone to foreign access). Norway argues that the treaty's provisions of equal economic access apply only to the islands and their territorial waters (four nautical miles at the time) but not to the wider exclusive economic zone. In addition, it argues that the continental shelf is a part of mainland Norway's continental shelf and should be governed by the 1958 Continental Shelf Convention. The Soviet Union/Russia disputed and continues to dispute this position and consider the Spitsbergen Treaty to apply to the entire zone. Talks were held in 1978 in Moscow but did not resolve the issue. Finland and Canada support Norway's position, while most of the other treaty signatories have expressed no official position. The relevant parts of the treaty are as follows:

Ships and nationals of all the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy equally the rights of fishing and hunting in the territories specified in Article 1 and in their territorial waters. (from Article 2)

They shall be admitted under the same conditions of equality to the exercise and practice of all maritime, industrial, mining or commercial enterprises both on land and in the territorial waters, and no monopoly shall be established on any account or for any enterprise whatever. (from Article 3)

"Mainly the dispute is about whether the Svalbard Treaty also is in effect outside the 12 nautical mile territorial sea," according to Norway's largest newspaper, Aftenposten. If the treaty comes into effect outside the zone, then Norway will not be able to claim the full 78% of profits of oil- and gas harvesting, said Aftenposten in 2011.Aftenposten, "USA snuser på Svalbard-olje". Torbjørn Pedersen, p. 14

Parties

A list of parties is shown below; the dates below reflect when a nation deposited its instrument of ratification or accession. Some parties are successor states to the countries that joined the treaty, as noted below.

class="sortable wikitable" ! Country ! Date of ratification ! Notes
Afghanistan	{{dts\|1929-11-23\|format=dmy}}
Albania	{{dts\|1930-04-29\|format=dmy}}
Argentina	{{dts\|1927-05-06\|format=dmy}}
Australia	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	Extension by the United Kingdom.
Austria	{{dts\|1930-03-12\|format=dmy}}
Belgium	{{dts\|1925-05-27\|format=dmy}}
Bulgaria	{{dts\|1925-10-20\|format=dmy}}
Canada	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	Extension by the United Kingdom.
Chile	{{dts\|1928-12-17\|format=dmy}}
China	{{dts\|1925-07-01\|format=dmy}}	Acceded as the Republic of China. Both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China claim to be the successor or continuing state, but as of 2024 all other parties to the treaty recognize only the People's Republic of China.
Czech Republic	{{dts\|2006-06-21\|format=dmy}}	Czechoslovakia acceded to the treaty on {{dts\|1930-07-09\|format=dmy}}. On {{dts\|2006-06-21\|format=dmy}}, the Czech Republic stated that it considered itself bound to the treaty since its independence on {{dts\|1993-01-01\|format=dmy}}, as a successor state.
Denmark	{{dts\|1924-01-24\|format=dmy}}	Extension to the entire Danish Realm.
Dominican Republic	{{dts\|1927-02-03\|format=dmy}}
Egypt	{{dts\|1925-09-13\|format=dmy}}
Estonia	{{dts\|1930-04-07\|format=dmy}}
Finland	{{dts\|1925-08-12\|format=dmy}}
France	{{dts\|1924-09-06\|format=dmy}}
Germany	{{dts\|1925-11-16\|format=dmy}}	Acceded as the Weimar Republic. On {{dts\|1974-10-21\|format=dmy}}, East Germany stated that it also reapplied the treaty since {{dts\|1974-08-07\|format=dmy}}. East Germany reunited with West Germany on 3 October 1990.
Greece	{{dts\|1925-10-21\|format=dmy}}
Hungary	{{dts\|1927-10-29\|format=dmy}}
Iceland	{{dts\|1994-05-31\|format=dmy}}
India	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	Extension by the United Kingdom.
Ireland	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	The Irish Free State left the United Kingdom after the latter signed the treaty but before it was ratified. On {{dts\|1976-04-15\|format=dmy}}, Ireland stated that it also applied the treaty since its ratification by the United Kingdom.
Italy	{{dts\|1924-08-06\|format=dmy}}
Japan	{{dts\|1925-04-02\|format=dmy}}
Latvia	{{dts\|2016-06-13\|format=dmy}}
Lithuania	{{dts\|2013-01-22\|format=dmy}}
Monaco	{{dts\|1925-06-22\|format=dmy}}
Netherlands	{{dts\|1920-09-03\|format=dmy}}	Extension to the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands.
New Zealand	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	Extension by the United Kingdom.
North Korea	{{dts\|2016-03-16\|format=dmy}}
Norway	{{dts\|1924-10-08\|format=dmy}}
Poland	{{dts\|1931-09-02\|format=dmy}}
Portugal	{{dts\|1927-10-24\|format=dmy}}
Romania	{{dts\|1925-07-10\|format=dmy}}
Russia	{{dts\|1935-05-07\|format=dmy}}	Acceded as the Soviet Union. On {{dts\|1992-01-27\|format=dmy}}, Russia declared that it continued to apply the treaties concluded by the Soviet Union.
Saudi Arabia	{{dts\|1925-09-02\|format=dmy}}	Acceded as the Kingdom of Hejaz.
Serbia	{{dts\|2022-09-05\|format=dmy}}	Yugoslavia acceded to the treaty on {{dts\|1925-07-06\|format=dmy}}. On {{dts\|2022-09-05\|format=dmy}}, Serbia declared to continue the application of the treaty.
Slovakia	{{dts\|2017-02-21\|format=dmy}}	Czechoslovakia acceded to the treaty on {{dts\|1930-07-09\|format=dmy}}. On {{dts\|2017-02-21\|format=dmy}}, Slovakia stated that it considered itself bound to the treaty since its independence on {{dts\|1993-01-01\|format=dmy}}, as a successor state.
South Africa	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	Extension by the United Kingdom.
South Korea	{{dts\|2012-09-11\|format=dmy}}
Spain	{{dts\|1925-11-12\|format=dmy}}
Sweden	{{dts\|1924-09-15\|format=dmy}}
Switzerland	{{dts\|1925-06-30\|format=dmy}}
Turkey	{{dts\|2024-04-11\|format=dmy}}
United Kingdom	{{dts\|1923-12-29\|format=dmy}}	Extension to Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa. Ireland also applied the treaty since its ratification by the United Kingdom.
United States	{{dts\|1924-04-02\|format=dmy}}
Venezuela	{{dts\|1928-02-08\|format=dmy}}

References

External links

[http://app.uio.no/ub/ujur/oversatte-lover/data/lov-19250717-011-eng.pdf Treaty between Norway, The United States of America, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen signed in Paris 9th February 1920.]
[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1925/10.html Treaty Concerning the Archipelago of Spitsbergen]
[http://www.lovdata.no/all/hl-19200209-000.html Svalbard Treaty and Ratification] {{in lang|no}}
[http://www.regjeringen.no/en/ministries/ud/About-the-Ministry/Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-Jonas-Gahr-S/Speeches-and-articles/2006/Svalbard--an-important-arena.html?id=420843 Svalbard – an important arena] – Speech by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 15 April 2006.

Category:History of Svalbard

Category:1920 in Norway

Category:Treaties of the Soviet Union

Category:Treaties of Norway

Category:Norway–Russia relations

Category:Norway–Soviet Union relations

Category:Treaties concluded in 1920

Category:Treaties entered into force in 1925

Category:Politics of Svalbard

Category:Treaties of the Emirate of Afghanistan

Category:Treaties of the Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939)

Category:Treaties of Argentina