CHAPTER 4 



THE LAW AND ARCTIC POSSESSIONS 



"We cannot say that the sovereignty of all the known lands in the Arctic 

 is definitely settled internationally. We can say, however, that the sovereignty 

 of substantially all of these territories is now either definitely known or 

 definitely claimed." — David William Hunter. 



Unlike antarctic topography, there is no land mass of continental 

 or subcontinental size in the north polar region. The latter area 

 contains relatively few islands and consists chiefly of a vast ice- 

 covered sea girdled by continental land. That portion of the ice 

 cap resting on the sea is in motion. As a consequence, the area 

 that may be subjected to sovereignty is very limited. 



There are three general divisions in this discussion of the legal 

 problems of the arctic region : 



1. The problem of sovereignty in the region. 



2. The territorial claims of the various nations. 



3. United States international agreements which have been set 

 up for activity in the region. 



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