that, "It is impossible to read the records of the decisions in cases 

 as to territorial sovereignty without observing that in many cases 

 the tribunal has been satisfied v^^ith very little in the way of the 

 actual exercise of sovereign rights, provided that the other state 

 could not make out a superior claim. This is particularly true in 

 the case of claims to sovereignty over areas in thinly populated 

 or unsettled countries," 



On 7 April 1933 (2 days after the court's decision was handed 

 down) Norway revoked the decree of 12 July 1932 by which claim 

 had been made to Southeast Greenland. This revocation and the 

 court's decision in the Eastern Greenland case firmly established 

 Denmark's claim to all of Greenland. 



Denmark has made no claims under the sector principle. 



NORWAY 



The two Norwegian possessions in the Arctic region are Spits- 

 bergen (Svalbard Archipelago) and Jan Mayen Island. The latter 

 island is a desolate area of 144 square miles lying about 300 miles 

 north of Iceland. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute estab- 

 lished a weather station there in 1921. Otherwise Jan Mayen is 

 uninhabited. No one disputes Norway's claim to sovereignty over 

 the island, and they are in possession. 



The Svalbard archipelago was discovered by Norsemen in 1194 

 and rediscovered by Barents in 1596. The islands have long been 

 the resort of whalers of several nations. Periodically since 1261, 

 Norway has asserted claim to the islands. From 1870 on, this 

 claim has been asserted with increasing insistency because Nor- 

 wegian explorations have discovered rich outcropping seams of 

 coal — a mineral which Norway lacks. There are also large de- 

 posits of low-grade iron ore and gypsum. Signs of oil have been 

 reported. 



Down to 1921, the Norwegian claim was questioned by other 

 states wishing to exploit the area. The prize was a good one and 

 the competitors important. Possibly more to keep a rival from 

 winning this prize than for any other reason, the interested powers 

 relinquished all claims by a treaty signed in Paris on 9 February 

 1921. In this treaty, the United States, Great Britain, Denmark, 

 France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Sweden agreed that 

 Norway was sovereign over the archipelago. The Soviet Union, 

 then not in a position to be a signatory, has since declared its recog- 

 nition of Norwegian sovereignty. 



Norway has made no claims under the Sector Principle. 



151 



