Svalbard Treaty
By on 9. February 1920 in Paris signed Svalbard Treaty ( Norwegian Svalbardtraktaten ) received Norway the sovereignty over the archipelago of Spitsbergen , including all islands and rocks from 74 to 81 degrees north latitude and between 10 and 35 degrees east longitude . This includes Hopen about 100 km southeast of the island of Spitsbergen , the Bear Island (Bjørnøya) located about 240 km south of Spitsbergen and the island of Kvitøya located about 100 km northeast of Nordostland (Nordaustlandet) in the Barents Sea . The contract came into force on August 14, 1925.
background
The previously uninhabited archipelago was discovered in 1596 by the Dutchman Willem Barentsz . In the period that followed, Svalbard was a stateless area in which people of different nationalities worked in the areas of fishing , whaling , mining , research and later tourism . Because of statelessness, the area was not regulated by law and other regulatory provisions for a long time. In the first half of the 17th century, for example, there were conflicts over whaling between the United Kingdom , the Netherlands and Denmark-Norway . After the discovery of mineral resources at the beginning of the 20th century, there were ongoing conflicts between mine workers and mine owners, which aroused the need for state authority.
The Svalbard Treaty was intended to ensure the development and peaceful use of Svalbard. Norway is obliged by the treaty to ensure that citizens and companies of all states that have signed the Svalbard Treaty are allowed to operate equally on the islands of Svalbard. The fishing rights within the 200-mile zone are claimed by Norway. Russia in particular contradicts this, but the European Union and Iceland are also of the opinion that the Svalbard Treaty also applies outside the territorial waters and on the continental shelf .
Content of the contract
According to Article 8 of the Svalbard Treaty, income from taxes must remain on the islands, which means that tax rates are low.
Svalbard is a demilitarized zone , so no state party may permanently station military on the island. The island was declared a neutral area by the Norwegian government in the 1950s , although NATO is allowed to intervene should demilitarization be violated in any way. Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard is controlled by the Norwegian Coast Guard , which is part of the Norwegian Naval Forces .
The Svalbard Treaty guarantees all citizens of the contracting states equal rights to work, trade and navigation in the Svalbard area. This means in particular that any citizen of a contracting state can accept a job or open a company there without any further conditions. This also explains the relatively high proportion of residents of non-Norwegian nationality in Svalbard. In Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund it reaches 23%. Overall, the largest proportion of foreigners is made up of Russia - whose residents mainly live in the miners' settlement of Barentsburg - Thailand , which is not a signatory to the Svalbard Treaty. The import and export of goods to the respective countries may not be restricted by Norway any further than it does for its own citizens. As a result, Svalbard is now a duty-free area . Travelers to mainland Norway may also have to declare goods there when entering the country.
Contracting States
The original signatory states, along with Norway, were Denmark , France , Italy , Japan , the Netherlands , Sweden , the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (the same applies to the Dominions of Australia , Canada , New Zealand , South Africa and the British -India signed). In the meantime, other states, including Germany , Austria and Switzerland , have joined the Svalbard Treaty.
The contracting states include (including non-existing states):
Contracting State | Date of entry into force of the contract | comment |
---|---|---|
Afghanistan | November 23, 1925 | |
Egypt | September 13, 1925 | |
Albania | April 29, 1930 | |
Argentina | May 6, 1927 | |
Australia | August 14, 1925 | |
Belgium | August 14, 1925 | |
Bulgaria | October 20, 1925 | |
Chile | December 17, 1928 | |
Republic of China | August 14, 1925 | |
Denmark | August 14, 1925 | |
German Empire | November 16, 1925 | |
German Democratic Republic | 7th August 1974 | |
Dominican Republic | February 3, 1927 | |
Estonia | April 7, 1930 | |
Finland | August 14, 1925 | |
France | August 14, 1925 | |
Greece | October 21, 1925 | |
British India | August 14, 1925 | |
Ireland | August 14, 1925 | |
Iceland | May 31, 1994 | |
Italy | August 14, 1925 | |
Japan | August 14, 1925 | |
Yugoslavia | August 14, 1925 | The treaty has not yet been confirmed by the successor states |
Canada | August 14, 1925 | |
Korea, North | March 16, 2016 | |
Korea, South | September 7, 2012 | |
Latvia | June 13, 2016 | |
Lithuania | 17th January 2013 | |
Monaco | August 14, 1925 | |
New Zealand | August 14, 1925 | |
Netherlands | August 14, 1925 | |
Norway | August 14, 1925 | |
Austria | March 12, 1930 | |
Poland | September 2, 1931 | |
Portugal | October 24, 1927 | |
Romania | August 14, 1925 | |
Russia | December 21, 1991 | as the legal successor to the Soviet Union from its dissolution |
Sultanate of Najd | August 14, 1925 | as the predecessor state of Saudi Arabia |
Sweden | August 14, 1925 | |
Switzerland | August 14, 1925 | |
Slovakia | January 1, 1993 | as legal successor to Czechoslovakia from its dissolution |
Soviet Union | May 7, 1935 | |
Spain | November 12, 1925 | |
South African Union | August 14, 1925 | |
Czech Republic | January 1, 1993 | as legal successor to Czechoslovakia from its dissolution |
Czechoslovakia | June 9, 1930 | |
Hungary | October 29, 1927 | |
Venezuela | February 8, 1928 | |
United Kingdom | June 9, 1930 | |
United States | August 14, 1925 |
Individual evidence
- ^ Ragnhild Grønning: Op-Ed: Need debate on the Svalbard Treaty . In: High North News , November 10, 2017 (last change: October 24, 2018), accessed November 30, 2019.
- ↑ Svalbard population statistics 2015 . April 9, 2015. Accessed June 6, 2015.
- ^ Text of the Svalbard Treaty
- ↑ Detailed view of the State Treaty on www.eda.admin.ch, accessed November 11, 2016.
Web links
- Text of the Svalbard Treaty in German translation (PDF; 507 kB), systematic compilation of Swiss federal law
- Law on Germany's accession to the Svalbard Treaty of July 24, 1925 , including the text of the treaty in French, English and German
- Text of the Svalbard Treaty in the original languages English and French
- Text of the Svalbard Treaty in Norwegian
- Svalbard - an important arena , regjeringen.no, speech by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre , published on May 15, 2006.