Legal Issues concerning DROMLAN under the Antarctic Treaty System

• Published in: The Yearbook of Polar Law Online
• Main Author: Inagaki, Osamu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Brill 2020
• Subjects: Antarctic; Dronning Maud Land; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Yearbook of Polar Law
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22116427_012010006; https://brill.com/view/journals/yplo/12/1/article-p61_6.xml; https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/yplo/12/1/article-p61_6.xml

The purpose of this paper is to explore possible legal issues concerning the Dronning Maud Land Air Network (DROMLAN) under the Antarctic Treaty system. By examining the recent discussion concerning DROMLAN within the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and relevant State practice, this paper argues that States parties have difficulty in fully complying with the obligations of advanced notice under Article VII (5) of the Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Impact Assessment under Article VIII (2) of the Madrid Protocol for DROMLAN’s operation. Finally, this paper suggests that good communication among relevant States parties and private actors is important for enhancing compliance with these obligations.