The Legal Status Effossio of the Hydrocarbons of the Southern Ocean Area; Questions of Antarctic Environmental Protection and Possible Minerals Exploitation under International Law

• Main Author: Joblin, Scott
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1885/204734; https://doi.org/10.25911/5edf658f134ee; https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/204734/3/Scott%20Joblin%20Thesis%202020.pdf.jpg

Antarctica is the only continent on Earth that does not have a history of commercial minerals development. To date, the non-economic nature of Antarctic minerals, combined with legal impediments, technological, climatic, and physical difficulties, and issues of remoteness, have foiled even the most-hardy and expeditious of State interests. International interest in Antarctic mineral resources is predicted to only increase in coming decades. Of the mineral resources found within, it is near-universally agreed the greatest future interest likely lies with the hydrocarbons of the Southern Ocean. Simply put, these present as the most exploitable, politically and strategically valuable, and economically viable of those predicted to exist (in substantive quantities). This thesis examines that which is known in Antarctic legal circles as the 'Southern Ocean minerals issue.' The right for States to initiate and conduct mineral activities in the Antarctic is inexorably tied to international law. In the Antarctic context, international law not only determines the parameters through which activities may be undertaken, but also whether or not they may transpire in the first place. Prompted by a range of factors, including environmental concerns, this thesis seeks to provide an answer to the question of the 'legal status effossio' of the hydrocarbons of the Southern Ocean Area. The term 'legal status effossio' refers to the juridical standing of a mineral resource and the question of whether it itself is subject to potential physical exploitation under international law. This thesis provides what is believed to be the broadest-ranging examination of the legal status of Southern Ocean hydrocarbons ever undertaken. Entailing a comprehensive search and examination of primary sources and reports, along with extensive informal consultations with academics and experts, the thesis is framed around three sub-questions. The first, what are the spatial limits of the Southern Ocean Area? The second, what are the present individual ...