Editing Antarctic Treaty System (section)

== Legal system ==
Antarctica currently has no permanent population and therefore it has no citizenship nor government. Personnel present on Antarctica at any time are always citizens or nationals of some sovereignty outside Antarctica, as there is no Antarctic sovereignty. The majority of Antarctica is claimed by one or more countries, but most countries do not explicitly recognize those claims. The area on the mainland between [[90th meridian west|90 degrees west]] and [[150th meridian west|150 degrees west]] is the only major land on Earth [[Terra nullius|not claimed by any country]].<ref>Wright, Minturn, "The Ownership of Antarctica, Its Living and Mineral Resources", ''Journal of Law and the Environment'' 4 (1987).</ref> Until 2015 the interior of the Norwegian Sector, the extent of which had never been officially defined,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dronning Maud Land|url=http://www.npolar.no/en/the-antarctic/dronning-maud-land.html|publisher=Norwegian Polar Institute|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> was considered to be unclaimed. That year, Norway formally laid claim to the area between its [[Queen Maud Land]] and the South Pole.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rapp|first1=Ole Magnus|title=Norge utvider Dronning Maud Land helt frem til Sydpolen|journal=Aftenposten|url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/Norge-utvider-Dronning-Maud-Land-helt-frem-til-Sydpolen-8168779.html|access-date=22 September 2015|date=21 September 2015|location=Oslo, Norway|language=no|quote=…formålet med anneksjonen var å legge under seg det landet som til nå ligger herreløst og som ingen andre enn nordmenn har kartlagt og gransket. Norske myndigheter har derfor ikke motsatt seg at noen tolker det norske kravet slik at det går helt opp til og inkluderer polpunktet.}}</ref>

Governments that are party to the Antarctic Treaty and its Protocol on Environmental Protection implement the articles of these agreements, and decisions taken under them, through national laws. These laws generally apply only to their own citizens, wherever they are in Antarctica, and serve to enforce the consensus decisions of the consultative parties: about which activities are acceptable, which areas require permits to enter, what processes of environmental impact assessment must precede activities, and so on. The Antarctic Treaty is often considered to represent an example of the [[common heritage of mankind]] principle.<ref>Jennifer Frakes, The Common Heritage of Mankind Principle and the Deep Seabed, Outer Space, and Antarctica: Will Developed and Developing Nations Reach a Compromise? Wisconsin International Law Journal. 2003; 21:409</ref>

=== Australia ===
[[File:Cover AAT 1959.jpg|right|300px|thumb|This 1959 cover commemorated the opening of the Wilkes post office in the Australian Antarctic Territory.]]
Since the designation of the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]] pre-dated the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, Australian laws that relate to Antarctica date from more than two decades before the Antarctic Treaty era. In terms of criminal law, the laws that apply to the [[Jervis Bay Territory]] (which follows the laws of the [[Australian Capital Territory]]) apply to the Australian Antarctic Territory. Key Australian legislation applying Antarctic Treaty System decisions include the ''Antarctic Treaty Act 1960'', the ''Antarctic Treaty (Environment Protection) Act 1980'' and the ''Antarctic Marine Living Resources Conservation Act 1981''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=3358|title=Australian Antarctic Division – Australian environmental law and guidelines|access-date=3 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519011927/http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=3358|archive-date=19 May 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== United States ===
The [[law of the United States]], including certain criminal offences by or against U.S. nationals, such as murder, may apply to areas not under jurisdiction of other countries. To this end, the United States now stations special deputy [[United States Marshal|U.S. Marshals]] in Antarctica to provide a law enforcement presence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usmarshals.gov/history/antarctica/|title=U.S. Marshals Service|first=U.S. Marshals Service|last=(USMS)|website=usmarshals.gov|access-date=11 January 2006|archive-date=5 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205115539/http://www.usmarshals.gov/history/antarctica/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some U.S. laws directly apply to Antarctica. For example, the [[Antarctic Conservation Act]], Public Law 95-541, {{UnitedStatesCode|16|2401}} ''et seq.'', provides civil and criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized by regulation or [[statute]]:
* the taking of native Antarctic mammals or birds
* the introduction into Antarctica of non-indigenous plants and animals
* entry into specially protected or scientific areas
* the discharge or disposal of pollutants into Antarctica or Antarctic waters
* the importation into the U.S. of certain items from Antarctica

Violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up to US$10,000 in fines and one year in prison. The Departments of [[United States Department of the Treasury|the Treasury]], [[United States Department of Commerce|Commerce]], [[United States Department of Transportation|Transportation]], and [[United States Department of the Interior|the Interior]] share enforcement responsibilities. The Act requires expeditions from the U.S. to Antarctica to notify, in advance, the [[Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs]] of the [[United States Department of State|State Department]], which reports such plans to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty. Further information is provided by the [[Office of Polar Programs]] of the [[National Science Foundation]].

=== New Zealand ===
In 2006, the New Zealand police reported that jurisdictional issues prevented them issuing warrants for potential American witnesses who were reluctant to testify during the [[Christchurch]] Coroner's investigation into the death by poisoning of Australian astrophysicist [[Rodney Marks]] at the South Pole base in May 2000.<ref name="stuffSunday">Hotere, Andrea.  [http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/3902305a6442.html "South Pole death file still open".] ''Sunday Star Times'', 17 December 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2006.</ref><ref name="DPA">Deutsche Presse-Agentur.  [http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asiapacific/news/printer_1233162.php "Death of Australian astrophysicist an Antarctic whodunnit".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901103854/http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asiapacific/news/printer_1233162.php |date=1 September 2007 }} ''Monstersandcritics.com'', 14 December 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2006.</ref> Marks died while wintering over at the United States' [[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]] located at the geographic South Pole. Prior to autopsy, the death was attributed to natural causes by the [[National Science Foundation]] and the contractor administering the base. However, an autopsy in New Zealand revealed that Marks died from [[methanol]] poisoning. The [[New Zealand Police]] launched an investigation. In 2006, frustrated by lack of progress, the Christchurch Coroner said that it was unlikely that Marks ingested the methanol knowingly, although there is no certainty that he died as the direct result of the act of another person. During media interviews, the police detective in charge of the investigation criticized the National Science Foundation and contractor [[Raytheon]] for failing to cooperate with the investigation.<ref name="TelegraphChapman">Chapman, Paul. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070327103228/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/14/wpole14.xml "New Zealand Probes What May Be First South Pole Murder".] ''The Daily Telegraph'', (14 December 2006), reprinted in [http://www.nysun.com/article/45132 ''The New York Sun''] (19 December 2006). Retrieved 19 December 2006.</ref><ref name="nzherald">Booker, Jarrod. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10415310&ref=rss "South Pole scientist may have been poisoned".] ''The New Zealand Herald'', (14 December 2006). Retrieved 19 December 2006.</ref><ref name="Sunday Star Times Jan21">[http://www.stuff.co.nz/3935255a11.html "South Pole Death Mystery – Who killed Rodney Marks?"] ''Sunday Star Times'' (21 January 2007)</ref>

=== South Africa ===
Under the [[South African Citizens in Antarctica Act, 1962]], South African law applies to all South African citizens in [[SANAE IV|Antarctica]], and they are subject to the jurisdiction of the [[magistrate's court (South Africa)|magistrate's court]] in [[Cape Town]].<ref>Section 2 of the South African Citizens in Antarctica Act, No. 55 of 1962, as amended by the Environmental Laws Rationalisation Act, No. 51 of 1997.</ref> The [[Antarctic Treaties Act, 1996]] incorporates the Antarctic Treaty and related agreements into South African law. In regard to violations of these treaties, South Africa also asserts jurisdiction over South African residents and members of expeditions organised in South Africa.<ref>Antarctic Treaties Act, No. 60 of 1996.</ref>