Antarctic Treaty And Antarctic Territory Protection Mechanisms

Resumen

The Antarctic Treaty marks a fundamental milestone in the handling of
Antarctica. This treaty contains some mechanisms that, until now, have been effective in
protecting the Antarctic territory. In this article the hows and whys of said mechanisms are
laid out. However, at the same time the effectiveness of the mechanisms are only applicable
to the states that form part of the Antarctic Treaty. How then would the Antarctic territory
be defended with respect to states that are not party to the Antarctic Treaty? The proposed
answer to this question consists in confi rming that the evolution of the so-called “Question
of Antarctica” has generated a custom in international law in such a way that the principles
of the Antarctic Treaty are enforceable against third party States that are not party to this
treaty.