ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the protection of the Antarctic marine environment from a legal point of view. It examines the field of Antarctic issues by distinguishing four dimensions: subjective, spatial, temporal and substantive. The chapter includes various actors in the field, as the consultative parties of the Antarctic treaty. It refers to areas and territories, particularly to marine areas. While the temporal dimension means issues referring to time, the substantive dimension refers to material instruments. The chapter seeks to identify both issues from inside and outside the Antarctic Treaty system. Several international conventions outside the ATS may relate to the protection of the Antarctic marine environment. While the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea deals with the protection and preservation of the marine environment in a general manner, several conventions dealing with specific issues are relevant in the Antarctic context.