ABSTRACT
The political boundaries on Antarctica may be distinguished from the political boundaries on other continents in five ways. First, all the claimed political boundaries coincide with meridians. Secondly, there are no bilateral boundary agreements dealing with national claims in Antarctica, but Britain, Norway, Australia, France, and New Zealand have ensured that their adjoining claims are conterminous. Thirdly, none of the boundaries in Antarctica has been demarcated. Fourthly, none of the countries which claim territory in Antarctica enforces any restrictions on the movements of people, goods, or ideas at the limit of its territory. Finally, the political boundaries of Antarctica are distinct because all the proclamations dealing with them were made in the 20th century. Antarctica is the only continent which contains unclaimed territory; that is, the sector of Ellsworth and Byrd Lands between 90° and 150° west. So long as the Antarctic Treaty continues in its present form, that sector will remain unclaimed.
