ABSTRACT
This chapter examines jurisdictional issues by looking at the legal framework already in place, current boundary conflicts, and the special case of Svalbard. It discusses the role of the Arctic Council, which has become an increasingly important forum for international cooperation in the north, before taking a look at how climate change might impact the legal regimes in the Arctic. There are a number of different definitions of the Arctic and considerable confusion about what it is. Common definitions include the areas north of the 10'C isotherm for July; the Arctic Circle; and a wider region, which in Northern Europe includes Northern Scandinavia and the seas bordering the Arctic Ocean. A number of Arctic Council projects have been important in establishing knowledge status and bringing issues to political attention. For instance, the 2000-2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) assessed the status of knowledge and constructed climate change scenarios for the region.
