ABSTRACT
As explained at the end of the previous chapter, the aim of this chapter is to explore the first of the long-standing unresolved legal questions relating to the Barents Sea, namely the question of whether the 1920 Svalbard Treaty (with its regime of equality of treatment for all its parties in the exploitation of the resources of Svalbard) extends to the maritime zones of Svalbard beyond its territorial sea, which (as we saw in the previous chapter) comprise the continental shelf and a 200-mile fishery protection zone. This is a question of considerable practical importance, not only because of the significant resources of those zones but also because exploitation of those resources may have important implications elsewhere in the Barents Sea.
