ABSTRACT
Before proceeding to the principal aims of this thesis as outlined above, it will be
necessary to give the reader some background information on the legal status of
physical space in the Arctic. E1A norms regulate the planning phase of proposed
stationary activities in the Arctic, and the geographical scope of these norms is partly
defmed by the norms giving international legal subjects rights over physical spaces of the Arctic. Accordingly, chapter II first presents the definition of the Arctic used in
this study and proceeds to examine the international legal subjects present there as
well as the rights over physical space they exercise. The idea is to provide the reader
with an introduction to the international legal context that prevails in the Arctic, a
regime that sets limits on the functioning of the ELA norms.
