The Utility of Official Antarctic Inspections: Symbolism without Sanction?

In its modern history—less than 200 years old—the continent of Antarctica and its surrounding oceans have been discovered, explored, exploited (the marine resources) and subjected to a broad‐ranging legal regime aimed at regulating and managing uses of the region and its resources. Some law came after the fact (e.g. the conservation of seals 53) and some preempted a rush on resources (e.g. the fishing convention54 and the minerals convention55). But the principal legal instrument that spawned all the others, and contained the ideological basis for today’s management approaches, was the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.