Polar Law Symposium 2011 - Nuuk, Greenland

ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM 

The fourth Polar Law Symposium 'Arctic Governance' took place in Greenland where leading experts in the field of Polar Law and Arctic Governance met at the University of Greenland, where it was hosted. The symposium covered a wide variety of topics relating to the Arctic and Antarctic. Topics included: Sovereignty, development in Constitutional law, Natural Resources, Indigenous peoples right, climate and environment, Antarctica, Security Politics and safety issues and the Arctic Council. The Symposium was organised by the University of Greenland and the University of Akureyri. The symposium was Co-sponsored by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law of the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, the University of the Arctic, and the Arctic Law Thematic Network

THE 2011 POLAR LAW SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM

OPENING SESSION 

Statement by HE Kuupik Kleist, Premier of the Government of Greenland (TBC)

The Rectors of the Universities of Greenland and Akureyri (TBC) 

SOVEREIGNTY, THE NORTH POLE AND THE LAW OF THE SEA

Professor Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Professor Ted McDorman, University of Victoria, Canada (TBC)

Professor Donald R. Rothwell, College of Law, The Australian National University, Canberra. Arctic Navigation Regimes, in particular Assessing the Arctic Ocean Access Routes, such as the Bering Strait, Davis Strait, etc.

Professor Peter Ørebech, University of Tromsö. The Norway-Russia Borderline Agreement of April 15th 2010, with regard to the UNCLOS Delimitation Principles

Professor Erik Franckx, Centre for International Law, Department of International and European Law, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The Sector Theory Revisited

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW DEVELOPMENTS

Mininnguaq Kleist, the Foreign Office, Government of Greenland. Thoughts about a Greenlandic Constitution

Agust Thor Arnason, University of Akureyri. Writing a New Constitution – the Icelandic Experience

NATURAL RESOURCES

Professor Betsy Baker, Vermont Law School, USA. Offshore Oil and Gas Regulation in the Arctic

Director Niels Einarsson, Stefansson Arctic Institute, Akureyri. Good and Bad Governance in Icelandic Fisheries - Environmental and Social Implications

Professor Kees Bastmeijer, University of Tilburg. Property Developments in Greenland - Dividing Up the Land?

Violet Ford, PhD-Candidate, University of Lapland. Challenges and Opportunities for Trans-Boundary Cooperation of Arctic States in Implementing the Objectives of the CBD's Nagoya Protocol (article 11) on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources

THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Dalee Sambo Dorough, Member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples (TBC) 

Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London. The Tensions Between States and Indigenous Peoples over Natural Resources in Light of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, National Legislation and the Relevant Case Law 

Professor Mpazi Sinjela, Law Faculty, University of Zambia, former Dean of the WIPO Worldwide Academy. The Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples resulting from their Creativity, including Traditional Knowledge, Folklore and Other Cultural Expressions 

Researcher Adam Stepien, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. Indigenous to Indigenous Development Cooperation: a Study in Responsibility, Legitimacy and Capacity - Saami Aid for Africa

CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT

Professor Kristin Henrard, Faculty of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Intersections and Mutual Reinforcement of the Right to a Healthy Environment, and the Right to Identity and the Right to Equal/Fair Socio-Economic Participation 

Researcher Leena Heinämäki, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. Towards a Holistic Approach in International Environmental Law - Indigenous Peoples' Role in Climate Change Dialogue 

Researcher Tanja Joona, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. The Right to Culture - Reindeer Herding as a Human Right 

Mikhail Brinchuk, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Legal Protection of the Arctic Environment in Russia - State and Prospects 

Laura Boone, PhD-Candidate, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. On climate and environment

ANTARCTICA

Dr. Julia Jabour, Program Leader – Ocean & Antarctic Policy, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart. New Developments in the Antarctic Legal Regime

SECURITY POLITICS AND SAFETY ISSUES

Tomas Heidar, Legal Adviser, Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic (SAR Agreement) (TBC) 

Professor Alyson Bailes, University of Iceland 

Harry Borlase, Researcher for ArcticNet's Emerging Arctic Security Environment. External and Internal Dimensions - Contributions and Constraints of the Canadian Rangers on Canada's Northern Sovereignty 

Dr. Natalia Loukacheva, Universities of Akureyri and Toronto. Arctic Geo- Politics and Security - Non-Military Aspects

THE ARCTIC COUNCIL

Professor Paula Kankaanpää, Director of the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi 

Professor Timo Koivurova, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. The Future of the Arctic Council in the Fast-Changing Landscape of Arctic Governance 

Professor Matti Niemivuo, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lapland. What Could the Arctic Council Learn from the Council of Baltic Sea States in Promoting Democracy and Human Rights? 

Professor Gudmundur Alfredsson, Universities of Akureyri and Strasbourg. The Arctic Council and Human Rights 

Researcher Waliul Hasanat, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland. Diverse Soft-Law Cooperation Forms in the Arctic - Do They Complement or Contradict Each Other?

CLOSING SESSION