Svalbard Treaty

The treaty was signed in Paris on 9 February 1920 following negotiations after the First World War over the legal status of the Svalbard archipelago, historically referred to in the treaty as Spitsbergen. It entered into force on 14 August 1925. Norway's 2016 white paper explains that the treaty clarified Norway's sovereignty and provided a framework for certain rights and obligations applying to parties.

Article 1 recognizes the full and absolute sovereignty of Norway over the treaty-defined archipelago, including Bear Island. That sovereignty operates subject to the treaty's provisions. Articles 2 and 3 provide equal rights to fishing and hunting and equal access for specified maritime, industrial, mining and commercial activities for nationals of the contracting parties, subject to local laws and regulations. Article 7 requires Norway to provide equal treatment in the acquisition and exercise of property rights, including mineral rights, within the treaty's scope. These provisions do not transfer sovereignty or make Svalbard jointly governed.

The treaty permits Norway to adopt measures for the preservation and, if necessary, restoration of local fauna and flora, provided those measures apply equally to nationals of the contracting parties. Article 8 calls for mining regulations and says taxes, dues and duties levied under the article are to be used exclusively for the territories and not exceed what is required for the stated purpose. The treaty therefore combines Norwegian administration with particular international obligations; it does not establish unrestricted access outside the treaty's terms.

Article 9 obliges Norway not to establish or permit a naval base in the specified territories and not to construct fortifications there, which may never be used for warlike purposes. Norway's government describes the treaty as also containing limitations on military activity. These provisions are not a transfer of authority: Norway retains sovereignty and administers the archipelago under Norwegian law, subject to applicable treaty obligations.

The treaty is open to accession. Norway's white paper stated in 2016 that more than 40 states had acceded. The University of Oslo's treaty text includes a ratification list as of May 2016. The treaty's legal meaning and application are discussed in official Norwegian policy documents; in particular, Norway's 2015–2016 white paper states that the equal-treatment obligation applies to specified subject areas and that parties to the treaty, as states, may demand equal treatment on behalf of their nationals and companies.