Antarctic Treaty: The Antarctic Treaty

The Antarctic Treaty was first agreed and signed in the 1959 by twelve countries who were active in Antarctic research and exploration at the time. It has been in force since 1961, and at the time of writing (2026) the number of Parties to the treaty has grown to 58 countries. The Antarctic establishes that no acts or activities may take place that assert, support or deny territorial claims by any country over Antarctica, essentially preserving the continent as an area beyond national jursidiction. The Antarctic Treaty permits cooperative scientific research in Antarctica, with results to be shared and made freely available. The implementation of the Antarctic Treaty is overseen by a Secretariat based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Antarctic Treaty underpins many other international agreements that have been adopted by the parties at consultative meetings over the decades. Collectively, they are referred to as the Antarctic Treaty System.