The Polar Law Institute is a non-profit research and education institution and operates within the University of Akureyri. It was established together and in cooperation with the Polar Law Programme at the University. The aim and purpose of Polar Law Institute is:
- Organize symposiums, seminars and lectures on Polar law, including the annual Polar Law Symposium;
- Support the Polar Law program of the University of Akureyri;
- Provide teaching in individual courses or in cooperation with the University of Akureyri or other institutions;
- Publication of books and Articles on Polar Law, including the Yearbook of Polar Law;
- Enhance cooperation of academics, the public sector and the private sector within the field of Polar Law;
- Strengthen cooperation of various parties in the interest of inter-disciplinary studies;
- To raise funds for and carry out research projects in cooperation with other parties.
Main Arctic Projects
The Polar Law Program
The program provides a unique focus on Polar law. It comes about in a timely fashion, when climate changes are having a dramatic effect on the Arctic and Antarctic, when the opening of new shipping routes is becoming probable, when current and potential boundary disputes on land and sea remain unresolved, when issues and questions of national and local governance are moving forward on national and international agendas, and, last but not least, when multiple threats to the environment are sending serious danger-signals and calling for urgent measures. One of the interesting areas of study to which this program can contribute concerns possible lessons that the legal regime for Antarctica could provide for solutions in the Arctic.
Polar Law Symposia
The Institute organizes annual Polar Law Symposia. It collects leading experts in the field of polar law. The symposia have been successfully held since the year 2008. They cover a wide range of topics, with a primary focus on law and governance.
Symposia overview can be found here.
Main publications and reports
The Polar Law Institute has two major publications, the Polar Law Textbook and the Yearbook of Polar Law. The Polar Law textbook focuses on the various developments in international and domestic law concerning the polar regions, such as environmental law, law of the sea, natural resources law, human rights, and Indigenous peoples' rights. The Yearbook of Polar Law is a collection of peer reviewed articles from the Polar Law Symposia.
- Polar Law Textbook
- Yearbook of Polar Law
- Polar Law and Resources
- Studies in Polar Law
- Arctic Governance in a Changing World
- A Thematic Guide to Documents on the Human Rights of Women
Website
The Polar Law Institute in social media
Contact information
Name: Embla Eir Oddsdóttir
Job title: Director
E-mail: embla [at] polarlaw.is
Telephone: +354 895 7704