| Summary/Abstract |
ON DECEMBER 1, 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed by Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, the Soviet Union, the United States, France, Chile, the Union of South Africa, and Japan. Its founders were the states engaged in scientific research on the sixth continent as part of the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY) program. The Antarctic Treaty was the first international legal act to regulate the activities of countries, establish a governance framework and determine the nature of interstate relations in the Southern Polar Region. Drafted at the height of the Cold War, the document became a model for defusing international tension and an example of practical joint effort by states to address global scientific problems. Peace, international cooperation, research, and environmental protection were the fundamental objectives of the Treaty.
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