Government of Svalbard
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
lies under the
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, but the
Svalbard Treaty The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and n ...
places several restrictions. Norway cannot use the
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
for warlike purposes, cannot discriminate
economic activity Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
based on nationality and is required to conserve the natural environment. Uniquely, Svalbard is an entirely visa-free zone. Everybody may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship. Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. Non-treaty nationals may live and work indefinitely visa-free as well. "Regulations concerning rejection and expulsion from Svalbard" is in force on non-discriminatory basis. Public administration of the archipelago is the responsibility of the Governor of Svalbard, who acts as county governor and
chief of police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...
. The institution was established by and is regulated by the '' Svalbard Act'', which also limits which Norwegian laws apply to the islands. Longyearbyen Community Council is the only elected local government and is organized similar to a mainland
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. Other Norwegian government agencies with a presence are the Directorate of Mining and the
Tax Administration A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
. The only diplomatic mission is the
Consulate of Russia in Barentsburg This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...
. The archipelago was spotted in 1596, and soon companies from England, the Netherlands,
Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...
and France were
whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...
and hunting. Both England and Denmark–Norway claimed the land, while the Dutch and France claimed the ''
mare liberum ''Mare Liberum'' (or ''The Freedom of the Seas'') is a book in Latin on international law written by the Dutch jurist and philosopher Hugo Grotius, first published in 1609. In ''The Free Sea'', Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea ...
'' principle, resulting in Svalbard becoming '' terra nullius''—land without sovereignty. Work on establishing a public administration started in the 1870s, but did not progress until the 1900s, when the establishment of
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
communities created a more urgent need. The Svalbard Treaty was signed following the Paris Peace Conference in 1920, and the governor and act came into effect in 1925. By then only Norwegian and Russian communities remained. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the outbreak of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, Svalbard became polarized with Norwegian and Soviet communities isolated from each other. Norway carried out a more defensive foreign policy on Svalbard compared to on the mainland, and foreign activity was held at a minimum. The Soviet Union issued protests against virtually all new Norwegian activity. At the time there were twice as many Soviet citizens as Norwegians on the islands. More than half the archipelago was conserved in 1973. Since the 1990s
Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, locally lɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən "The Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ...
has become "normalized", abandoned the
company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
structure and seen its population doubled. On the other hand, the Soviet communities have dwindled, with only a few hundred residents remaining in Barentsburg.


History


''Terra nullius''

Svalbard was undoubtedly spotted by
Willem Barentsz Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch Republic, Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer. Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northern Sea Route, N ...
of the Netherlands in 1596,Arlov (1994): 9 although it may have previously have been discovered by
Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...
or Pomors. The
Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint ...
of England started walrus hunting on Bjørnøya in 1604,Arlov (1994): 16 and from 1611 the company's
Jonas Poole Jonas Poole (bap. 1566 – 1612)Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004). was an early 17th-century English explorer and sealer, and was significant in the history of whaling. Voyages to Bear Island, 1604-1609 He served aboard vesse ...
started
whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...
around
Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
. The following year the Muscovy Company sent a new expedition, but was met by both Dutch and Spanish whalers. The company claimed exclusive rights to the area and sent away the contenders. In 1613, seven armed English ships were sent on an expedition that expelled a few dozen Dutch, Spanish and French vessels. This led to an international political conflict. The Dutch rejected exclusive rights for the English, claiming the ''mare liberum'' principle. Christian IV claimed that Denmark–Norway had the rights to all of the Northern Sea in lieu of
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
being an old Norwegian tax-land, and it was believed at the time by all parties that Spitsbergen was part of Greenland. England offered to purchase the rights from Denmark–Norway in 1614, but the offer was rejected, after which the English reverted to their exclusive rights claim. Denmark–Norway sent three
man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...
s in 1615 to collect taxes from English and Dutch whalers, but all refused to pay. The English claimed sovereignty based on the false claim that Svalbard was discovered by Hugh Willoughby in 1553, that
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
had
annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
it in 1614 and that it was the English who had started whaling. The Netherlands stated that whaling could not be the basis for claiming sovereignty. The issue ended in a political deadlock, with Denmark–Norway and England both claiming sovereignty and France, the Netherlands and Spain claiming the archipelago a free zone under ''mare liberum''.Arlov (1994): 19 Although Denmark–Norway never formally gave up its claim to Svalbard, the archipelago continued to be a ''terra nullius''—a land without a government.Arlov (1994): 60 The English and Dutch partitioned the island in 1614, as the aggression was hampering the profitability of both groups. That year the Netherlands created Noordsche Compagnie as a whaling cartel. After the Muscovy Company fell into financial difficulties some years later, the Noordsche Compagnie got the upper hand and was able to dominate the whaling and fend off the English. The company established itself in the northwestern corner of Spitsbergen (around
Albert I Land Albert I Land is the land area of the northwestern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. It is bordered by Haakon VII Land to the southeast. To the northeast lies Raudfjorden and its inner branch, Klinckowströmfjorden, to the southeast Krossfjor ...
) and only permitted a limited Danish presence. The English whaled further south, while the French were allocated to the north coast and the open sea. From the 1630s, the situation stabilized, and there were only a limited number of aggressive incidents. By the end of the 18th century, whaling had ceased as the
bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...
had reached
local extinction Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
.


Establishing jurisdiction

Work on establishing an administration was initiated by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in 1871. After contacting the invested governments, he concluded that only Russia and Norway would object to an annexation of the island.
Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...
's endeavors raised the Norwegian public's consciousness of the Arctic, which again brought forth public support for annexation of Svalbard. Industrialization and permanent settlements on Svalbard began in the 1900s with the introduction of coal mining. This resulted in the need for jurisdiction. Firstly, there was no means to make a mining claim legal. Secondly, there was a need for conflict resolution, particularly regarding labor conflicts, which often saw the mining company and the workers have different nationalities. The Government of Norway took initiative in 1907 for negotiations between the involved states. Multilateral conferences were held in 1910, 1912 and 1914, all of which proposed various types of
joint rule A condominium (plural either condominia, as in Latin, or condominiums) in international law is a political territory (state or border area) in or over which multiple sovereign powers formally agree to share equal ''dominium'' (in the sense of ...
. The breakthrough came at the Paris Peace Conference following the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Germany and Russia had both been excluded, while Norway enjoyed much goodwill after its
neutral ally Norway is sometimes referred to as "The Neutral Ally". During World War I, while theoretically a neutral country, diplomatic pressure from the British government prompted the government to favour Britain highly in relation to Norway's large shippin ...
policy during the war and was at the same time seen as harmless. The Svalbard Treaty of 9 February 1920 granted Norway full sovereignty over Svalbard, although with two major limitations: all parties to the treaty had equal rights to economic resources, and the archipelago was not to be used for "warlike purposes". After significant political debate, a proposal to establish Svalbard as a dependency and administrate it from
Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...
was rejected. Instead the ''Svalbard Act'' specified that the islands would be administered by the Governor of Svalbard and were considered "part of the Kingdom of Norway", although not regarded as a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
. The islands had until then been known as the Spitsbergen Archipelago, and it was at this time the term Svalbard was introduced. The legislation took effect on 14 August 1925. A mining code was passed in 1925, and by 1927 all mining claims, some of which conflicted, were resolved. All unclaimed land was taken over by the Government of Norway. Although the Soviet Union was initially skeptical to the treaty, its government was willing to sign in exchange for a Norwegian recognition of the Soviet regime. Until the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, both the governor and the Commissioner of Mining were a single person, stationed on the mainland during the winter.Arlov (1994): 72


Cold War

Mining fell into an economic slump during the 1920s, resulting in several of the mining communities being closed. By the 1930s only
Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK), or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company (ACC). The company ha ...
and the Soviet state-owned
Arktikugol Arktikugol (russian: Арктикуголь, lit=Arctic Coal) is a Russian coal mining unitary enterprise which operates on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. Owned by the government of Russia, Arktikugol currently performs limited mi ...
were left, which led to a bilateralization of politics. The archipelago was evacuated during the Second World War and the major settlements leveled by Germany during Operation Zitronella. The Soviet Union proposed in 1944 that Svalbard become a
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
under joint Norwegian and Soviet rule, except for Bjørnøya, which would be transferred to the Soviet Union. Although the proposal was discussed in Norway, it was ultimately rejected in 1947. The Norwegian and Russian communities were largely built independent of each other and each had their own infrastructure, such as postal service, radio stations and transport. The Norwegian population stabilized at about 1,000 people, while there were about twice as many Soviets.Arlov (1994): 79 The political tension between Norway and the Soviet Union became heated after Norway joined
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in 1949. The Soviet Union issued memorandums to Norway stating that Svalbard could not be under a NATO joint command, but this was rejected by Norway, and the issue laid at rest. A new protest was issued in 1958 after
Norsk Polar Navigasjon Norsk Polar Navigasjon A/S ("Norwegian Polar Navigation") was a company which attempted to build an airport and later conducted petroleum drilling in Svalbard, Norway. Airport Einar Sverre Pedesen's first idea for an airport in Svalbard was born du ...
proposed building a private airport at
Ny-Ålesund Ny-Ålesund ("New Ålesund") is a small town in Oscar II Land on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway. It is situated on the Brøgger peninsula ( Brøggerhalvøya) and on the shore of the bay of Kongsfjorden. The company town is owned and ...
, which was then actively opposed by the Norwegian government in order to not agitate the Soviet Union. New protests were issued against the establishment of the
European Space Research Organization The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a ...
's
Kongsfjord Telemetry Station Kongsfjord Telemetry Station ( no, Kongsfjord telemetristasjon) was a satellite ground station located nearby Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway. It was used between 1967 and 1974 as one of the four initial ground stations which were part of the Eu ...
, although the protests did not stop construction. A compromise about a Norwegian civilian airport was reached in 1971 and Svalbard Airport, Longyear opened in 1975, serving both Soviet and Norwegian towns.Arlov (1994): 82 Twenty-one miners were killed in an accident in Ny-Ålesund in 1962. The resulting
Kings Bay Affair The Kings Bay Affair (''Kings Bay-saken'') was a political issue in Norway that reached its apex in 1963 and brought down the government of Einar Gerhardsen and formed the basis for non-socialist coalition politics in Norway that persisted to the e ...
, where unsafe mining had been approved to maintain an increased Norwegian presence on Svalbard, ultimately led to
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
in Parliament and the withdrawal of Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen's third cabinet. Oil drilling was started by
Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously ...
in 1961. Caltex was granted claims based on indications of oil, rather than samples. Arktikugol was not granted claims based on similar evidence, contributing to tensions with the Soviet Union. Both the Kings Bay Affair and the Caltex Affair initiated public debate about the administration of Svalbard, and in particular the lack of resources and control of Soviet settlements. Funding for local and central administration was increased heavily, and the Governor increased its activities in Soviet settlements. More than half the archipelago was protected in 1972 through four
national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
, fourteen bird sanctuaries and four
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
s.Arlov (1994): 83 Store Norske was nationalized between 1973 and 1976.


Normalization

The
Svalbard Council Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The ...
was established on 1 November 1971. It consisted of 17 nonpartisan members who were elected or appointed from three different Norwegian groups—SNSK employees, government employees and others, although the ratio changed several times.
Svalbard Samfunnsdrift Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The ...
(SSD), a limited company which was responsible for public infrastructure and services in Longyearbyen, was established by Store Norske on 1 January 1989.Holm (1999): 137 Responsibilities included healthcare, the fire department, the kindergarten, roads, garbage disposal, power production, the water and sewer system, the cinema, cultural actives and the library.Holm (1999): 136 Ownership of SSD was taken over by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on 1 January 1993. During the 1990s the authorities started a process to "normalize" Longyearbyen by abolishing the company town scheme and introducing a full range of services, a varied economy and local democracy. The Svalbard Council changed its regulations from 1993 and allowed parties to run for election. Longyearbyen Community Council was established in 2002, replacing the Svalbard Council and assimilating SSD. From 1990 to 2011, the Russian and Ukrainian population fell from 2,300 to 370, while the Norwegian population increased from 1,100 to 2,000.


Legislation

The
Svalbard Treaty The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) recognises the sovereignty of Norway over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the time called Spitsbergen. The exercise of sovereignty is, however, subject to certain stipulations, and n ...
was signed on 9 February 1920 and came into effect on 14 August 1925. The treaty defines Svalbard as all islands, islets and
skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...
from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. It secures full Norwegian sovereignty over the archipelago, but contains several restrictions: peaceful use of the islands, the non-discrimination of citizens and companies of signatory countries, the obligation to protect the natural environment and limitations in taxation. The treaty has 39 signatories. The Svalbard Act was passed on 17 June 1925 and establishes that Svalbard is "part of the Kingdom of Norway". It further stipulates that civil law,
criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
and procedural law applies to Svalbard, but that other provisions only apply if specifically stipulated. As of 2008 there were 31 regulations which applied to Svalbard. The act also dictates the administration of Svalbard, notably establishing the governor and the Commissioner of Mines. The
Svalbard Environmental Protection Act Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
was passed on 15 June 2001 and took effect on 1 July 2002, replacing various regulations. The act was created to secure a continuous, nearly untouched natural environment on Svalbard, particularly regarding wilderness, landscape, flora, fauna and cultural heritage. The act is enacted by the Ministry of the Environment, the Climate and Pollution Agency, the governor, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage and the Directorate for Nature Management. The act is supplemented by various regulations. Specific issues addressed in the act include the protection of plants and all remains of all human activity up to 1945. It imposes limitations on traffic in permitted areas, particularly motorized vehicles, but allows locals to operate
snowscooter A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...
s in more areas than tourists. Two-thirds of Svalbard is protected through national parks and nature reserves.


Institutions


Governor

The Governor of Svalbard ( no, Sysselmesteren) is the principal representative of the
Government of Norway The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power i ...
in Svalbard. The institution is located in Longyearbyen and has since 2021 been led by Governor Lars Fause. The institution's main responsibilities are implementing Norwegian policies, safeguarding Norwegian rights and obligations and representing Svalbard in relation to central authorities. Specifically, the governor acts as
chief of police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...
, holds the authority of a county governor and enacts family law. The institution has 30 employees and is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. Svalbard is a police district of the Norwegian Police Service, with the governor having the responsibilities of both sheriff and chief of police. This includes security; law and order enforcement, including traffic controls; case investigation; and preventative systems. The governor is responsible for search and rescue and is head of the local rescue station and subordinate of the
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre of Northern Norway or JRCC NN ( no, Hovedredningssentralen i Nord-Norge) is a rescue coordination center located in Bodø which is responsible for coordinating major search and rescue (SAR) operations in Nor ...
in
Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
. The institution is also responsible for issuing of driver's licences, vehicle registration, passports and firearms licenses. The governor and his deputy represent the public prosecutors. The governor is also responsible for environmental protection, including nature supervision, environmental monitoring, species management, management of cultural heritage sites, administration of tourism and travel,
oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
contingency and safeguarding of the environment. The agency maintains two helicopters, a Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma and a
Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS365 Dauphin (''Dolphin''), also formerly known as the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin 2, is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It was originally developed ...
, the inspection vessel ''Nordsyssel'' as well as lighter equipment such as snowmobiles, cars and boats. The governor's jurisdiction applies to all land and the
territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...
up to from land.


Longyearbyen Community Council

Longyearbyen Community Council is the only elected local government in the archipelago and has many of the same responsibilities of a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. It is organized with a fifteen-member council which since 2011 has been led by Mayor
Christin Kristoffersen Christin Kristoffersen (born August 28, 1973) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was the mayor of Longyearbyen from 2011 to 2015. Kristoffersen moved to Longyearbyen from Tromsø in January 2009, along with her family of husband ...
of the Labour Party. The council's main responsibilities are infrastructure and utilities, including power, land-use and community planning, education from kindergarten to upper secondary level and child welfare. It operates three kindergartens in addition to the 13-grade
Longyearbyen School Longyearbyen School ( no, Longyearbyen skole) is a combined primary and secondary school located in and serving Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. The school has about 270 pupils and 45 teachers. It is the northernmost school in the world. History ...
. However, unlike mainland municipalities, the healthcare services are provided by the state through
Longyearbyen Hospital Longyearbyen (, locally lɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən "The Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlements, northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches alon ...
, a clinic operated by the
University Hospital of North Norway The University Hospital of North Norway ( no, Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge) or UNN is a hospital and health trust. UNN is a university hospital for the region which includes the counties of Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. It is part of the Nort ...
. No care or nursing services and welfare payments are available. Norwegian residents retain pension and medical rights through their mainland municipalities.


Other

The Commissioner of Mining for Svalbard is part of the
Norwegian Directorate of Mining The Norwegian Directorate of Mining with the Commissioner of Mines at Svalbard ( no, Bergvesenet med Bergmesteren for Svalbard) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for administrating the extraction of mineral resources within the kingdo ...
, but retains its own offices in Longyearbyen. The commissioner is responsible for administrating mineral rights, both for mining and
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
. Other public agencies which have supervisory roles, but are not stationed on Svalbard, are the
Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority ( no, Arbeidstilsynet) is a Norwegian government agency under the Ministry of Labour. It is responsible for supervising the implementation of the Working Environment Act, the Annual Holidays Act, the Natio ...
, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the Norwegian Directorate for Fire and Explosion Prevention and the Norwegian Directorate for Product and Electrical Safety. Other public offices with presence on Longyearbyen are the
Norwegian Polar Institute The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI; no, Norsk Polarinstitutt) is Norway's central governmental institution for scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The NPI is a directorate under Norway's Min ...
, the Norwegian Tax Administration and the
Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
. Svalbard is subordinate to
Nord-Troms District Court Nord-Troms District Court ( no, Nord-Troms tingrett) was a district court located in the city of Tromsø in Troms county, Norway. The court served the part of the county located north of the Malangen fjord, plus the territory of Svalbard. This ...
and Hålogaland Court of Appeal, both located in Tromsø. Russia maintains a consulate in Barentsburg, led by Consule General Alexander Antipov.


Issues


Peaceful use

Article 9 of the Svalbard Treaty specifies that no fortifications and naval bases may be built on Svalbard, nor can the archipelago be used for "warlike purposes". The preparatory work of the treaty and later state practice has been to enforce that no military activity is carried out on the archipelago; however, the treaty as such does not ban, for instance, the construction of
air stations The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Gravity of Earth, Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating Atmo ...
or military installations not regarded as defense works. There is scholarly consensus that Article 9 is unclear, but that a military presence should only be established when there is an attack or threat of attack on Svalbard.Ulfstein (1995): 354 Norway can clearly not use Svalbard to make a threat of war, but retains the right to self-defense against an attack on Svalbard. However, the right does not allow Norway to bring Svalbard into war as part of self-defense of other parts of the country. The waters around Svalbard are of strategic significance for Russia as the Northern Fleet must pass through the area to reach the Atlantic Ocean. The concern of the Soviet Union and Russia was therefore to ensure that listening stations and
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
installations were not placed on the archipelago. Except during the Second World War, Norway has never stationed any military troops on Svalbard. However, the Norwegian Coast Guard carries out surveillance. There were many protests during the Cold War from the Soviet Union against Norwegian activity on the island, including purely civil arrangements. The Soviet Union issued many memorandums protesting such installations as satellite ground stations and airports, and even the filming of '' Orion's Belt'', on the grounds that it could be a cover for or had the potential for being used for military activities.


Sovereignty

Norway was prior to 1920 extremely active in gaining international support for Norwegian sovereignty, but following the treaty, Norwegian interest in the archipelago dwindled. From the start of the Cold War, Norwegian politicians wanted to avoid bringing the islands into superpower politics. This resulted in a policy of avoiding agitating the Soviet Union, which again resulted in the Norwegian authorities actively working against both Norwegian and foreign activities on Svalbard which could raise tensions. Compared to mainland relations, which were dominated by deterring through NATO membership, the Norwegian policy on Svalbard was related to calming the Soviet Union. Similarly, while a foreign presence was encouraged on the mainland, it was strongly discouraged on Svalbard. Nearly all Norwegian activity during the Cold War resulted in a protest from the Soviet Union, which claimed, with basis in the treaty, that the archipelago was a demilitarized zone. The Soviet Union would protest against any foreign and most new Norwegian activity on the grounds that it violated Article 9, even if it was not remotely related to military activity. The fear of such a reaction led Norway to disallow practically all foreign and innovative use of the archipelago. Norway essentially had a "non-policy" managing Svalbard with a defensive and inconsequential reaction every time activity was proposed. Norway established a fisheries protection area surrounding Svalbard on 15 June 1977, which strictly regulates fisheries, but on a non-discriminatory basis. The zone extends beyond the territorial waters. Norway maintains that the treaty's non-discrimination-policy only applies to land and the territorial waters and that Norway is free to establish an economic zone beyond that. Fishing vessels from Norway, Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, Russian and the European Union are awarded quotas for
cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
and
herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
; these and Greenland and Canada have been issued quotas for
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
. Norway and the Soviet Union, later Russia, disagreed regarding the border between the two counties' exclusive economic zones in the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
. Norway claimed the internationally recognized
equidistance principle The equidistance principle, or principle of equidistance, is a legal concept in maritime boundary claims that a nation's maritime boundaries should conform to a median line that is equidistant from the shores of neighboring nations. The concept was ...
should apply, while Russia claimed that the unilateral meridian line be used. The issue was resolved with a compromise in 2010.


Non-discrimination

The treaty ensures that all citizens and companies from signatory countries receive equal rights of access and residence. Norway may not discriminate—based on nationality—the rights to fish, hunt and conduct mining, trade, industry and maritime activity. However, these activities may be limited by non-discriminatory legislation. Thus Norway is permitted to place regulations and prohibitions on basis of other objective criteria, or ban certain activities altogether or in certain geographic areas. The non-discrimination clause also does not ban nationality discrimination elsewhere than in economic activity. Specifically, research and scientific activities do not fall under the non-discrimination clause. A central part of the non-discrimination policy is the Mining Code of 7 August 1925. It is uncertain if the code is internationally binding, or if it can be amended unilaterally by Norway. Specifically, the commissioner issues licenses to search for minerals and state-owned and other owner's land and to register claims. To maintain a claim, the owner must work 1,500-man-hours per five years and pay an annual fee of 6,000
Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 '' ...
. However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry may grant exceptions from the work obligation under specific conditions. The treaty only allows taxation to the extent that it covers the cost of administrating the archipelago and covering the services provided to the residents. The tax rate is therefore significantly lower than in Metropolitan Norway, including the absence of
value added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...
. The government summarizes its expenses on Svalbard in the Svalbard Budget. The taxation rules made Svalbard a
tax paradise A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
, and in 2009 the oil rig operator
Seadrill Seadrill is a deepwater drilling contractor for the petroleum industry. It is incorporated in Bermuda for tax purposes and managed from London and Houston The company operates semi-submersible platforms, jackup rigs and drillships. History Seadri ...
established a subsidiary in Longyearbyen to exploit the lower taxes. In 2011, the tax rate for profits exceeding NOK 10 million were raised from 16 to 28 percent—the same as on the mainland.


References

;Bibliography * * * * {{good article
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...