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Resources Authority regarding environmental issues must be based on assessments and proposals for
decisions from one or more scientific and independent environmental institutions (Government of
Greenland 2013). This includes the preparation of strategic environmental impact assessments, the
drafting of guidelines for environment impact assessments (performed by the licensee), and the
examination of the EIA before they are put out to public consultation and final approval by the
government of Greenland (Government of Greenland 2014: 27). In addition, the DCE works as a
consultant for the inspection regarding compliance with the environmental requirements for drilling
operations (Government of Greenland 2012: 20). It is true that compliance is not always achieved: the
quantity of chemicals used by Cairn as a lubricant in its drilling campaign in Greenland has been highly
criticised a posteriori by the DCE which found such practice in contravention with international
agreements [OSPAR] on discharges to the marine environment (the “anti dumping convention”). In
addition, transportation of the discharged chemicals over great distances by ocean currents is possible,
and the fate of the chemicals is unknown (DCE 2012).
This situation has led some scholars to address the question of governance through a focus on the
contract between a public authority, which has monitoring rights and duties, and a licensee who will
also establish subcontracts with other companies. It has been shown that governance mechanisms for
handling complex procurements involving several actors (incentives, authority and trust) complement
each other: and furthermore that there is a complex interplay between the specific uses of the different
mechanisms with a multiplier effect (Olsen et al. 2005). Debates also question the nature of the
licence: is it a contract (private law), or is it public law? To what extent does the design of a licence
pertaining to contract law allow for more powerful leverage in terms of the enforcement of terms and
the protection of the environment? What is the potential of relational contracts (emphasising longterm relations, and obligations such as commitment and loyalty) versus transactional contracts (which
focus more on short-term competitiveness and effectiveness) in the offshore industry to overcome
the issue of increased risks through subcontracts and ensure the effective fulfilment of monitoring
duties? Developing knowledge in this area could open new perspectives when the governance of
offshore oil and gas activities involves an increasing number of actors.
Even though they are non-state actors with few formal powers over international or national decisionmaking, non-governmental organisations such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council and the WWF actively
promote norms, be they environmental or related to human or indigenous rights. As another example
of legal pluralism, the ICC has contested the sovereignty as defined by the Arctic coastal states in the
Ilulissat Declaration (2008) and has provided an “Inuit Declaration of Sovereignty” which states that:
“Sovereignty is a contested concept […] and does not have a fixed meaning. […] Sovereignties overlap
and are frequently divided within federations in creative ways to recognize the right of peoples” (Inuit
Circumpolar Council 2009). In this declaration, the ICC associates the notion of a territory (“Inuit
Nunaat”) and of a people, with a different notion from that of authority, which is traditionally used
for states: instead, the ICC associates the notion of Inuit people and territory with the notions of
“rights and responsibilities.” The ICC founds the legitimacy of its sovereignty on the notion of selfdetermination that is w&