Polar Law Symposium

19th Polar Law Symposium 2026

Regime Interaction: Biodiversity, Climate, Oceans –and Protecting the Polar Environments

The 19th Polar Law Symposium will be held in Hamilton, New Zealand, on 9 – 11 November 2026. It is proudly organized by the University of Waikato.

The Polar Law Symposium has been held annually since 2008 and this will be the first time the Symposium is being held in New Zealand in its 18 year history. The Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (Finland), the University of Akureyri (Iceland), and the University of the Arctic and its Arctic Law Thematic Network (Finland) are supporting organizations of the Polar Law Symposia.

Interested contributors are encouraged to review the details and programme of the 18th Polar Law Symposium, held in Nuuk, Greenland, in October 2025. Participants at all Symposia are encouraged to submit their work for blind peer review and publication in the Yearbook of Polar Law. Academics, postgraduate students, diplomatic and indigenous representatives, and practitioners from around the world are warmly welcomed to attend the Symposium, to discuss the challenges faced by the Arctic and the Antarctic for international law and policy – and engage with the twin themes for the 19th Polar Law Symposium.