French explorer looses case against Svalbard Governor

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Elkaim lost the case. He will now have to pay the Norwegian state a 40.000 NOK (€4.374) fine. The verdict of the Northern Troms Court is clear. The Frenchman violated local legislation when he in October last year sailed his 47 feet sailboat «Arktika-2» into the strictly protected Duve Fjord and took his dogs on land.

The Frenchman originally intended to take his ship far into Russian Arctic waters and from there make it to the North Pole with dog sleds. However, bad weather forced him to change plans and instead head to Svalbard, he has explained.

In a comment to the Barents Observer, Svalbard Vice Governor Berit Sagfossen said the case is about «several cases of illegal disembarkation over a period of many weeks, including in areas with entry ban». It also includes the illegal admission of dogs to the area, she adds.

Sagfossen, a law expert, herself prosecuted the case.

The Frenchman during the trial argued that the Norwegians had no right to restrict his free sailing in the Svalbard waters and they acted in violation with the Svalbard Treaty when they in October forced him to proceed to Longyearbyen, the administrative center of the archipelago. The Treaty’s Article 3 lays down the principle of equal and free access and entry for any reason to the Svalbard waters, he argues.

Sagfossen, who commented on the case after the court case in late February, rebuffs the claims.

«In my opinion, the violations [of Elkaims] has nothing to do with the Svalbard Treaty, the way the accused and his defender claim», she underlines. «The environmental legislation on Svalbard is made to protect the archipelago and is in line with Norway’s international obligations».

Elkaims and his lawyer Brynjar Østgaard are disappointed about the verdict. In a comment, Østgaard says to the Barents Observer that they were working for the full acquittal of Elkaims.

«We are disappointed with the fact that the court did not take into account the emergency situation of Elkaims», the lawer says.

«At the same time, the court did address the application of the Svalbard Treaty in the case, something which we consider positive in itself», Østgaard underlines.

The last months, the French explorer has had his ship and crew in Barentsburg, the local settlement inhabited mostly by Russians.

«We were in trouble in Longyearbyen and have managed to settle down in Barentsburg where we have been most welcomed and got a lot of help to put our boat Arktika in safety. We will spend the winter in Barentsburg and refused to pay the fine because of a very agressive investigation of Svalbard administration», he previously told the Barents Observer.

According to the explorer, the he has not given up his plans to make it into the Russian Arctic and the North Pole.