13/08/2025
Arctic Review is pleased to publish the article “The Right of Self-Determination, the Sámi Indigenous People, and the Norwegian Finnmark Act” by S. James Anaya and Mattias Åhrén. You can read it here: https://brill.com/view/journals/arlp/aop/article-10.1163-23874562-20250003/article-10.1163-23874562-20250003.xml
The authors argue that while the Finnmark Act is a significant step toward securing the Sámi people’s right to self-determination, it does not fully realize this rights within its current scope. They identify strengths, such as the involvement of the Sámi Parliament in drafting the Act, but also weaknesses, notably the lack of mechanisms for direct participation by local Sámi resource users in resource management.
They note that the Act’s property rights adjudication system, comprising the Finnmark Commission, has not confirmed Sámi or other local ownership rights that include governance management authority, thereby limiting Sámi governance powers beyond those in the Estate arrangement. The Supreme Court’s narrow-majority decision in the Karasjok case, which overturned the Commission’s recognition of such rights for the first time, underscores the constraints of Norwegian property law, which tends to favour State claims over Indigenous historical presence and use. This reliance, they argue, risks contravening international law and entails legal responsibility requiring reforms beyond the current Finnmark Act.
Despite these shortcomings, the Act represents a genuine effort by a democratic State committed in principle to Indigenous rights, and it offers valuable lessons in compromise between State and Indigenous interests.
