A Right to Ice?: The Application of International and National Water Laws to the Acquisition of Iceberg Rights

This note first reviews in Part I the history and potential of the idea of iceberg utilization. Part II then briefly examines the relevant sources of international law relating to iceberg acquisition. Finding that the standard sources of international law, such as conventions and international custom, currently provide inadequate guidance in this area. The note in Part III then searches for general principles embodied in the three major regimes of national water law: riparian rights, prior appropriation, and administrative allocation. Finally, it outlines in Part IV what an iceberg appropriation regime might look like under each regime.