“Hyperownership” describes in a word the present international legal landscape with respect to genetic material. At issue is who should own or control access to the subcellular genetic sequences that direct the structure and characteristics of all living things, or, in popular usage, nature’s or God’s blueprints for life. Traditionally, genetic material belonged to a global commons or open system. No one exclusively owned this material and countries freely shared it. In sharp contrast, today exclusive ownership and restrictions on the sharing of genetic material are the international norm.

Conventional wisdom holds that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Perhaps surprisingly, several of the highest profile accused persons before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have received some form of legal training. Less surprisingly, it is precisely those accused who are asserting a right to self-representation. Slobodan Miloševic, for example, has a degree in law and by the end of his trial will have earned himself several years of advocacy experience. Vojislav Šešelj, a professor of law at Belgrade University, was somewhat affronted by the judge's suggestion that he should request legal assistance and exclaimed in open court, “I have never met a better lawyer dian I am in my whole life.” Are these accused fools to want to represent themselves? What about an accused with no legal experience at all who asserts this right in the face of charges of genocide and crimes against humanity? As one accused remarked when clarifying to the court that he did not wish to represent himself, “No. It would be insane if I did that ….”

Antarctic tourism is a rapidly growing industry. From 1958 until 1987, an average of fewer than 1000 tourists visited Antarctica each season. In the 1993-1994 season, the tourists visiting Antarctica outnumbered the scientists for the first time. In recent years (1999-2003), between 13,000 and 15,000 tourists made landings in Antarctica, and during the last season (2003-2004) this number increased by 45 percent to more than 19,500 (see figure 1, p. 764). The estimate of total passengers for the 2003-2004 season, including those not landing, is over 27,000.