At the time, there was discussion as to whether either of these territories should be treated as qualifying territories for the purposes of the Act, when neither have a permanent population and in the case of the British Antarctic Territory there are competing territorial claims that are held in abeyance.
当时曾经就有争论根据此法令是否应将这两块领土包括在符合资格的领土中，因为当时这两块领土都没有永久居民而且英属南极领地还涉及搁置的领土主权争议。