Shipping in the World's Northernmost Ocean - Legal Disputes & Controversies in the Arctic Sea Routes & the Legal Impact of an Future Internationalization

Abstract (Swedish)

Arktis utgör ett av de minst utvecklade internationella regioner i världen. Trots politiska initiativ som arktiska rådet och liknande existerar det inte idag något övergripande legalt ramverk för att adressera flertalet juridiska dispyter och kontroverser. Jordens klimatförändring, främst på grund av en ökning av koldioxid i atmosfären, har resulterat i ett Arktis som skiljer sig markant mot det vi tidigare uppfattade som Arktis. Den arktiska klimatkonsekvensbedömningen har konstaterat att is-täckningen i regionen för år 2010 motsvarar ungefär 50 procent av is-täckningen på 1950-talet. Denna minskning av havsis håller gradvis på att öppna upp nya möjligheter för kommersiell verksamhet i regionen, till exempel att nyttja den ”arktiska genvägen” kontra de traditionella sjövägarna genom Suez- eller Panamakanalen. Vidare har det konstaterats av ett flertal rapporter att den arktiska regionen kan innehålla så mycket som 25 procent av jorden oupptäckta olja- och gasresurser.

Den första slutsatsen i detta examensarbete konkluderar att de juridiska rättstvister och kontroverser som begränsar arktisk marin transport i de arktiska sjövägarna är följande:

• Kanadas räta baslinjer i enlighet med internationell sedvanerätt;
• ”krypande jurisdiktion” i nordostpassagen;
• Artikel 234
• Tvetydighet gällande flertalet tolkningar av transitpassage och definition kring ett internationellt sund

Vidare konstateras att de rättstvister och kontroverser i de tre granskade arktiska sjövägarna bär flera gemensamheter, skillnader, och likheter. Sammantaget konstateras att den arktiska strategi- och rättsutveckling av Sovjet, dess efterföljare Ryssland och Kanada är formade främst genom utländska åtgärder, exempelvis den episka korsningen 1969 av S/S Manhattan i nordvästpassagen. Samtliga arktiska stater har varit ovilliga att ge kraft åt flertalet akademiska forskares långsökta rättsliga argument. I kombination med en påtaglig brist på officiella uttalanden och klargöranden står det klart att akademiker hos respektive stat har getts fri hand vid tolkning av Arktis legal status. Dessvärre har denna utveckling lett till att skapa en mångsidig och framförallt tvetydig doktrinär syn på Arktis legala ställning.

Abstract

The Arctic is one of the most severe and least developed international regions in the world. Despite arrangements such as the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and its successor the Arctic Council, there is no existing viable multi-lateral Arctic body. Pari passu, earth’s climate change, primarily due to an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is rapidly re-forming the Arctic. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment has concluded that the ice coverage in the region for 2010 is roughly equivalent of 50 percent of the coverage in the 1950’s. This decline of sea ice is progressively opening new opportunities for commercial activity in the region, such as Arctic marine transport traversing the “Arctic-shortcut” instead of the traditional sea-lanes through the Suez Canal. In addition, estimations by the United States Geological Survey states that the Arctic region could hold as much as 25 percent of the earth’s undiscovered oil and gas resources. Both the 2008 Illulissat Declaration and the 2010 Chelsea ministerial meeting reaffirmed the five Arctic coastal States’ firm commitments to the Law of the Sea. However, this thesis shows that the regulation of Arctic marine transport is comprised of an intricate multi-layered framework, which is not sufficiently tailored for the unique characteristics of the region. It is concluded that the Arctic sea routes are a highly complicated phenomena, since there are several complex legal disputes and controversies.

The first conclusion is that the legal disputes and controversies in the Arctic sea routes, which materially constrain Arctic marine transport, are:

• Internal waters in the NWP due to Canada’s straight baselines based under customary law;

• “Creeping jurisdiction” in the NSR;

• Increase of Arctic sovereignty through Article 234 and the provision’s ambiguity towards transit passage

• Ambiguity regarding different interpretations of the transit passage regime and the international strait provision.

Moreover, it is concluded that the legal disputes and controversies in the three examined Arctic sea routes bear several commonalities, differences and similarities. Overall it is concluded that the Arctic approach and legal development by Soviet, its successor Russia, and Canada are shaped mainly through foreign actions, such as the epic voyage of S/S Manhattan in 1969. Further, several legal scholars of respective Government or Duma have argued for expanding Arctic sovereignty, by, for example the sector theory, the “ice-is-land-theory” (mare liberum-res communis), historic title as a basis for internal waters, etc. However, contrariwise when analyzing State practice it becomes evident that both States have been reluctant to espouse such far-fetched legal arguments. In addition, it becomes evident that there is a lack of official statements and clarification from the Arctic coastal states. Unfortunately, this has given scholars free hand of interpretation - creating a diverse and ambiguous doctrinal view of the legal status of the Arctic. However, it is shown that both States has adopted a more functionalistic, step-by-step approach towards the Arctic. The reason seems to be, in general, that these legal disputes and controversies are largely irrelevant for the stakeholders of the Arctic, other than of those who have an academic interest since the Arctic sea routes are not yet commercially viable. This lack of clarification and State practice could be intentional, since the thesis shows that both States has succeeded in increasing their respective Arctic sovereignty and jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the thesis also concludes that without icebreaker and ice-forecasting support, both States effectively nationalized their respective sea routes many years ago. Furthermore, it is concluded that the Transpolar Sea Route in a legal perspective strongly differs from the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage, since this sea route is out of reach for any Arctic state’s jurisdiction.

The second purpose of the thesis analyzes the legal consequences of a possible internationalization of the sea routes. It is concluded that, given the commercial incentives and current downward trend in record lows of sea ice extent, it is not far-fetched to anticipate a future with drastically increased commercial Arctic marine transport - leading to internationalization. Given this, different straits in the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage will become international straits in accordance with the interpretation of the Corfu Channel case due to a lack of definition in the 1958 Territorial Sea Convention and the 1982 UNCLOS.

Lastly, it is concluded that there is a general ambiguity on how to address the international strait provision and the transit passage regime. The spatial scope of Article 234 and its relationship to the transit passage right is emphasized. In conjunction to this, several sub-questions are examined, such as the question of whether or not the transit passage regime “trumps” Article 234 or vice versa. In addition, it is also concluded that an internationalization of the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage would lead to the applicability of the transit passage regime. The pattern of several legal disputes and controversies would then shift radically.

• author: Jonsson, Daniel
• supervisor: Lars-Göran Malmberg
• organization: Department of Law
• course: JURM02 20141
• year: 2014
• type: H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
• subject: Law and Political Science
• keywords: Transpolar Sea Route, Northwest Passage, Northern Sea Route, Arctic, Article 234, Daniel Jonsson, Daniel Viktor Jonsson
• language: English
• id: 4388582
• date added to LUP: 2014-04-24 06:52:55
• date last changed: 2015-01-01 03:58:59