The Interplay of Russian Law, Indigenous People and the Oil and Gas Industry – A Need for Non-Governmental Regulation?

This article scrutinizes how Russian legislation considers the rights of the indigenous peoples living in Russian oil production areas, and if there is a need for non-governmental certification standards in Russia. To do this, the Russian legislation has been compared with certain requirements of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Yearbook of Polar Law Online
Main Author: Pappila, Minna
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Brill 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1876-8814_005
https://brill.com/view/journals/yplo/6/1/article-p120_5.xml
https://data.brill.com/files/journals/22116427_006_01_s005_text.pdf
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Summary:This article scrutinizes how Russian legislation considers the rights of the indigenous peoples living in Russian oil production areas, and if there is a need for non-governmental certification standards in Russia. To do this, the Russian legislation has been compared with certain requirements of a new EO 100 TM Standard which seeks to regulate the social and environmental aspects of the oil and gas industry. The results of the study reveal that there are many aspects of indigenous peoples’ rights, such as access to information, possibilities for free, prior and informed consent, and the right to pursue traditional livelihoods, that Russian legislation does not adequately address. Since quick improvements in Russian legislation are unlikely, the use of an oil and gas certification system could help to improve the current situation in areas where the law does not safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples.