The legal regime of navigation in the Russian Arctic

• Main Author: Franckx, E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Climate Impact Assessment; Global warming
• Online Access: https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/248348.pdf

The present contribution intends to clarify the contemporary legal regime applicable to navigation in the northern Eurasian waters. It will do so by relying first and foremost upon Russian primary sources or on authors directly relying upon such sources. Moreover, it will only look at the issue from a "foreign navigation" point of view. If indeed global warming will influence the Arctic, as predicted by the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, it is submitted that the opening up of the Arctic to foreign shipping will first occur in the Northeastern Passage. It seems, therefore, a useful exercise to have a closer look at the present-day legal regime applicable to foreign shipping in the Russian Arctic. The Russian Ministry of Transport's official policy of opening up these waters to foreign shipping is not a completely new one. The present contribution will therefore start with a brief overview of past initiatives in this respect (Part I). It will then have a look at the present legal regime as it is applied today (Part II). In a concluding part, some recent changes to this legal regime will be highlighted, as well as some expected initiatives for the near future (Part III).