The trends in the development of the legal regime of the Northern Sea Route

Abstract

The Northern Sea Route is the national transport communication lane for the Russian Federation. Russia historically controls the Northern Sea Route through an appropriate national legal framework and international law. However, some states have raised the issue of internationalizing the Northern Sea Route and extending the freedom of navigation to it. In their opinion, shipping in the Arctic Straits should not be regulated by Russian law. In this regard, the authors consider it appropriate to conduct a study of the current legal regime of the Northern Sea Route and provide a legal assessment of the relevant proposals for its change. The article analyzes the history of the development of the Northern Sea Route, its structure and current legal regulation. Proposals to improve the current legal regime of the Northern Sea Route have been developed. Particular attention is paid to the study of the legal regime of the straits included in the Northern Sea Route, since there are different points of view in Russian and foreign science and practice. Given the importance of ensuring the safe operation of ships in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, the provisions of the Polar Code of the International Maritime Organization are analyzed. The authors substantiate the inconsistency of proposals for a radical change in the legal regime of the Northern Sea Route, which appear in foreign literature and statements by a number of foreign statesmen. The authors’ conclusions are based on an analysis of the current Russian legislation and international law, as well as the existing practice of using the Northern Sea Route by Russian and foreign vessels.

Keywords:

Northern Sea Route, legal regime, Russian legislation, international law, internationalization, straits, shipping