Legal Research On System Of The Arctic Resources Development

Nowadays, with the warmer climate and energy shortage, the Arctic resources have great value to the whole world. Even though the Arctic Land has been occupied by Russia, United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Sweden, the contention seems no tendency to cease. Guo Peiqing, the expert on polar issues of Ocean University of China, believes that "the principle of Arctic is the ocean surrounded by sovereign territory. Therefore, the principal of Arctic issue shall being to the ocean issue." But the author concludes that the ocean development law cannot be simply used to solve Arctic development issues, because of the Arctic Ocean’s complicated geographic and political circumstances.International legal regime for Arctic area includes two levels:one aspect of the first level is United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea1982. This is the primary convention to solve ocean disputes in all around the world. It can not be replaced in solving disputes involving ocean sovereignty disputes and ocean resource management. However, such general convention has little specific effect on recognition and enforcement of Arctic development issue. The other aspect is multilateral. Svalbard treaty1920for example, however, the treaty has geographical limitation that it cannot have more effects despite of Svalbard Island. The second level is bilateral. Agreement on Arctic Cooperation signed between United States and Canada in1988that compared with mutual limitation in Antarctic Treaty, legal system of Arctic development is inadequate.It is very urgent to establish the legal construction to solve Arctic disputes. Such legal construction shall be about multilateral and bilateral joint development. However, there is no legal system of multilateral joint development in Arctic, and the legal system of bilateral joint development has defectives. So it is necessary to establish a legal system of multilateral joint development. And the legal system of bilateral joint development needs to be repaired. Even though China has no territory or national border in Arctic, it still probably engages in Arctic development in the very near future, therefore there are still many issues to face. China shall play a giant stance role to engage positively.