The Analysis On The Arctic Shipping Control Regimes Of Canada And Russia From The Perspective Of International Law

Huge changes are happing in the Arctic due to the climate warming. Humanactivities such as shipping and resource exploration are expanding with ice melting sothat the ecosystem of the Arctic faces uncertain risks. In order to safeguard the safetyof navigation and protect the fragile Arctic ecological environment, the internationalcommunity along with regional organizations and coastal states are taking actions todevelop and coordinate the Arctic shipping policies, rules and standards in recentyears. The legal regime of Arctic shipping is undergoing change and developmentcurrently.Respectively guarding the Northwest Passage and Northeast Passage, Canada andRussia are implementing strict control over the vessels navigating in the Arctic watersrelying on the special authorization of the ice-covered areas clause in the UnitedNation Convention of Law of the Sea (hereinafter referred to as UNCLOS), whichconstitute an important part of the legal governance system of Arctic shipping.However, coastal state control is a weak link in previous study of Arctic issues, witheven less discussion about the consistence and coordination between the coastalcontrol and international rules in China. So this paper chooses the perspective ofinternational law to study the national control regimes over the Arctic shipping in bothCanada and Russia from.According to UNCLOS, coastal states enjoy vast jurisdictional areas but have theduty to respect navigation rights when exercising their rights at the same time. Withspecial significance to the Arctic region, the ice-covered areas clause empowers Arcticcoastal states to unilaterally adopt and enforce laws and regulations for the purpose ofprotecting marine environment. These provide legal basis for Canada and Russia toimplement national control over the Arctic shipping. Against the international legal background, this paper analyzes and compares the laws and regulations of Canada andRussia concerning Arctic shipping. It is showed that both states establish the vesselaccess system, waste discharge standards, navigation reporting system andicebreaking and piloting assistance while they adopt different control modes.Then this paper continues to examine the consistence between their state practicewith rules of jurisdictional rights under the UNCLOS and international Arcticshipping rules and standards of IMO, with particular emphasis on the developingPolar Code. It is found that both Canada and Russia implement shipping controluniformly in the area of internal waters, territorial sea and exclusive economic zones,which result in its friction with the sea area regime under UNCLOS and expansion inapplication of the ice-covered area clause to the territorial waters besides theexclusive economic zone resulting in breaking the innocent passage regime in theterritorial waters. Canada and Russia fully exercise the special rights of Article234byadopting and enforcing a full range of environmental measures. The exercise of suchspecial jurisdiction lacks restriction of ego. The Polar Code will become the mostcomprehensive international instrument specifically tailored to polar shipping in thenear future. With the international Arctic shipping rules developing, unilateralenvironmental jurisdiction will be limited. By comparing the main shipping controlregimes in Canada and Russia, it is found that some rules go beyond the internationalrules exerting more limits on shipping, some supplement it and more regulationsconsist with the international law.Generally speaking, some new trends are emerging about the legal order of Arcticshipping such as legal status disputes being re-emerged, international standardscoming into force and national regulation of coastal states making adjustment. ForChina, three relationships should be strategically grasped which include China and theArctic region, jurisdictional rights of coastal state and navigational rights of marinepower, and legal status disputes and shipping control regimes about the Passages. AndChina should participate in the Arctic shipping governance making full use ofinternational and regional platforms, which has significance for the development andsecurity of China’s sea routes.