The Arctic in International Law and Policy

Description

The Arctic is an increasingly important region faced with major challenges caused not only by the effects of climate change, but also by a growing interest in its living and non-living resources, its attraction as a new destination for tourism, and as a route for navigation. It is not only the eight Arctic States that have paid an increased level of attention to the region; several non-Arctic actors from Asia and Europe also seek to gain more influence in the High North. At the same time, the evolving law and policy architecture for the Arctic region has recently played a more prominent role in the political and academic debate. Unlike Antarctica, where the coherent Antarctic Treaty System governs international cooperation, the legal regime of Arctic affairs is based on public international law, domestic law, and 'soft law'. These three pillars intersect and interact making Arctic governance multi-faceted and highly complex. This book provides an analytical introduction, a chronology of legally relevant events, and a selection of essential materials covering a wide range of issues-eg delineation and delimitation of maritime boundaries, environmental protection, indigenous peoples' rights, shipping, and fisheries. Included are multilateral and bilateral treaties, UN documents, official statements, informal instruments, domestic laws, and diplomatic correspondence.

Kristina Schoenfeldt is a researcher and PhD student at the Institute for Public International Law at the University of Bonn.

... a comprehensive, well-organized, accessible and well-indexed collection of the most important documents pertaining to arctic law and policy in the English language ... all arctic legal scholars should have a personal copy of this volume on their shelves. The volume will also be invaluable to anyone who teaches an arctic law or policy course, although there is far more material here than one could cover in a single course. Schoenfeldt deserves our thanks and congratulations for her achievement. -- Nigel Bankes, Professor and Chair of Natural Resources Law, University of Calgary * Arctic Review on Law and Politics * [T]he first scholarly effort that offers us a comprehensive collection of documents related to Arctic international policy and law ... It serves the research needs of current early-career and established researchers and it is clearly extremely useful for any researcher interested in Arctic international law and policy. This is due to the fact that it not only contains vast numbers of relevant documents, the context of which is skillfully explained in the analytical introduction, but it also contains an intriguing chronology of relevant events in this field. It is easy to recommend this collection to any researcher interested in Arctic international law and policy. -- Timo Koivurova, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland * Ocean Yearbook Online * While we have a ton of secondary materials on the Arctic, what sets this book apart is that it is an impressive collection of the major legal documents that relate to the Arctic. This is the first time in many years that the Schulich School of Law has offered a course on Arctic Ocean Law and Policy, and I wanted to expose my students to the primary sources. Myself and my students found this book extremely useful, a one-stop shop on the primary legal materials on the Arctic. Schonfeldt and Hart Publishing need to be commended for putting in the effort to collect, compile and provide translations of legal documents otherwise inaccessible to even the most determined legal researcher. -- Dr Tony George Puthucherril, Marine & Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University The book has helpful insights on the Arctic governance and a rich selection of legal documents, collected in a systematic way. -- Margherita Paola Poto, University of Tromso