Russia's Arctic Maritime Claims

As an Arctic State, Russia has extensive maritime claims in the Arctic Ocean. This Article analyzes those claims to determine their consistency with international law. A brief overview of the applicable legal regime in the Arctic is provided, in particular, a discussion of Article 234 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), applicability of the mandatory Polar Code adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 2017, and the various legally binding agreements adopted by the Arctic Council. The Article will also review Russia’s maritime boundary agreements with the United States (1990), which is being provisionally applied pursuant to an exchange of notes, and with Norway (1957, 2007, and 2010).

It also discusses Russia’s extensive straight baseline systems in the Arctic and the Bering Sea, many of which are inconsistent with the international rules applicable to the drawing of baselines set out in the 1951 International Court of Justice decision in the Fisheries (U.K. v. Nor.) Judgment and articles 5 and 7 of UNCLOS. The Article then analyzes Russian regulations applicable to ships transiting the Northern Sea Route, concluding that many of these provisions are inconsistent with international law. The Article concludes with a review of Russia’s extended continental shelf claims in the Arctic, which was validated by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in 2023.