CYIL Vol. 5, 2014

WHAT IS THE LEGAL REGIME OF THE ARCTIC? environment of the Arctic. The text mentions international law and the International Maritime Organization. Under the framework of this organization the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships was concluded in 1973. The International Maritime Organization prepared a comprehensive set of voluntary international guidelines 85 (Guidelines for Ships Operating in Arctic Ice-covered Waters 86 ) for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution for ships navigating in ice-covered waters in the Arctic. According to Heidar, 87 Iceland supports the idea of mandatory acceptance of the above mentioned Arctic Code , which would require all ships operating in ice-covered waters to have at least one trained navigator who has undergone an approved training program for such navigation. It also states that, considering the increasing navigation of cruise ships in polar waters, it is necessary to adopt special international construction requirements for these ships. 88 Winkler 89 also stresses the need that the international community agree on transformation of the Polar Code (Guidelines for Ships Operating in Arctic Ice-covered Waters) into legally binding norms. Similar to Heidar, in the case of cruise ships he stresses the need to ensure that these ships were adequately prepared for navigation in the Arctic area and for saving passengers and crew in case of accidents. The Ilulissat Declaration explicitly emphasizes a different place that the law of the sea provides for important rights and obligations concerning the protection of the marine environment, including ice-covered areas . The basis for the protection of the environment of the Arctic is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982. Many more treaties in the area of the law of the sea, however, have been concluded. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea contains in its Article 234 a regulation referring to ice-covered areas . According to this article: “coastal states have the right to adopt and enforce non-discriminatory laws and regulations for the prevention, reduction and control of marine pollution from vessels in ice-covered areas within the limits of the exclusive economic zone , where particularly severe climatic conditions and the presence of ice covering such areas for most of the year create obstructions or exceptional hazards to navigation , and pollution of the marine environment could cause major harm to or irreversible disturbance of the ecological balance. Such laws and regulations shall have due regard to navigation and the protection and preservation of the marine environment based on the best available scientific evidence”. The five coastal states of the Arctic Ocean have the right, by the application of Article 234, to adopt laws and regulations which refer to ice-covered areas in their exclusive zone. In case the five states shall enforce strict safety standards on vessels in their economic zones, then these standards will constitute solid basis for ensuring safe navigation in the Arctic Ocean. 90 85 Heidar, T. H., op. cit. , p. 639. 86 International Maritime Organization ‘Guidelines for Ships Operating in Arctic Ice-covered Areas’, IMO doc. MSC/Circ.1056 and MEPC/Circ.399 (23 December 2002).

87 Ibid. 88 Ibid. 89 Winkler, T., op. cit. , pp. 643-644. 90 Ibid. , p. 644.

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