Abstract

The Arctic is more than an economic space: international interest in the region is growing due to the consequences of climate change and the Arctic has become a political issue. The countries bordering on the Arctic Sea are striving to expand their rights of use in terms of space and content. The basic question is whether modern maritime law or special common laws of the country on the Arctic Sea apply. Even if the Convention on the Law of Sea will probably be applied, Russia and Canada could manage to push through special rules by appealing to historic titles. The Arctic and sub-Arctic zone make up a fifth of mainland Russia. The Russian Federation is one of the region's most important countries and has considerable influence on whether the ecological and economic interests in the Arctic are settled by cooperation or confrontation.