Abstract
Why is it worth discussing the subject of international law and cooperation in the Arctic? Or to put it more bluntly: Do states and organisations have a duty to cooperate in Arctic affairs? And can a state or an organisation claim a right to be involved in Arctic cooperation? Do the Arctic states have any special responsibility? With respect to the first question – why it is worth discussing the subject of international law and cooperation in the Arctic – there are several major reasons why this is so, and they relate to: (a) the need for cooperation in the Arctic; (b) the manner in which cooperation takes place in the Arctic; (c) the development of the international law of cooperation; and (d) the link between the obligation to cooperate and responsibility.
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the view of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
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Notes
- 1.
See e.g. the statement by L. Dolliver Nelson, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, on the Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the opening for signature of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at the plenary of the 57th session of the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 2002.
- 2.
Article 66, para. 4.
- 3.
Southern Bluefin Tuna Cases (New Zealand v. Japan; Australia v. Japan), Order of 27 August 1999, Para. 48.
- 4.
The Government of Canada and the United States have announced that they would take steps to endorse and review their positions regarding the Declaration. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html. The importance of the Declaration was further emphasised by the Durban Review Conference, when 182 States from all regions of the world reached consensus on an outcome document in which they welcomed the adoption of the UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and “urge[d] States to take all necessary measures to implement the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with international human rights instruments”. (Outcome document of the Durban Review Conference, 24 April 2009, para.73). http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/Durban_Review_outcome_document_En.pdf
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Jacobsson, M. (2013). Cooperation in the Arctic Region: Legal Aspects. In: Berkman, P., Vylegzhanin, A. (eds) Environmental Security in the Arctic Ocean. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4713-5_31
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