Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Maritime Delimitation in the Arctic: The Barents Sea Treaty

2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 42; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00908320.2011.542389

1521-0642

Tore Henriksen, Geir Ulfstein,

International Maritime Law Issues

Abstract During a visit to Norway by the Russian president in the spring of 2010, the president and the Norwegian prime minister surprisingly announced agreement on a delimitation line in the Barents Sea ending almost 40 years of negotiations. The agreement was signed in Murmansk on 15 September 2010. This article presents the background of the dispute and undertakes an assessment of the agreement and its implications for the Barents Sea, Svalbard, and other Arctic maritime delimitations. Keywords: Barents SeadelimitationNorwayRussia Notes 1. "Joint Statement on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean," available at www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/Whats-new/news/2010/statement_delimitation.html?id=601983 (June 2010) and see Appendix 1. 2. An English translation of the Treaty Between the Kingdom of Norway and the Russian Federation Concerning Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation is available at www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/campaign/delimitation/treaty.html?id=614006 (October 2010) and see Appendix 2. The authentic Russian and Norwegian texts of the treaty are available at www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ud/kampanjer/delelinje/avtalen.html?id=614006 (October 2010). 3. Joint Statement, supra note 1, para. 4. 4. Robin Churchill and Geir Ulfstein, Marine Management in Disputed Areas: The Case of the Barents Sea (London: Routledge, 1992), 63–65. 5. Ibid., at 69. 6. The northernmost part of the delimitation involves delimitation of the continental shelf between Svalbard and the Russian Franz Josef Islands. See "Summary of the Recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in Regard to the Submission Made by Norway in Respect of Areas in the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea on 27 November 2006," adopted by the Commission on 27 March 2009, with amendments, pp. 15–16 (item 5.3), available at www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/nor06/nor_rec_summ.pdf (June 2010). 7. Agreement Concerning the Sea Frontier Between Norway and the USSR in the Varangerfjord, signed in Oslo on 15 February 1957, in force 24 April 1957, 312 U.N.T.S. 322. 8. Convention on the Continental Shelf, signed in Geneva on 29 April 1958, in force on 10 June 1964, 499 U.N.T.S. 311. 9. Norway, Royal Decree of 31 May 1963 No. 1 Relating to the Sovereignty of Norway over the Sea-bed and Subsoil Outside the Norwegian Coast, available at www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/NOR_1963_Decree.pdf (June 2010). 10. Note in Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 63. 11. Ibid. 12. Avtale mellom Norge og Sovjetunionen om en midlertidig praktisk ordning for fisket i et tilstøtende område i Barentshavet med tilhørende protokoll og erklæring (translated to "Agreement Between Norway and the Soviet Union on a Temporary and Practical Arrangement for the Fishery in an Adjacent Area of the Barents Sea") Oslo 11 January 1978, in force 27 April 1978, Overenskomster med fremmede stater (1978), 436. 13. Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 65. 14. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereafter LOS Convention), signed in Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, in force 16 November 1994, 1833 U.N.T.S. 397. The status of ratifications and accessions is available at www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm (June 2010). 15. See Alex G. Oude Elferink, "Arctic Maritime Delimitations: The Preponderance of Similarities with Other Regions," in The Law of the Sea and Polar Maritime Delimitation and Jurisdiction, ed. A.G. Oude Elferink and D. Rothwell (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 2001), n. 33, 186–187. 16. Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 70. 17. Ibid., at 63; Oude Elferink, supra note 15, at 187. 18. Treaty Concerning the Archipelago of Spitsbergen, signed in Paris on 9 February 1920, in force 14 August 1925, 2 L.N.T.S. 7. 19. See Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 75. 20. Ibid., at 75; Oude Elferink, supra note 15, at 188. 21. Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 73. 22. Ibid., at 78–79. 23. T. Pedersen and T. Henriksen, "Svalbard's Maritime Zones: The End of Legal Uncertainty?" International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 24 (2009): 144, n. 11. 24. Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 78–80; Oude Elferink, supra note 15, at 189. 25. See Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 68; and Oude Elferink, supra note 15, at 185; for further references. 26. Agreement Between the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway on the Maritime Delimitation in the Varangerfjord Area (with map), signed in Moscow on 11 July 2007, U.N.T.S. Reg. No. 45114; and 67 U.N. Law of the Sea Bulletin 42, art. 2. 27. Norway, Proposition No. 3 (2007–2008) to the Storting on Consent to Ratification of Agreement Between the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway on the Maritime Delimitation in the Varangerfjord Area, 2, available in Norwegian at www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ud/dok/regpubl/stprp/2007–2008/stprp-nr-3–2007-2008-html?id=488644 (June 2010). 28. Continental Shelf Convention, supra note 8, art. 6(1); LOS Convention, supra note 14, arts. 74(1) and 83(1). 29. Stuart Kaye, "Lessons Learned from the Gulf of Maine Case: The Development of Maritime Boundary Delimitation Jurisprudence since UNCLOS III," Ocean and Coastal Law Journal 14 (2008): 74. 30. R. R. Churchill and A. V. Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3rd ed. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999), 191. 31. Kaye, supra note 29, at 74. 32. Arbitration Between Barbados and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Relating to the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf Between Them, 11 April 2006, Reports of International Arbitral Awards, vol. 27, 147–251, para. 223, available at untreaty.un.org/cod/riaa/cases/vol_XXVII/147–251.pdf (June 2010). 33. The concepts of "relevant circumstances" in customary international law, as identified in case law and "special circumstances" in treaty law, the LOS Convention, supra note 14, art. 15; and the Continental Shelf Convention, supra note 8, art. 6; have gradually become intertwined. See Barbados v. Trinidad Case, supra note 32, para. 265; and Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions Between Qatar and Bahrain, Judgment, 16 March 2001, [2001] I.C.J. Reports 111, para. 231. 34. Case Concerning Maritime Delimitation in The Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine), Judgment, 3 February 2009, para. 155, available at www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/132/14987.pdf (June 2010). 35. Kaye, supra note 29, at 81–82; Malcolm Evans, "The Law of the Sea," in International Law, ed. M. Evans (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 648–649. 36. Barbados v. Trinidad and Tobago, supra note 32, para. 233. 37. Ibid., para. 228. 38. Ibid., para. 244. 39. Romania v. Ukraine, supra note 34, para. 122. 40. Ibid., para. 185; Kaye, supra note 29, at 82–85. 41. Kaye, supra note 29, at 86–88. 42. Ibid., at 90–91. 43. Barbados v. Trinidad and Tobago, supra note 32, para. 241; Kaye, supra note 29, at 92–94. 44. Maritime Delimitation in the Area Between Greenland and Jan Mayen, Judgment, [1993] I.C.J. Reports, paras. 72–76, 70–72. 45. Gulf of Maine Case (Canada v. United States), Judgment, [1986] I.C.J. Reports 246. 46. Romania v. Ukraine, supra note 34, para. 198. 47. Kaye, supra note 29, at 98. 48. Continental Shelf (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya/Malta), Judgment, [1985] I.C.J. Reports, para. 51, p. 42. 49. Land and Maritime Boundary Between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v. Nigeria: Equatorial Guinea Intervening), Judgment, [2002] I.C.J. Reports, 446–447, para. 301. 50. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art. 2. 51. "Recommendations of the Commission to Norway," supra note 6. 52. Joint Statement, supra note 1, para. 4. 53. Ibid. 54. Aftenposten, 27 April 2010, available at www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article3625442.ece. 55. Press release 15 September 2010, No. 118/10, "Treaty on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean Signed Today," available at www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/smk/press-center/Press-releases/2010/treaty.html?id=614254 (October 2010). 56. "MFA Information and Press Department Comment in Relation to the Signing of a Russian-Norwegian Treaty on Maritime Delimitation," 1225–16-09–2010, available at www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/e78a48070f128a7b43256999005bcbb3/f667f47638157ab7c32577a1001cf3e1?OpenDocument (October 2010). 57. Joint Statement, supra note 1, para. 4. 58. "Russian MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Response to Media Question Regarding Russian-Norwegian Agreement on Delimitation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean," 556–28-04–2010, available at www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/e78a48070f128a7b43256999005bcbb3/28a6508288dace24c32577140029dbdc?OpenDocument (October 2010). 59. Romania v. Ukraine, supra note 34, paras. 77–78. 60. See Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, pp. 71–72. 61. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art.4, para. 1. 62. Ibid., art. 5 and Annex II. 63. Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 89. 64. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art. 3, para. 1. 65. Exchange of Notes Verbales in Relation to the Signing of the Delimitation and Cooperation Agreement, available at www.regjeringen.no/upload/UD/Vedlegg/Folkerett/100915Noteveksling.pdf (October 2010). 66. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, arts. 4 and 5 and Annexes I and II. 67. Ibid., art. 4, para. 1. 68. Ibid., art. 4, para. 2. 69. Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the Conservation and Sustainable Exploitation of Fisheries Resources Under the Common Fisheries Policy, Recital 16 and Article 20(1), Official Journal of the European Communities, 31 December 2002 L 358: 59. 70. Agreement on Co-operation in the Fishing Industry Between Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Norway, signed at Moscow on 11 April 1975 (Avtale mellom Norge og Sovjetunionen om samarbeid innen fiskerinæringen 11 April 1975), 983 U.N.T.S. 8; and Agreement Concerning Mutual Relations in the Field of Fisheries Between Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Norway, signed at Moscow on 15 October 1976 (Avtale mellom Norge og Sovjetunionen om gjensidige fiskeriforbindelser 15 October 1976) 1157 U.N.T.S. 147. 71. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, Annex I, art. 1. 72. Ibid., Annex I, arts. 3–4. 73. Ibid., art. 4, para. 2. 74. Ibid., art.4, para. 3. 75. The United Nations Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, New York (4 August 1995), entered into force 11 December 2001, 2167 U.N.T.S. 3. 76. Norway, Report to the Storting No.18 (2009–2010) on the Fisheries Agreements Norway Has Concluded with Other Countries for 2010 and on the Fisheries Under 2008 and 2009 Fisheries Agreements, 29, available in Norwegian at www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fkd/dok/regpubl/stmeld/2009–2010/Meld-St-18–2009-2010.html?id=606814 (June 2010). 77. Alf Håkon Hoel and Ingrid Kvalvik, "The Allocation of Scarce Natural Resources: The Case of Fisheries," Marine Policy 30 (2006): 347–356. 78. The 2007 Varangerfjord Agreement, supra note 26, art. 3. 79. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art. 5 and Annex II; and see Joint Statement, supra note 1, para. 7. 80. Agreement Between the United Kingdom and Norway Relating to the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Between the Two Countries, signed at London on 10 March 1965, in force 10 March 1965, 551 U.N.T.S. 213, art. 4. 81. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art. 5, para. 2. 82. Ibid., Annex II, art.3. 83. Ibid., Annex II, art. 4, para. 1. 84. "Recommendations of the Commission to Norway," supra note 6, at 7, item 4. 85. See Churchill and Ulfstein, supra note 4, at 40. 86. Agreement Between Norway and Denmark Together with the Home Rule Government of Greenland, Concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf and the Fisheries Zones in the Area Between Greenland and Svalbard, signed at Copenhagen on 20 February 2006, U.N.T.S., Reg. No. 42887. 87. See Alex G. Oude Elferink, "Maritime Delimitation Between Denmark/Greenland and Norway," Ocean Development and International Law 38 (2007): 376. 88. Pedersen and Henriksen, supra note 23, at 151. 89. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art. 6. 90. See an overview of maritime boundary issues in the Arctic Ocean in Oude Elferink, supra note 15, at 185–197. 91. Mel Weber, "Defining the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf across the Arctic Basin: The Russian Submission, States' Rights, Boundary Delimitation and Arctic Regional Cooperation," International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 24 (2009): 670–673. 92. Ilulissat Declaration, adopted at the Arctic Ocean Conference, Ilulissat, Greenland, 27–29 May 2008, available at arctic-council.org/article/2008/6/after_the_ilulissat-declaration (June 2010). See the reference to the Ilulissat Declaration in the Joint Statement, supra note 1, para. 2. 93. Press release 15 September 2010, No. 118/10, supra note 55. 94. Norway-Russia Treaty, supra note 2, art. 6.