Abstract: The severe natural conditions of the Arctic have impeded the economic development of the region for centuries. The norm for the recognition of special rights of circumpolar states to establish their own legal order in the region was established as a result of international custom. The application the generally accepted United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allowed the Arctic countries to establish the own zones of jurisdiction, which enables the extraction of natural living and mineral resources. Such jurisdiction was also extended to shipping routes that require constant maintenance and significant investments; thus the shipping routes are close to acquiring the status of canals. However, the climate warming and ice melt have turned the Arctic from the isolated region with limited geopolitical and geoeconomic significance to the next frontier of opportunities for the world’s countries. There is currently no single all-encompassing treaty on the use of the Arctic. The legal order consists of the regional and subregional agreements, national legislation, and soft law. The circumpolar states actively and extensively used the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) for establishing the limits and legal regime of the zones of own jurisdiction in the Arctic Ocean. In May 2008, five Arctic coastal states signed the so-called Ilulissat Declaration, acclaiming the current trends in the development of legal order in the Arctic. For ensuring the political, economic interests of the Arctic states in the region, as well as global security and protection of regional environmental sensitive to detrimental effects, it is necessary to develop a uniform position of the coastal states on the entirety of regional problems in view of the growing activity of the non-Artic states that declare their national interests in the Arctic region.

Abstract: The Arctic Council was established in accordance with the 1996 Ottawa Declaration as a “high level intergovernmental forum” for ensuring cooperation in the Arctic. It concentrates on the promotion of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic. The scientific research conducted in the early 2000s under the auspices of the Arctic Council provided a more holistic representation of the problems of the Arctic and methods for their solution. Currently, the Arctic Council is the so-called coordinating center for the development of the Arctic legal order, being a place for negotiations, outlining the positions of the countries on specific issues, and establishing possible solutions to the problems. With the assistance of the Arctic Council, the Arctic sates have concluded certain treaties. Besides the eight Arctic states, which have authority for decision-making in the Council along with the right to discuss its policy and manage the six executive committees, the observing countries out of the non-Arctic states have been included to the Councils, although with restrictions in their powers thereof. The Arctic Council is recognized by the international community as the leading and responsible organizer of legal order in the Arctic Ocean that represents the interests of both Arctic and non-Arctic states. The involvement of non-Arctic states in the Arctic Council may improve the effectiveness of its activity in the sphere of sustainable development and environmental protection, as well as ensure their commitment to the results achieved within the Council and assert position of the Council as the most logical and appropriate place for the formation of international coordination in the Arctic.