Peculiarities of Legal Regulation of International Air Service in the Arctic

INTRODUCTION. In the rather extensive modern scientific research on international air law less attention is paid to the analysis of the peculiarities of international legal regulation of international air services in the northern polar region. Considering the development of international transport communication and the search for ways to improve the efficiency and safety of flights in specific parts of our planet, the analysis of prerequisites for the identification of a special regional international legal regime of the Arctic airspace is needed in light of the increasing scale of interstate airflights in the Arctic countries and transboundary (including transpolar) air transportation in the region. Meanwhile, the content of the legal status of civil aviation in the Arctic correlates with the key principle of international air law – the organization of safe and efficient air traffic in this area. In the context of the special climate, geographical, political and historical circumstances of the development of the countries of the Arctic region, the authors of this paper analyze the existing international legal regime governing international air services over the terrestrial and maritime areas of the Arctic States, which form parts of their territory, as well as over the Arctic Ocean beyond this part. The paper also inicates the preconditions for the formation of a corresponding regional international egal regime.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The authors conduct a comprehensive analysis of applicable international treaties, including first and foremost the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 and relevant bilateral air services agreements of the Russian Federation, using the research works of the Russian and foreign legal publicists. Due to the specificity of the subject of the article – international relations of the Arctic States on the regulation of international air services in the North Polar region – the authors applied methods of deduction and induction, as well as formal legal methods, especially while comparing the applicable treaty rules, and the documents of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and national legislation of the Arctic States on the issues of civil aviation in the Arctic airspace.

RESEARCH RESULTS. The specific nature of the existing legal regime of international air traffic in the Arctic is described in the paper; a comparative legal analysis of the regulation of international air traffic in the Arctic region before and after the adoption of the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation with a review of its key rules applicable to air navigation in the Arctic; the relevant bilateral international agreements of the Russian Federation are considered with focus on interpretation of their provisions on the regulation of transpolar international air communications; other applicable legal acts are examined, including documents of the ICAO.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION. Based on the results of the research, the authors have suggested that a regional multilateral international treaty might contribute to the increase of the quality of regulation of international air services in the Arctic. Such a format of cooperation of the arctic and non-arctic States would be effective provided that all the arctic States express their relevant common will and might take into account the work on the relevant international treaty, in particular, the negotiations between the arctic states on the Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic, 2011. For the Russian Federation with its huge transit potential, including that relating to the provision of air traffic services on transpolar routes, the formation of such update international legal regime for the regulation of international air routes in the Arctic is of particular importance. 

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