This article examines the legal foundation of Canadian claims to its Arctic Sector. In pursuing this goal the article focuses on the legal grounds, establishing Canadian rights in this sector and thus endorsed by the government of Canada.

Several groups of such legal claims are singled out. First group is comprised of historical titles, taking its origin in 1904-1907. They are manifested by Canada's laws on Arctic territories, such as Northwest Territories Act (as amended in 1925). As for the second group, it is represented by the consent of the international community concerning the special laws on navigation in arctic waters and regulations, imposed by Canada.

Third group of legal grounds consists of the claims based on international law and particularly on international treaties, establishing more firmly Canada's rights in the Arctic under the international law. These international treaties are a relatively new legal basis for the Canadian claim. In the text of the treaties there are provisions for exclusive Canada's rights within this sector. (Agreement between the government of Canada and the government of the United States of America on Arctic cooperation of 1988; Agreement between the government of Canada and the government of the Russian Federation for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital, 1995; Agreement on environmental cooperation between the government of Canada and the government of the Republic of Chile 1997, etc.).

The authors after an in-depth legal analysis given in this article arrive to the conclusion that Canada's Arctic policy, which pursues Canada's national interests, is in full accordance with the contemporary international law.

In the present-day world the aggressive war is an international crime but still armed conflicts still persist in the world. The parties involved in the armed confrontation have to adhere to the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, which plays an important role in international relations.

In spite of the variety of points of view of Russian scholars and jurists of the western countries concerning the question of classification of principles of international humanitarian law, all scholars point out as one of the principles of the law of an armed conflict the principle of defending the civil objects in the period of armed conflicts though different authors offer different interpretations of this principle. So, I.P. Blishenko names this principle as the principle of defending the "peace objects" (those used in peaceful aims), I.I. Kotlyarov in his works mentions the principle of defending the civil objects and cultural valuables, L.I. Savinskiy in his turn adverts to the common principle of "defending the casualties of war and civil objects", and I.N. Artsibasov reveals the principle of differentiation between military and civil objects in the period of armed conflicts.

At the same time the author of an article makes a suggestion of considering the principle of defending the civil objects as an independent principle of the law of an armed conflict, which should be called the principle of defending the civil objects in the period of armed conflicts.

The article is devoted to the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism adopted by the Committee of Ministries of CE on May 3,2005. It contains a short review on the elaboration of the Convention and gives a full coverage of its basic provisions making accent on the three major articles "Public Provocation to Commit a Terrorist Offence", "Recruitment for Terrorism", "Training for Terrorism".

The Convention is the first international treaty criminalizing these three offences and thus contributing to the effective international efforts and national policies in field of prevention of terrorism. A significant part of the article concentrates on the efforts to find in the Convention a proper balance between effective antiterrorist efforts and respect for human rights, inter alia, in the field of criminal prosecution. The author makes an attempt to estimate the results achieved in the Convention and its potential as the first known international treaty fully designed to prevent terrorism.

In the introduction the author points out that widespread application of modern information technologies enhances the development of the economy but simultaneously poses new threats and challenges to the society. This circumstance leads to the necessity of developing new legal methods for protection of the state interests and the interests of the society.

The author states that according to the research done by the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) the Internet is a perfect environment for the criminal activity as access to it is relatively easy, laws do not function there, there is no police. In this situation it is clear that global relations in the aspect of information should be governed by law for the purposes of protection of its subjects. International community and states individually had undertaken several steps towards the elaboration of legal norms to provide security of the emerging information-oriented society. For example, the UN General Assembly adopted the Resolution 53/70 concerning cyber crimes, cyber terrorism and cyber war. Similar steps are also taken on the national level.

The other crucial issue in this sphere is the necessity of certain control over the information on the Internet. This is a controversial issue due to the right of an individual to a free access to the information. The author suggests creating the criteria for distinguishing Internet resources advocating xenophobia, racial and religious intolerance, etc.

Thus the author comes to a conclusion that the threat to information security is an acute and complicated problem which cannot be resolved by states separately and requires their cooperation. Further the author focuses on the measures of combating cyber crimes and securing the information. The implementation of these measures, in author's opinion, will help to create an effective system of protection of the information-oriented society from the threats of cyber crime.

The main topic of the article is the international labour law and it deserves mentioning that in Russia there are still not many researches done in the sphere of this branch of international law.

The article dwells upon the features of the international labour law pertaining to the states, which are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The author considers particularly the internal legal regimes of labour in these countries and analyzes the universal, multilateral and bilateral agreements concerning labour aspects, which had been concluded by the CIS countries.

As a result of the research, the author formulates the concept of the CIS international labour law, as well as its special principles. Moreover in the article the author determines the place of the CIS international labour law in the system of international law. In the conclusion author also offers some proposals so as to modernize the system of the CIS international labour law.

In order to prosecute crimes under their jurisdictions international criminal tribunals need to provide effective legal assistance to states on matters of arrest and surrender of accused, investigations, production of evidence and etc. Without the help of national authorities international tribunals cannot operate effectively. But at the same time, the mechanisms of cooperation with international courts are based on specific rules, which are closely connected with the mode of establishment of international criminal tribunals, whether on the basis of UN SC Resolutions (ad hoc tribunals) or international treaty (International Criminal Court).

Moreover the establishment of international criminal tribunals (ICT ad hoc and ICC) introduced in international practice new forms of cooperation, which seriously differ from traditional forms of cooperation between states, named as mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. In this regard, the new concept of so-called "vertical" and "horizontal" cooperation, which was introduced by the ICTY Appeals Chamber in the Blaskic subpoena case, was very important for the differentiation of various forms of cooperation. Under the "horizontal" (inter-state) model, the assistance relationships are based on principle of equality of sovereign states (par in parem non habet imperium). The "vertical" (supra-state) model implies that cooperation between states and international criminal tribunals fundamentally differs from traditional inter-state cooperation. The "vertical" model does not envisage application of the principle of reciprocity and grounds on which assistance may be refused (ad hoc tribunals) or minimizes the possibility of such refusal (ICC).

Thus, the present article attempts to analyze main features of both models of cooperation applied in modern international criminal law.

The author discusses the current state of diplomatic protection in international law, alluding to doctrinal views and domestic practices.

He relates his comments to the Draft Articles on Diplomatic Protection drawn up by the International Law Commission (ILC), of which the 61 session of the UN General Assembly took note, inviting governments to submit their comments on the ILC's recommendation that they be elaborated as a convention.

He also highlights distinctions between diplomatic protection and other means of protection of natural and legal persons recognized under international law.

The Southern Bluefin Tuna Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility of 4 August 2000 on the dispute between Australia/New Zealand and Japan became the first example of the application of compulsory arbitration under Annex VII of the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea. The Arbitral Tribunal found that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the merits on the grounds that article 16 of the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna provided the possibility of recourse to the arbitration only in the case of consent of both parties to the dispute thus excluding compulsory procedures under Part XV of the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention. Although the Arbitral Tribunal refused to hear the merits, the decision appeared to be of high importance for evaluation of applicability and effectiveness of the provisions of the Convention related to the compulsory disputes settlement mechanism.

Therefore, the article considers all the variants of the settlement of the dispute, including ITLOS proceedings for the prescription of the provisional measures, proceedings of the Arbitral Tribunal and pleadings of the parties as well as the background of the dispute.

In his article the author has touched upon a very delicate and important problem of the foreign policy of Russia. The Baltic republics, as it is well known, refused to succeed to the former USSR by claiming the illegal status of the soviet occupation and subsequent incorporation by the USSR in the summer of 1940.

Under the process of restoration of their statehood in 1991 the Baltic countries insisted that their modern status as new states is identical with their former constitutions, which had been in force before the World War II. As it is known this position was practically adopted by most western countries except Russia. For this reason the author makes an attempt to analyze in the light of modern international law doctrine the Russian Federation's position concerning recognition of the state continuity and identity of the modern Baltic States.

The author has came to a conclusion that the state identity of the Baltic states cannot be estimated as full effective and appropriate in the light of international law. The consequent conclusion made by the author concerns the legal foundation of the Baltic countries' arguments in respect of their statehood and independence. The author expresses opinion that there is still no legitimate basis for these notions.

Due to globalization of the economy good governance of public finance is of fundamental importance for all countries to ensure the sustainability of national budget and financial systems, as well as mutual financial security and sustainable economic growth. This article considers the key issues involved in and the work done up to now to spread and apply best practice in management of public finances. Article also highlights the need for further work and the main areas for continuation of work with the aim of improving mutual financial security and creating more favorable conditions for sustainable growth worldwide. Taking account of the collective experience gained in public finance in recent years, including the results of budget reforms, this article presents for discussion generally accepted, dynamic and flexible principles, standards and criteria for good governance of public finance.

The article examines the following basic list of principles (or components) of good governance of public finance:

1. fiscal transparency;
2. stability and long-term sustainability of budgets;
3. an effective and equitable system of inter-budgetary relationships;
4. an integrated budget and budget process;
5. medium-term financial planning;
6. result-oriented budgeting; and
7. effective financial control, reporting and monitoring.

The article stresses that in the last 15-20 years approaches to all these issues have received much attention both nationally and internationally. Far- reaching reforms in methods of budget management have been undertaken in a large number of countries, including the developed and developing ones as well as countries in transition.

This article focuses primarily on theory because its subject, international investment law (hereinafter - «IIL»), is a relatively new and developing phenomenon within the system of international law (hereinafter - «IL»).

The author made an attempt to determine the place of IIL within the system of IL and to understand whether IIL is an independent branch of IL or just a sub-branch/institute within the frame of already existing (recognized) branches of IL.

For this purpose the article contains analysis of the main works of foreign and Russian authors on this topic. Different opinions regarding the place of IIL within the system of IL are researched and compared in the article.

On the basis of comprehensive analysis the author emphasizes the dominating and the most reasonable, in his point of view, opinion referring IIL to a sub-branch of international economic law.

At the same time the author agrees that there is no common view as to the place of IIL within the system of IL. This fact supports the conclusion arrived to by the author that currently IIL is at the stage of active development.

The new textbook by Shumilov V.M. stands out among more than twenty other textbooks on international law. Apart from the distinction of the book in organization of its content it also dwells on international law issues and questions of international law science, which were omitted or unnoticed by the authors of the other textbooks.

The following features of the book can be singled out. First, the author introduces the notion of "international system" which forms the framework of the textbook. Further the author separates the international system into several "layers": economic, cultural, etc. Second the author employs the concept of "civilization approach" which is nowadays actively used in liberal arts and social sciences. Third, the problem of the system of international law is elaborated upon. For example, the author advances the hypothesis that there are several branches and institutions of international law which are in the process of formation such as international administrative law. The book also includes such topics as state interests, ideological basis of the elaboration of international legal norms.

The fact that deserves attention is that for the first time in the textbook of this kind a list of suggested topics for PhD theses is published. Another feature of the book is that the author tries to avoid difficult for comprehension constructions and instead uses clear and easy-to-understand phrases.

The reviewer comes to a conclusion that after the publication of the new textbook by Shumilov V.M. the international law as a science and a classroom discipline will make a great step towards its further development.

The authors of the reviewed collection of international documents skillfully managed to choose the core documents of international law. These documents are assembled in two volumes, which include about 700 documents amounting to almost 2,900 pages. Documents are organized into 25 chapters. Each chapter consists of 4 groups of documents. The first group contains 242 universal documents, the second - 228 regional documents, the third group is compiled of 135 bilateral and other agreements concluded by the Russian Federation and foreign states, international organizations and other subjects of international law. Finally, the fourth group is formed by 89 national legal documents including constitutions, laws, and other normative acts of the Russian Federation and other states. The collection of documents has also very important background information with regard to each document's entry into force, the number of states - parties to it, the participation of the Russian Federation (with indication of the ratification date).

The way of assembling the international documents is well thought-out. On the one hand, these are rare documents, and previously students had a difficulty finding them all in one book. On the other hand, these are the most important and necessary documents, which purposefully mould in students the specific way of thinking in terms of international law.

The edition of 1,000 copies was sold out in a few days, which testifies to the collection's great value. Hopefully the "Prospect" Publishing House will make sure that the supply will meet the demand for the collected documents under review.

Bekiashev K.A., who is an international lawyer and a leading expert in this sphere, prepared a fifth edition of the textbook on Maritime Fishing Law first published in 1979. The new text book is recommended for students of seafaring disciplines of higher and secondary educational establishments as well as for lawyers and law firms dealing with the problems of Maritime and Fishing Law. The work under review is the result of 30 years of research devoted by this prominent scholar to Maritime Fishing Law.

The book contains the most up-to-date information regarding the Russian legislation and International Maritime and Fishing Law. The book is comprised of 21 chapters; 152 paragraphs; an appendix with the list of sources on Maritime Fishing Law; a bibliography; a subject index.

However, several critical comments can be expressed. First, the book does not cover the international regime of islands incorporated in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea while a big number of them has an exclusive economic zone of their own. Second, it would have been advantageous for the book to include a section on the legal regulation of fishing in the Arctic waters. Third, there are issues in the Russian-Norwegian relations concerning fishing in the Spitsbergen archipelago waters. What are the peculiarities of this regime? Are the Norwegian authorities right accusing Russian ships in allegedly illegal fishing in that region? Fourth, the book pays little attention to the delimitation of maritime spaces, specifically to the delimitation of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, while these issues often lead to the deterioration of relations between countries. Finally, one should bear in mind that when the book was ready to be published, a new Water Code of the Russian Federation was adopted and a number of changes were introduced to the federal laws on the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone.

The problems of development conception legal system in the contemporary common lay theory and international legal doctrine, maintenance of categories «international legal system» and «national legal system», precondition and general directions of their interaction are considered in this monograph. The analysis of theoretical conceptions and description of juridical mechanism action of international legal norms in law systems of contemporary states are discussed too.

In the opinion of author international law and national law are absolutely different legal orders. That is why former can not direct regulator of relations in the sphere of latter.

For conferring force to the international legal norms inside state they must transform in the norms of national law, in other words, acquire the force of norms internal state law.

The procedure of transformation is characterized for all cases and methods of putting in action of international legal norms inside state and realization of transformation needs an issuance respective national legal act.

The international legal norms occupy a solitary post in the normative massif of the Russian legislative system, functions equally with the Russian law, must interpret and use in the light purposes and principles of international law, and intergovernmental treaty.