Soviet and Russian approach to the law of the sea: liberalism and local resistance
Kuupäev
2022-11-08
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Abstrakt
Käesoleva doktoritöö eesmärk on analüüsida Nõukogude ja Venemaa mereõiguse käsitust iseloomustavaid tunnuseid. Täpsemalt püütakse selgitada, kuidas mereõigust tänapäeva Venemaal kasutatakse ja mõistetakse ning kuidas seda mõisteti Nõukogude Liidus kui Venemaa õiguseellases riigis. Väitekirjas käsitletakse ajavahemikku alates 1960. aastate lõpust, mil NSV Liit sai mõjukaks mereriigiks, kuni 2022. aastani ning analüüsitakse Nõukogude ja Venemaa käsitust mereõigusest läbi aja ja ruumi prisma. Allpool on esitatud uurimisprojekti põhijäreldused, millest ilmneb Moskva keerukas ja puhuti vastuoluline lähenemine mereõigusele.
Doktoritöö esimene järeldus ütleb, et vaatlusalusel perioodil sai Nõukogude Liidust liberaalset mereõiguse käsitust pooldav mereriik, ja sama kehtib jätkuvalt Venemaa kohta. Liberaalse käsituse keskmes on püüd kaitsta avamerevabadust ning vaba juurdepääsu merevaradele. Seda järeldust kinnitab Moskva hoiak 1982. aasta mereõiguse konventsiooni läbirääkimiste ajal ning samuti praegu toimuvatel läbirääkimistel, mille eesmärk on võtta vastu rahvusvaheliselt siduv dokument väljaspool riikide jurisdiktsiooni asuvate alade elurikkuse kaitse kohta. Moskva liberaalseid kalduvusi kinnitab ka Venemaa merepiiridel kehtestatud ühisrežiimide analüüs. Väitekirja teine järeldus lisab esimest täpsustavaid nüansse. Sellest ilmneb, et Nõukogude Liidu ja Venemaa käsitus mereõigusest ei ole järjekindlalt liberaalne. Kui Nõukogude Liit ja Venemaa on pidanud mõnda merd ajalooliselt endale kuuluvaks (see kehtib Arktika merede ning viimasel ajal ka Aasovi mere kohta), üritab Moskva mereõiguse konventsioonist mööda minnes seal endale rohkem õigusi saada. Selleks püüab Venemaa valitsus või selle doktriin õigustada ajaloolistel argumentidel põhinevaid erandrežiime. Samas on oluline märkida, et Moskva vastuseis mereõiguse konventsioonile on seni piirdunud vaid nende kahe piirkonnaga ning selle märkimisväärne laienemine ja üldiseks muutumine ei ole tõenäoline. 1982. aasta mereõiguse konventsiooni liberaalne vaim, mida Moskva aitas 1960. ja 1970. aastatel kujundada, vastab endiselt Venemaa huvidele merel.
The object of this PhD thesis is the analysis of the specificities of the Soviet and Russian approach to the law of the sea. More precisely, it seeks to elucidate how the law of the sea is used and understood by contemporary Russia and how it was used and understood by its state-predecessor, the Soviet Union. Spanning from late 1960s, when the Soviet Union became a maritime power until 2022, this dissertation analyses the Soviet and Russian and Russian approach to the law of the sea both through the prism of time and space. The main conclusions of this research project are the following and reveal Moscow’s complex and at times ambiguous approach to the law of the sea. The first finding of this doctoral dissertation is that during the period examined, the Soviet Union has become and Russia remains a maritime power defending a liberal approach to the law of the sea centred around the defence of high seas’ freedoms and free access to the sea’s resources. This finding is supported by Moscow’s attitude during the negotiations of the Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 and the ongoing negotiations of the international legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Furthermore, the analysis of Russia’s joint regimes at its maritime borders confirms Moscow’s liberal tendencies. The second finding of this dissertation nuances the first. It demonstrates that the Soviet and Russian approach to the law of the sea is not consistently liberal. In seas that the Soviet Union and Russia have historically considered its own – namely in the Arctic and more recently in the Azov Sea – Moscow attempts to circumvent the Law of the Sea Convention in order to obtain more rights. To do so, using historical arguments, the Russian State or its doctrine try to promote exceptional regimes built on historical arguments. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Moscow’s contestation of the Law of the Sea Convention has so far been circumscribed to these two regions and is unlikely to significantly increase and become generalized. The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention’s liberal ethos, which Moscow helped shape throughout the 1960s and 1970s, still satisfies Russia’s interests at sea.
The object of this PhD thesis is the analysis of the specificities of the Soviet and Russian approach to the law of the sea. More precisely, it seeks to elucidate how the law of the sea is used and understood by contemporary Russia and how it was used and understood by its state-predecessor, the Soviet Union. Spanning from late 1960s, when the Soviet Union became a maritime power until 2022, this dissertation analyses the Soviet and Russian and Russian approach to the law of the sea both through the prism of time and space. The main conclusions of this research project are the following and reveal Moscow’s complex and at times ambiguous approach to the law of the sea. The first finding of this doctoral dissertation is that during the period examined, the Soviet Union has become and Russia remains a maritime power defending a liberal approach to the law of the sea centred around the defence of high seas’ freedoms and free access to the sea’s resources. This finding is supported by Moscow’s attitude during the negotiations of the Law of the Sea Convention of 1982 and the ongoing negotiations of the international legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Furthermore, the analysis of Russia’s joint regimes at its maritime borders confirms Moscow’s liberal tendencies. The second finding of this dissertation nuances the first. It demonstrates that the Soviet and Russian approach to the law of the sea is not consistently liberal. In seas that the Soviet Union and Russia have historically considered its own – namely in the Arctic and more recently in the Azov Sea – Moscow attempts to circumvent the Law of the Sea Convention in order to obtain more rights. To do so, using historical arguments, the Russian State or its doctrine try to promote exceptional regimes built on historical arguments. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Moscow’s contestation of the Law of the Sea Convention has so far been circumscribed to these two regions and is unlikely to significantly increase and become generalized. The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention’s liberal ethos, which Moscow helped shape throughout the 1960s and 1970s, still satisfies Russia’s interests at sea.
Kirjeldus
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Märksõnad
maritime law, Soviet Union, Russia, second half of the 20th century, 21st century