RUSSIAS CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL: NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEGAL SUPPORT FOR THE SECURITY OF THE REGION
The authors of the article, defining the legal regime of the Arctic in the field of prevention, preparedness and response to emergency situations, investigated the totality of the current international and national legislation regulating the relations of the participating states in this direction. The result of the study led to the conclusion that the current international regulatory framework is contradictory, does not meet the spirit of the times, is unable to settle or resolve disputes between the participating States on issues of joint response to natural and man-made emergencies. The existing international conventions and agreements are mainly sources of legal support for the environmental safety of the Arctic within the framework of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy adopted in 1991. At the present stage of the growing industrial and economic development of the Arctic territories and the complication of relations between the participating States in the field of prevention, preparedness and response to man-made emergencies, it has become necessary to develop additional regulatory legal acts that contribute to the further development of international cooperation in the Arctic. In connection with these factors, the authors made a number of proposals to improve and harmonize international legal norms in the field under study, justified the need to develop a draft Convention on the legal regime of the Arctic.