In contemporary Arctic, there are numerous specific issues, i.e. theories on how to
delineate jurisdictional boundaries, regulatory codes to deal with ameliorated commercial
shipping, regulations on how to prepare for the possibility of oil spills
under Arctic conditions, rules to impose on tour operators and so forth. In short, it
is apparent that there is no scarcity of legal framework for the Arctic zone; however,
those legal frameworks are likely to give rise to vigorous debates that result in
decisions that may well have significant impacts on human activities in the circumpolar
north. Underlying such debates, however, are in-depth or broader issues circulating
the legal frameworks the Arctic members have employed to operate in
specific environmental situations. What has been left out is the inescapable truth
that the doors of the Arctic are opening up and any door that is open in the ocean is
bound to be utilized by the shipping industry for commercial advantage. The Arctic
anticipates an era of ‘high politics’ marked by aggressive assertion of jurisdictional
claims, increasing competition for control and rights over the Arctic’s natural
resources, a remilitarization of the region, and more or less frequent clashes among
leading states active in the Arctic.