Azov and Black Sea Region: New Political and Legal Realities

 
PIIS013122270002064-1-1
DOI
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Affiliation: Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO)
Address: Moscow, Russian Federation
Journal nameMirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia
EditionVolume 62 Issue 10
Pages91-102
Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Sea of   Azov and the Kerch Strait, previously a single maritime space of one state, had became the subject of an interstate dispute between Russia and Ukraine regarding the determination of their legal status and delimitation. The article analyzes the legal and political positions of both sides and their conformity with the modern international law norms, and the national interests of each state. The advantages of keeping the legal status of the internal historic waters under the full state sovereignty of both states with regards to the Azov Sea are considered; the negative aspects of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention’s norms and provisions application to this marine area, leading to a decrease of its legal status and the appearance of third countries’ legitimate interests, are analyzed. The Russian-Ukrainian treaties and agreements concerning this issue are examined, and the negative consequences of their denunciation are described. Examples of how the status of internal historical waters can be applied to the maritime region of joint use of several states, and why the status of the common natural and economic complex preservation for the Azov Sea is more in interests of both countries, are given. The problems of the Kerch Strait water area’s legal status are touched upon, and the most acute plot of modern Russian-Ukrainian relations, namely, the construction the Kerch bridge, is not bypassed. The facts about the international practice of settling this type of disputes are given; legal claims of the Ukrainian side to the construction of this kind of hydraulic structures critically analyzed. Finally, the article shows how the entry of the Crimea into the Russian Federation led to a fundamental change in possible claims of Russia and Ukraine, as well as to the fact that the settlement of the situation on a number of issues in these areas has become even more difficult.

KeywordsSea of Azov, Kerch Strait, Kerch Bridge, Kerch-Yenikal Canal, delimitation of maritime spaces, middle line, internal historical waters, 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Received31.10.2018
Publication date15.11.2018
Cite   Download pdf To download PDF you should sign in
Размещенный ниже текст является ознакомительной версией и может не соответствовать печатной

views: 1695

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Surzhin A. A. Mezhdunarodno-pravovoi rezhim Azovskogo morya i Kerchenskogo proliva [The international legal regime of Azov Sea and Kertch strait] Ezhegodnik morskogo prava 2008. Yubileinoe izdanie k 40-letiyu Assotsiatsii mezhdunarodnogo morskogo prava [Yearbook of the law of the Sea. Anniversary edition for the 40th anniversary of the Association of International Maritime Law]. Kolodkin A. L., ed. Moscow, Linkor, 2009. 494 p.

2. Surzhin A. S. Azovskoe more i Kerchenskii proliv. Sovremennyi mezhdunarodno-pravovoi rezhim i perspektivy razvitiya [The Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait. Modern international legal regime and development prospects]. International Law, 2010, no. 4, pp. 77-85.

3. On the negotiations to determine the legal status of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait and the delineation of maritime areas in the Black Sea. On the delimitation of the Russian-Ukrainian state border (Reference information) (In Russ.) Available at: http://www.mid.ru/maps/ua/-/asset_publisher/ktn0ZLTvbbS3/content/id/595928 (accessed 12.11.2017).

4. Vasil’ev V. Ya. K voprosu pravovogo statusa Azovo-Kerchenskoi akvatorii [On the issue of the legal status of the Azov-Kerch water area]. Morskie Vesti Rossii, 2016, no. 8, pp. 10-11.

5. Agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on cooperation in the use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait. December 24, 2003 (In Russ.) Available at: http://kremlin.ru/supplement/1795 (accessed 16.01.2018).

6. Ukraine relies on assistance from third countries on the Azov Sea issue (In Russ.) Available at: http://ria.ru/politics/20060605/49093665.html (accessed 18.02.2018).

7. Draft Law on denunciation of the Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on cooperation in the use of the Azov sea and the Kerch (In Ukr.) Available at: http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=56077 (accessed 19.02.2018).

8. Teoriya i praktika morskoi deyatel’nosti. Vyp.2. Referativnyi ocherk. [Theory and practice of marine activity. Issue. 2. Abstract]. Moscow, SOPS RAN, 2004. 168 p.

9. Kolodkin A. L., Gutsulyak V. N., Bobrova Yu. V. Mirovoi okean. Mezhdunarodno-pravovoi rezhim. Osnovnye problemy [World Ocean. The international legal regime. Main problems]. Moscow, Statut, 2007. 637 p.

10. Shemyakin A. N. Sovremennoe mezhdunarodnoe morskoe pravo i perspektivy ego razvitiya [Modern international maritime law and prospects for its development]. Odessa, Ogma, 2006. 316 p.

11. Lopez Martin A. G. International Straits. Concept, Classification and Rules of Passage. Berlin, Heidelberg, Springer, 2010. 218 p.

12. Glandin S. V. Mezhdunarodno-pravovye aspekty dogovornogo razdela dna Azovskogo moray [International legal aspects of the agreement delimitation of the seabed of the Azov Sea] Available at: http://magazine.sea-law.ru/arkhiv-zhurnala/51-internet-zhurnal-morskoe-pravo-2007g/internet-zhurnal-morskoe-pravo-1-yanvar-fevral-mart-2007g/575-glandin-sv-mezhdunarodno-pravovye-aspekty-dogovornogo-razdela-dna-azovskogo-morya.html (accessed 03.03.2018).

13. Surzhin A. S. Mezhdunarodno-pravovoi rezhim Chernogo morya (vklyuchaya Azovo-Kerchenskuyu akvatoriyu i chernomorskie prolivy). Diss. cand. ur. nauk [The international legal regime of the Black Sea (including the Azov-Kerch water area and the Black Sea straits) Cand. Diss (Jur.)]. Moscow, 2011. 239 p.

14. Vylegzhanin A. N. Teoriya i praktika ispol’zovaniya osobykh obstoyatel’stv v reshenii problem mezhdunarodnogo morskogo prava. Diss. cand. jurid. nauk [Theory and practice of using special circumstances in solving the problems of international maritime law. Cand. Diss (Jur.)]. Moscow, 1984. 164 p.

15. Tikhonova S. N. Osobennosti dogovornogo regulirovaniya voprosa o delimitatsii morskikh prostranstv v Azovo-Kerchenskoi akvatorii [Features of Treaty regulation of the issue of Maritime delimitation in the AzovKerch water area]. Vlast’ i obshchestvo: grani vzaimodeistviya: materialy IX vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii “Gosudarstvo, pravo, upravlenie – 2009” [Power and Society: Facets of Interaction: Proceedings of the IX All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “State, Law, Management – 2009”]. Moscow, GUU, 2010, Part 2, rp. 87-92.

16. Antselevich G. A. Mezhdunarodnoe morskoe torgovoe parvo [International Maritime Commercial Law]. Kiev, Slovo, 2004. 400 p.

17. Skaridov A. S. Pravovoi rezhim AzovoChernomorskogo basseina i regional’naya bezopasnost’ [Legal regime of the Azov-Black Sea basin and regional security]. Eurasian Law Journal, 2016, no. 11(102), pp. 260-271.

18. The bridge to the Crimea is prevented from building customs. Why it is impossible to build a bridge to Crimea without permission of Ukraine (In Russ.) Available at: https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2015/01/12_a_6365573.shtml (accessed 15.02.2018).

19. Tanaka Yoshifumi. The International Law of the Sea. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2012. 501.

20. ICJ. Passage through the Great Belt (Finland v. Denmark). Available at: http://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/86/6861.pdf (accessed 19.02.1018).

21. Act of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation of October 21, 2015, no. 313 «On Approval of Mandatory Orders in the Sea Port of Kerch» (In Russ.) Available at: http://docs.cntd.ru/document/420312576 (accessed 12.02.2018).

22. They Pass: Ukrainians cheated, promising the decline of ports because of the Bridge to the Crimea (In Russ.) Available at: https://eadaily.com/ru/news/2017/09/08/prohodyat-ukraincev-obmanuli-poobeshchav-upadok-portov-iz-za-mosta-v-krym (accessed 11.02.2018).

23. Serbenko N. K voprosu ob ispol’zovanii Kerchenskogo proliva ili pochemu rossiiskoukrainskii dogovor narushaet mezhdunarodnoe pravo? [On the use of the Kerch Strait or why does the RussianUkrainian treaty violate international law?] Available at: http://bintel.com.ua/ru/article/kerch/ (17.01.2018).

24. Vylegzhanin A. N., red. Mezhdunarodno-pravovaya kvalifikatsiya morskikh rajonov v kachestve istoricheskikh vod (teoriya i praktika gosudarstv). Moskva, MgIMO, 2012. 112 c. [Vylegzhanin A. N., ed. Mezhdunarodnopravovaya kvalifikatsiya morskikh raionov v kachestve istoricheskikh vod (teoriya i praktika gosudarstv) [International legal qualification of marine areas as historical waters (theory and practice of states)]. Moscow, MGIMO, 2012. 112 p.]

25. United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea Geneva, Switzerland 24 February to 27 April 1958 Document:- A/ CONF.13/1 Historic Bays: Memorandum by the Secretariat of the United Nations Extract from the Official Records of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, vol. I (Preparatory Documents). Available at: http://legal.un.org/docs/?path=../diplomaticconferences/1958_los/docs/english/vol_1/a_conf13_1.pdf&lang=E (accessed 02.03.2018).

26. Thomas A. R., Duncan James C., eds. Annotated Supplement to the Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations. International Law Studies. Vol. 73. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 1999, r. 526. Available at: https://ia801601.us.archive.org/11/items/annotatedsupplem73thom/annotatedsupplem73thom.pdf (accessed 07.03.2018).

27. The Legal Basis for the Historical Water Status in the Light of the International Maritime Law Development. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 19 March 1987. 32 p. Archive IMEMO (In Russ).

28. Nikolaev A. N., Sokolova E. L. Status zaliva Fonseka (po materialam Mezhdunarodnogo Suda OON) [Status of the Fonseca Bay (based on the materials of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations)]. Moscow Journal on International Law, 2013, no. 4, pp. 89-97.

29. International Court of Justice (ICJ). Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute (El Salvador/Honduras: Nicaragua intervening). Judgment of 11 September 1992. 271 p. Available at: http://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/75/07519920911-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf (accessed 01.03.2018).

30. Address by V. Kalyuzhny, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Regulation of the Status of the Caspian Sea, at the International Conference on the Caspian and Azov-Kerch Settlement December, 3 2003 (In Russ.) Available at: http://www.mid.ru/press_service/deputy_ministers_speeches/-/asset_publisher/O3publba0Cjv/content/id/494530 (06.03.2018).

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up