DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTHERN SEA ROUTE AS THE MAIN TRANSPORT LOGISTICS NETWORK: LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

With the development of international relations regarding the status of the Arctic and the whole Arctic Region, it is becoming apparent that Arctic territories are among the most important strategic areas in the global politics. Economic and political interests along with cooperation in the field of science and technology and implementation of logistic projects remain priority orientations for the development. Development of the Northern Sea Route as the main transport logistics network is impossible without determination of its legal status and resolving the issues related to the lack of unified and structured legal environment that could regulate maritime traffic, particularly one in the high latitudes. Studying national and international rules of law allows for the conclusion that the Russian state maritime policy is generally similar to the legal framework established in other Arctic countries, which main strategic aim lies in identifying tasks and ways of fulfilling their national interests. At the same time, the study revealed a number of legal problems, which are to be resolved by means of scientific cooperation and more active exploitation of resources provided by the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and its Working Group for the Northern Sea Route, as well as by the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the Arctic Initiative and the Northern Dimension.