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Innocent Passage in the Arctic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2016

A. Donat Pharand*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Ottawa
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Extract

The Arctic Regions have been a fascinating subject of study for a long time, mainly because of man’s strong desire to conquer the unknown. The military interest in those regions did not develop until recent years. With the straining of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War II, the strategic significance of the Arctic soon became very real. This significance was appreciably diminished with the invention of intercontinental ballistic missiles but the more recent development of the nuclear missile-launching submarine has given the Arctic waters a new military importance. Of course, nuclear submarines could also be of considerable commercial interest. By borrowing the Arctic Ocean, merchant submarines could drastically shorten some of the present maritime trading routes. The exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic regions is already in process of giving new commercial meaning to the old Northwest and Northeast Passages. In the circumstances, an inquiry into the legal regime of the Arctic waters is timely. Two basic principles of the law of the sea are involved: the right of innocent passage, and the freedom of the seas. The present study will concentrate on the right of innocent passage. An investigation will be made into the legal status of the Arctic waters constituting what is commonly known as the Northwest Passage, on the North American side of the Pole, and the Northeast Passage or Northern Sea Route on the Soviet side. The basic question is whether or not the right of free and innocent passage in favour of foreign ships applies to those waters.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Council on International Law / Conseil Canadien de Droit International, representing the Board of Editors, Canadian Yearbook of International Law / Comité de Rédaction, Annuaire Canadien de Droit International 1968

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References

1 Jessup, The Law of Territorial Waters and Maritime Jurisdiction 120 (1927).

2 III Gidel, , Le Droit International Public de la Mer 195 (1934).Google Scholar

3 Ibid., 197.

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7 [1949] I.C.J. Rep. 30.

8 Ibid., 30–31.

9 Ibid., 33.

10 Gross, L., “The Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea and the Right of Innocent Passage through the Gulf of Aqaba,” 53 Am. J. Int’l L. 564, 582 (1959).CrossRefGoogle Scholar Prof. McDougal would seem to give a different interpretation when he states: The ships of other states are said to have a right of innocent passage, but within the geographic zone the burden is put upon such ships of proving their innocence,” in Alexander, , The Law of the Sea 3, 17 (1967).Google Scholar

11 [1949] I.G.J. Rep. 29.

12 Ibid.

13 For specific examples of what those steps might entail, see “Peacetime Passage by Warships through Territorial Straits,” 50 Colum. L. Rev. 224-25 (1950); and the “Commentary” to Art. 17, in [1956] 2 Int’l L. Comm’n 274.

14 Hall, International Law 163 (7th ed., 1917).

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19 [1949] I.C.J. Rep. 27.

20 Ibid., 28.

21 Ibid., 128.

22 Ibid., 130.

23 The expression is borrowed from Elihu Root, to whom he had just referred with approval in his dissenting opinion.

24 [1949] I.C.J. Rep. 74.

25 Ibid.

26 See the positions taken by Zourek, , in [1954] 1 Y.B. Int’l L. Comm’n 158–59,Google Scholar and by Krylov, in [1955] 1 Y-B. Int’l L. Comm’n 145.Google Scholar

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28 See U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea, Official Records, U.N. Doc. A/Conf. 13/39, Vol. Ill, at 78, 94 and 130 (1958).

29 Ibid., 133.

30 Jessup, “The U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea,” 59 Colum. L. Rev. 234, 248 (1959). On this question of the right of innocent passage of warships, a similar conclusion is reached by Mr. Slonim who states: “In view of the fact that the majority of states do not require authorization for the innocent passage of foreign warships through their territorial waters, the Court (International) may well conclude that fulfillment of such a requirement is more an act of international courtesy than legal necessity.” — Slonim, Solomon, “The Right of Innocent Passage and the 1958 Conference on the Law of the Sea,” 5 Colum. J. of Transnat’l L. 96 (1966).Google Scholar

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33 Art. 5, para. 3, [1956] 2 Y.B. Int’l L. Comm’n 267.

34 See [1954] 2 Y.B. Int’l L. Comm’n 67.

35 I Bruël, op. cit. supra note 17, at 101–02.

36 I Corfu Channel Case – I.C.J. Pleadings 278 (1949).

37 [1949] I.C.J. Rep. 28.

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45 For a full account of this voyage in the Barents and Kara Seas, see Petrow, Richard, Across the Top of Russia (1967).Google Scholar The author was aboard the Northwind to cover the historic cruise for the New York Times.

46 Ibid., 352–53.

47 The Northwind then proceeded north around the northern tip of Severnaya Zemlya and the captain asked his superiors’ permission to continue east. The reply was immediate and negative: “Comply previous orders. Return Seattle by way of Atlantic.” — Petrow, op. cit. supra note 45, at 340.

48 57 Dep’t State Bull. 362 (1967).

49 Ibid. According to a reported account of the incident by Captain Benkert of the Eastwind, the negative reply of the Maritime Fleet Ministry specified that a 30-day notice was necessary. “The Russians replied,” he said, “that they felt, since the strait was their territorial waters and since we were warships, a 30-day notice to pass through these waters was requested.” — The Polar Times 13 (December 1967).

50 Ibid.

51 Ibid.

52 For a summary of the historical background of the Main Administration (Glavsevmorput), of the Northern Sea Route, see Stanka, Viadas, Institutions of the USSR Active in Arctic Research and Development 3 (2nd ed., 1963).Google Scholar

53 Taracouzio, , Soviets in the Arctic, Appendix III, at 383 (1938).Google Scholar

54 See Vladas Stanka, op. cit. supra note 52, at 3.

55 See The Polar Times 30 (June 1967).

56 See Armstrong, , “Northern Sea Route,” 39 Geographical Magazine 24 (May 1966).Google Scholar

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58 See Armstrong, supra note 56.

59 Stanka, op. cit. supra note 52, states the figure to be 115 for 1961.

60 Since 1958, this Institute is called the “Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute,” and has a staff of about 500.

61 See Note on Manual of Weather Prediction,” edited by Vangengeim, G., in 12 Arctic Bibliography 527, No. 73408 (1965).Google Scholar

62 They are described in a paper by A. I. Yurokin and Yu. N. Sinyurin in Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya, 1966, No. 9, at 40–43, and summarized in The Polar Record, Vol. 13, No. 87, at 793 (Sept. 1967).

63 Gordienko, P.A., “Scientific Observations from, and the Nature of Drift of the “North Pole” Stations,” in Problems of the Arctic and the Antarctic No. a, Leningrad (1962)Google Scholar. English translation, edited by N. A. Ostenso (1966).

64 See Gordienko, ibid., b-16.

65 Sokolov, A.L., “Drift of Ice in the Arctic Basin and Changes in Ice Conditions over the Northern Sea Route,” in Problems of the Arctic … op. cit. supra note 63, at j-15.Google Scholar

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67 Armstrong, op. cit. supra note 56, at 25.

68 The map was drawn by the writer from various sources; the shipping lanes are indicated by small broken lines, and the main lanes are shown by a heavier and solid line.

69 57 Dep’t State Bull. 362 (1967).

70 See Encyclopedia of Oceanography, Vol. 1 at 192, 243, 430 and 442 (1966).

71 Some shallow areas are nevertheless encountered, the principal one being at the eastern approach of the Dimitri Laptev Strait. There is an extensive area of shoal water which limits the passage through that strait to ships drawing a maximum of 22 feet. See Sailing Directions for Northern USSR, Vol. III, at 254 (amended up to 1967).

72 Supra note 70, at 431.

73 In September 1965, the U.S. icebreaker Northwind navigated completely around the tip of Severnaya Zemlya before hitting any ice whatever, but it seems that such favourable conditions are unusual.

74 Traced from Map 6618, published by the U.S. Naval Océanographie Office, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy. It is dated July 17, 1967 and makes use of available data up to 1966. The writer was unable to obtain maps from the USSR.

75 The measurements were made by the writer, and so was the positioning of the route; he is indebted to Dr. Melvin G. Marcus, professor of geography at the University of Michigan, who kindly verified the measurements of the Vilkitsky Straits. The exact measurement of the northern strait by Dr. Marcus was 22.51 miles.

76 Supra note 70, at 444.

77 This is also a tracing from Map 6618, published by the U.S. Naval Oceanographie Office, except for the measurements and the positioning of the route which were made by the writer. Sources consulted include The U.S. Océanographie Atlas of the Polar Seas, Part II, Arctic (1958) and Sailing Directions for Northern USSR, Vol. Ill, with amendments up to 1967 inclusive.

78 Ibid., for sources consulted.

79 Supra note 70, at 244.

80 U.N. Synoptical table, prepared by the U.N. Secretariat, based upon information received from States; Annex Doc. A/Conf. 19/4, in Second U.N. Conference of the Law of the Sea, A/Conf. 19/8, 157–63 (1960).

81 U.N. Legislative Series, Laws and Regulations on the Régime of the High Seas, Vol. 1, 116 (1951).

82 Soviet Statutes and Decisions, Vol. III, No. 4, at 9 (Summer 1967).

83 Ibid.

84 See in particular the following: Korovin, , “S.S.S.R. i Poliarnye Zemli, Sovetskoye Pravo,” No. 3, 4546 (1926),Google Scholar cited by Taracouzio in Soviets in the Arctic 348 (1938); Sigrist, , “Rabochii Sud,” 984 (1928),Google Scholar cited by Taracouzio, ibid.; Lakhtine, , “Rights over the Arctic,” 24 Am. J. Int’l L. 703, 712 (1930);CrossRefGoogle Scholar Vyshnyepolsky, , “The Problem of a System of Law for the Arctic Regions,” translated in Soviet Press Translations, Vol. 7, No. 18, 371–76 (15 Oct. 1952).Google Scholar

85 See text of the Decree and the Note (in French) in Lakhtine, Rights in the Arctic (in Russian), Appendix at 44–45 (1928).

86 See text of the Notes (in French) in Lakhtine, ibid., 43–44.

87 Academy of Sciences, International Law 191 (1960).

88 U.N. Legislative Series, Laws and Regulations on the Régime of the Territorial Sea 255–56 (1957).

89 See supra note 82, at 10–24.

90 Ibid., 10.

91 Ibid., 13 and 14.

92 For a discussion of Articles 14 and 16, see “What does innocent passage mean?” supra 6–8.

93 Supra note 82, at 14.

94 U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea, Official Records, U.N. Doc. A/Conf. 13/39, Vol. III, at 130 (1958).

95 Reproduced in supra note 82, at 45.

96 Ibid., 24–29.

97 Reproduced in U.N. Legislative Series, Laws and Regulations on the Régime of the Territorial Sea 412–16 (1957).

98 Ibid., 412.

99 See annex Doc. A/Conf.. 13/c, i/L 46 in U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea, A/Conf. 13/39, Vol. Ill (1958).

100 Ibid., 78.

101 Supra note 82, at 10–11.

102 When Krylov raised the question of internal seas in the International Law Commission, he referred only to the Sea of Azov. The report states: “When asking the Rapporteur to insert a passage on internal seas, he had had in mind such cases as the Sea of Azov which, together with its strait, lay entirely within Soviet territory.”— [1956] 1 Y.B. Int’l L. Comm’n 261.

103 See Rousseau, , “Chronique des faits internationaux,” Revue générale de droit international public 399404 (1963).Google Scholar

104 See Map, ibid., 402.

105 Ibid., 404.

106 Vyshnyepolsky, S.A., “The Problem of a System of Law for the Arctic Regions,” Soviet Press Translations, Vol. 7, No. 18, at 371–76 (15 October 1952).Google Scholar

107 Ibid., 374.

108 Academy of Sciences, International Law 206 (1960).

109 Ibid.

110 See Petrow, op. cit. supra note 45, at 344–45, for a map showing the location and number of stations made by the Northwind.

111 Ibid., 351.

112 The Polar Times 13 (December 1967).

113 “Submarines in the Arctic,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 87, No. io, at 58–65 (October 1961).

114 Ibid.

115 See Wm. Anderson, R., Nautilus 900 North 166 (1959).Google Scholar

116 Supra note 70, at 192.

117 Vol. 13, No. 84, at 305 (September 1966).

118 See Bamberger, Werner, in The Polar Times 14 (December 1967).Google Scholar

119 Peter Gross in The Polar Times 14 (December 1967). The essential elements of the definition of the term “warship” contained in Article 8 of the Convention on the High Seas would seem to be present. Furthermore, the Coast Guard is “a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States.” See 14 U.S. Code 1.

120 Advisory Opinion on Reservations to the Convention on Genocide, [1951] I.C.J. Rep. 15, 24.

121 The first crossing by a squadron of U.S. Coast Guard cutters in 1957 is reported to have been led through the narrow Bellot Strait by the Canadian icebreaker Labrador. See The Polar Times 9 (December 1957).

122 A document in the Library of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development at Ottawa gives a list of 49 British expeditions in the Arctic before 1880, year of the Imperial Order-in-Council transferring to Canada whatever rights Britain still possessed in the Northern regions. During that same period, only 8 American expeditions and one Dutch are listed.

123 Amundsen was also among the first to navigate the Northeast Passage, in 1918–1919.

124 Larsen, H., The Northwest Passage 8 (1948).Google Scholar

125 See Canada (Dept. of Resources and Development), Transportation and Communications in the Northwest Territories 11–13 (1953).

126 See Pilot of Arctic Canada, Vol. I, at 59 (1959); and The Polar Times 9 (December 1957).

127 See Pilot of Arctic Canada, Vol. 1, at 101 (1959).

128 Ibid., 59.

129 For a brief account of the event, see The Polar Record, Vol. 10, at 390 (1960–61).

130 Dulberger, Leon, “Sonar Guides Submarines under Polar Ice,” Electronics Vol. 34, No. 12, at 18 (1961).Google Scholar

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132 Several years ago a special “Advisory Committee on Northern Development” was created, with instructions “to advise the government on questions of policy relating to civilian and military undertakings in northern Canada and to provide for the effective co-ordination of all government activities in that area”: see Government Activities in the North, Document ND 441, at 2 (1966). This committee reports periodically to the Cabinet on all phases of development and its last annual report covers work of the branches and divisions of some 29 federal departments and agencies carrying on activities in the Canadian North. The 19 members on the Advisory Committee are all of the rank of deputy minister or equivalent.

133 See Stead, Gordon W., “Current Canadian Coast Guard Operations in Ice,” The Polar Record, Vol. 12, No. 77, at 147–55 1964).CrossRefGoogle Scholar The author, who is an Assistant Deputy Minister of the Department of Transport, gives an excellent account of the work accomplished by the Canadian icebreakers.

134 See ibid., 152, and Government Activities in the North, supra note 132, at 233.

135 See Government Activities in the North, ibid., 225.

136 See supra note 133, at 150–51.

137 For a good summary of research done by the United States on drifting islands, see Quam, Louis O., “Arctic Basin Research,” in Naval Research Reviews 115 (October 1966).Google Scholar The author is the Director of the Earth Sciences Division of the Office of Naval Research.

138 Gary, et al, “Preliminary Report on Scientific Work on Fletcher’s Ice Island, T-3,” 5 Arctic 212 (1952).Google Scholar

139 Supra note 137, at 14.

140 See The Polar Times 14 and 27 (December 1966).

141 Canada has been carrying on a study of the continental shelf of the Arctic Archipelago and of the waters above it for the last 10 years. These studies include the nature of the sea ice and its movement from year to year: see supra note 132, at 57–63.

142 Up to the end of 1965, some 194 Canada Oil and Gas Permits had been issued covering 8,641,323 acres in the Arctic Islands (see ibid., 157). On December 12, 1967, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development announced in the House of Commons the formation of “Panarctic Oils Limited” which would “invest not less than 20 million on a three year oil exploration program in the Arctic islands.” The Canadian government will invest 45% of that amount and in return will own 45% of the common shares. The new Panarctic company will have interests in about 44 million acres of potential oil and gas land, through agreements with the original permit holders. (See H.C. Deb. (Can.), 1967, Vol. V, at 5306-5307 (1967).

143 “Areas of Principal Islands,” Canada Year Book 11 (1966).

144 The area of Ellesmere Island is 82,119 sq. m., whereas the United Kingdom is 94,215.

145 Baffin Island is 183,810 sq. m. in area, and France is 213,100.

146 For a description of ice conditions in Canadian Arctic waters, see Pilot of Arctic Canada, Vol. I, at 107–21 (1959), and Ice Summary and Analysis — Canadian Arctic (1964), published by the Meteorological Branch, Dept. of Transport.

147 See supra note 133, at 153.

148 Ice Summary and Analysis …, supra note 146, at 72.

149 See Pilot of Arctic Canada, Vol. 1, at 119 (1959).

150 This appears to be the real origin of the Sector Theory rather than the intervention of Senator Poirier on February 20, 1907. However, in 1956, the Hon. Jean Lesage stated the relevant year to be 1903 rather than 1904. He also added that “[i]t was not to show the boundaries of Canada. It was to show the lines within which the lands and the territorial waters around those lands were claimed by Canada…”; H.C. Deb. (Can.), 1956, Vol. VII, at 6958.

151 Canada, Débats de la Chambre des Communes, 1 juin 1925, 3758.

152 Ibid., 10 juin 1925, 4056.

153 Pearson, L.B., “Canada looks ‘Down North’,” Foreign Affairs 638–39 (July 1946).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

154 H.C. Deb. (Can.), 1953–54, at 700; reprinted in 6 External Aff. 16 (1954).

155 Supra note 150, at 6955.

156 H.C. Deb. (Can.), 1958, Vol. IV, at 3652 (1958).

157 Cohen, Maxwell, “Polar Ice and Arctic Sovereignty,” 73 Saturday Night, No. 18, at 35 (30 August, 1958).Google Scholar

158 Ibid., 36.

159 Cohen, Maxwell, “International Law: A Canadian Perspective,” 1 Canadian Yearbook of International Law 24 (1963).Google Scholar

160 Head, Ivan L., “Canadian Claims to Territorial Sovereignty in the Arctic Regions,” 9 McGill L. School J. 218 (1962–63).Google Scholar

161 Ibid.

162 Ibid., 218–19.

163 Morin, J.-Y., “Les eaux territoriales du Canada,” 1 Canadian Yearbook of International Law 82146 (1963).Google Scholar

164 Ibid., 143.

165 Ibid., 145.

166 Smith, Gordon W., “Sovereignty in the North: The Canadian Aspect of an International Problem,” in The Arctic Frontier 245 (Macdonald, R. St.J. ed., 1966).Google Scholar For two other related studies by Mr. Smith, see “The Transfer of Arctic Territories from Great Britain to Canada in 1880,” in 14 Arctic 54–73 (1961); and “Territorial Sovereignty in the Canadian North: A Historical Outline of the Problem,” in Doc. N.C.R.C. 1963–67 of the Department of Indian Affairs and Natural Resources (1963).

167 Ibid., 248.

168 “Canadian Practice in International Law during 1966 as Reflected Mainly in Public Correspondence and Statements of the Department of External Affairs,” edited by Gotlieb, A. E., in 5 Canadian Yearbook of International Law 253, 255 (1967).Google Scholar The editor warns that “[t]he statements of law and practice should not necessarily be regarded as a definite general statement by the Department of External Affairs of such law and practice.” In the circumstances, it is felt preferable to classify the statement here under “doctrinal opinion” rather than “government practice.”

169 13 Eliz. II, 1964, Statutes of Canada, c. 22. The early legislation of Canada also embodied the 3-mile limit. See The Customs Act, 1867, 31 Vict., c. 6, and The Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act, 1878, 41–42 Vict., c 73.

170 See P.C. 1967 — 2025, dated October 26, 1967.

171 See Ivan L. Head, supra note 160, at 218–19.

172 Reproduced in 2 Canadian Yearbook of International Law 325 (1964).

173 Reproduced in 5 Canadian Yearbook of International Law 262 (1967).

174 Reference Re Ownership of Off-Shore Mineral Rights (1968), 65 D.L.R. (2d) 353; 62 W.W.R. 21.

175 Attorney General of Canada, Factum 22 (1967).

176 Advisory Opinion on Reservations to the Convention on Genocide, [1951] I.C.J. Rep. 15, 24.

177 For examples of such restrictions, see the following: “Commentary” to Art. 15, [1956] 2 Y.B. Int’l L. Comm’n 272–73; “Peacetime Passage by Warships through Territorial Straits,” 50 Colum. L. Rev. 224 (1950); Mc-Dougal, & Burke, , The Public Order of the Oceans 226–69 (1962).Google Scholar