Equity in International Law: Lessons for Arctic Governance from Maritime Delimitation Case Law

The international governance of the Arctic is characterized by the need, and the ability, to cooperate internationally despite significant political differences. Due to the relatively positive experiences of cooperation in the Arctic, the region – which currently gains significant outside attention – is often perceived as a region in which cooperation experiments are possible that might not be conceivable elsewhere. There is, however, at times a certain frustration in the West with a less than predictable compliance with international law on the part of the Russian Federation. Taking one particular view on the Russian legal system as a point of departure, this text seeks to show that the concept of equity, which has long been utilized by the International Court of Justice, can play a role in maintaining the atmosphere of cooperation across political divides. Analysing international case law on maritime delimitation disputes and academic literature with a particular focus on the Arctic, the concept of equity is explained and then put in the particular context of international cooperative governance of the Arctic.

This text was originally written in September 2021. In hindsight, it might document that, just a few months before the escalation, there still seemed to be reason for optimism and for the continuation of cooperation between Arctic states and for international governance of the Arctic by the people of the Arctic. With regard to Russia, such hope has been in vain. Today, international cooperation in the Arctic is limited to the seven Western Arctic states as Russia continues its illegal genocidal war of aggression against Ukraine. The text contains a short postscript written in October 2022.