APPROACHES TO REGULATING RUSSIAN ARCTIC ZONE THROUGH THE LENSES OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE Ekaterina Mikhailova PhD candidate Higher School of Economics

REGULATION OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC TODAY  more than 500 regulatory legal acts on the Arctic are in effect 1  around 50 of them were adopted by the RSFSR and USSR 2 - entities that ceased to exist a quarter of a century ago Current Russian regulation of the Arctic zone is fragmented, contains contradictory and archaic elements 1, 2 Khabrieva T. & A. Kapustin (2015) On the Phenomenon of Arctic Law in the Context of the Legal Development of Russia, p.261

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC ZONE  Federal law “On the basis of state regulation of social and economic development of the Russian North” that was in force from 1996 till 2005 provided a definition of sustainable development and named creating conditions for it among principles of regulating Russian Arctic  That definition was as follows: “harmonious development of production, social services, population and the environment”

MILESTONES OF ARCTIC LAW MAKING IN RUSSIA the Federation Council initiated consideration of the bill “On the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation” 2013 – Russian Ministry of Regional Development was responsible for composing a new draft and outsourced that activity to the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation a private juridical consulting company prepared another version of the same law Russian Ministry of Economic Development became a new venue for coordinating Arctic policy and law making. The process of discussing the content of a new draft law started

 Outline law  Detailed law:  focused on setting up the Southern boundary of the Russian Arctic, regulating ecological issues and indigenous people rights  focused on providing economic mechanisms of Arctic development  a combination of regulating traditional issues and introducing economic mechanisms APPROACHES TO THE ARCTIC DRAFT LAW: THEORY

APPROACHES TO THE ARCTIC DRAFT LAW: PRACTICE Draft Law 1998 … an integral part of Russian Regional Policy 1) ensuring Russian geopolitical interests in the Arctic, 2) providing sustainable development of the Arctic zone and 3) conservation of its unique nature Draft Law 2013 … an integral part of both Domestic and Foreign Policies of Russia … creating conditions for comprehensive and equitable social and economic development of the Russian Arctic zone Russian Arctic policy is… The aim of regulating Russian Arctic is…

QUOTES DEFINING THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCTIC LAW: EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF POWER Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation: "to ensure the protection of Russian national interests in the region” Alexander Tsybulski, Deputy Minister of Economic Development: “to define the limits of the Russian Arctic zone and form the state Arctic policy there”

QUOTES DEFINING THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCTIC LAW: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF POWER Yuri Neelov, Member of the Federation Council, Deputy Chairman of the Expert Council of the Arctic and Antarctic under the Federation Council: "to determine what kind of production and which productive forces should be stationed in the Arctic in the long run”

QUOTES DEFINING THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCTIC LAW: BUSINESS LEADERS Vladimir Engelsberg, vice-president of “Norilsk Nickel”: “to set up the boundaries of the Russian Arctic, then to prepare so called Arctic exemptions to various laws”

QUOTES DEFINING THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCTIC LAW: BUSINESS ADVISORS Andrei Pushkin, managing partner of a private juridical consulting agency: "to create favorable conditions for attracting Russian and foreign investments in the development of fuel, energy and transport sectors in the Russian Arctic zone”

QUOTES DEFINING THE PURPOSE OF THE ARCTIC LAW: ACADEMIA Mikhail Zhukov, Academic Secretary of the Centre for the North, the Arctic and the livelihoods of small people of the North”: “to overcome negative impacts of the ”Northern price increase” on competitiveness of regional economies in the Russian Arctic”

ISSUES THAT ARE PLANNED TO BE COVERED BY THE NEW ARCTIC DRAFT LAW: I o social policy in the region o ensuring and preserving traditional lifestyles of indigenous peoples in the region o assessment of industrial impact on the Arctic environment o labor relations in the Arctic zone

o s pecial legal regime of economic activities in the Russian Arctic o g overnmental support of such activities o s pecificity of public-private partnership in the Arctic o f inancial instruments for sustainable development in the Arctic o d evelopment of the continental shelf of the Russian Arctic o f ormation of a unified Arctic transportation system o p riorities of international cooperation and collaboration in the field of sustainable development in the Arctic ISSUES THAT ARE PLANNED TO BE COVERED BY THE NEW ARCTIC DRAFT LAW: II

REASONS FOR SUCH A HARD AND SLOW LAW-MAKING PROCESS (1) tension between the executive and the legislative branches of power; (2) heterogeneity of opinions within leaders of non- governmental and business sectors; (3) absence of an administrative body responsible for coordination of Arctic development

A RECENT MEANINGFUL CHANGE On February 3, 2015 State Commission on Arctic Development was established. This intersectoral body is supposed to become the key venue for negotiating and forming state policy on the Arctic.

SUMMARY Codification of existent legal acts on Russian Arctic and adoption of the Arctic bill are necessary steps to ensure sustainable development of Russian Arctic. The most favorable approach to Arctic law making is forming an economic detailed law. The aggregation of lobbying groups is essential, as well as consistent articulation of their position at various possible platforms – both traditional and new, within executive and legislative branches of power.

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