Chapter 16
Implementing the Law of the Sea: Russia
and Arbitrations Under Annex VII
to UNCLOS
Grant Kynaston and Rebecca Brown
Abstract On 16 September 2016, Ukraine instituted arbitral proceedings against
the Russian Federation (‘Russia’) under Annex VII to the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (‘UNCLOS’), alleging violations of its coastal
State rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait. Russia has
subsequently appointed an arbitrator, sent a delegation to The Hague, and submitted
its Preliminary Objections. This marks a dramatic shift in Russia’s recent relationship with interstate arbitration under UNCLOS. Most notably, in late 2013, Russia
refused to participate in the arbitration instituted by the Netherlands concerning the
Arctic Sunrise, and has made no indication it will comply with the Award on
Compensation in the Netherlands’ favour. This chapter compares Russia’s approach
in these two cases. First, it addresses its non-participation, contextualising it against
Russia’s prior experiences in international dispute resolution processes, and considers the objections that Russia tends to raise against jurisdiction. Second, this
chapter analyses how maritime legal considerations interplay with Russia’s posture
in international politics, and discusses how each case’s context affected Russia’s
response. The authors conclude that Russia’s relationship with the law of the sea is
an increasingly important consideration in its political calculus. Russia tends to
frame its activities as consistent with the law of the sea and relevant dispute
resolution mechanisms, and increased compliance by such a major State promotes
the continued effectiveness of the law of the sea.
The authors would like to thank Dr Alison Pert and Professor Tim Stephens, for supporting the
authors’ intensive study in this area at the University of Sydney. All translations from Russian
and Ukrainian are the authors’ own, as are all mistakes and omissions.
G. Kynaston
Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
e-mail: grk26@cam.ac.uk
R. Brown (*)
Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
e-mail: rrb34@cam.ac.uk
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. C. Ribeiro et al. (eds.), Global Challenges and the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_16
287
Implementing the Law of the Sea: Russia
and Arbitrations Under Annex VII
to UNCLOS
Grant Kynaston and Rebecca Brown
Abstract On 16 September 2016, Ukraine instituted arbitral proceedings against
the Russian Federation (‘Russia’) under Annex VII to the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (‘UNCLOS’), alleging violations of its coastal
State rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait. Russia has
subsequently appointed an arbitrator, sent a delegation to The Hague, and submitted
its Preliminary Objections. This marks a dramatic shift in Russia’s recent relationship with interstate arbitration under UNCLOS. Most notably, in late 2013, Russia
refused to participate in the arbitration instituted by the Netherlands concerning the
Arctic Sunrise, and has made no indication it will comply with the Award on
Compensation in the Netherlands’ favour. This chapter compares Russia’s approach
in these two cases. First, it addresses its non-participation, contextualising it against
Russia’s prior experiences in international dispute resolution processes, and considers the objections that Russia tends to raise against jurisdiction. Second, this
chapter analyses how maritime legal considerations interplay with Russia’s posture
in international politics, and discusses how each case’s context affected Russia’s
response. The authors conclude that Russia’s relationship with the law of the sea is
an increasingly important consideration in its political calculus. Russia tends to
frame its activities as consistent with the law of the sea and relevant dispute
resolution mechanisms, and increased compliance by such a major State promotes
the continued effectiveness of the law of the sea.
The authors would like to thank Dr Alison Pert and Professor Tim Stephens, for supporting the
authors’ intensive study in this area at the University of Sydney. All translations from Russian
and Ukrainian are the authors’ own, as are all mistakes and omissions.
G. Kynaston
Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
e-mail: grk26@cam.ac.uk
R. Brown (*)
Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
e-mail: rrb34@cam.ac.uk
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. C. Ribeiro et al. (eds.), Global Challenges and the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_16
287