The Scramble for the Arctic: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and Extending National Seabed Claims.

This paper reviews the codification of the international standard for the exploitation of the continental shelf, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The "Law of the Sea" convention entered into force in 1994 yet still has not been ratified by the United States, though pressure has been mounting to do so. Because of shifting climate conditions in the Arctic, new technologies for oil extraction, and increasing international demand that makes expensive extraction more viable, there has emerged a new "Scramble for the Arctic" as a USGS survey suggests that up to 13% of the world's undiscovered oil and 30% of its gas remain beneath the seabed. We examine the current state of the Treaty in the US, as well as challenges to US territorial interests in the context of seabed claims made by Russia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway. As early adopters of UNCLOS have until May 2009 to submit claims, the dispute is only likely to heat up. The resolution of the Arctic Scramble also holds a precedent setting promise, as there is a similar pending crisis in Antarctica. Will the involved nations observe the rule of international law, or will this be a 21st century neo-imperial echo to the Scramble for Africa? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]