The Arctic Ocean under UNCLOS: Testing Lex Specialis and Regional Exceptionalism Claims

The Arctic Region has brought renewed attention to the limits of international law. This is largely due to increased maritime traffic, expanding access to natural resources, and growing strategic competition driven by climate-induced sea ice retreat. In this context, the central debate is whether the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) remains the general maritime legal regime in the Arctic. Alternatively, some argue that the region’s geographical and environmental characteristics require a special legal status (lex specialis). In particular, the positions of Canada on the Northwest Passage, Russia on the Northern Sea Route, and the United States on freedom of navigation make this debate visible through concrete state practice. This study examines the extent to which UNCLOS is applicable to the Arctic. It does so by focusing on claims regarding the region’s closed or semi-closed sea character, rules on ice-covered areas, and continental shelf claims. The article argues that the Arctic does not constitute an independent and comprehensive lex specialis regime within the existing international legal order. Rather, UNCLOS continues to serve as the primary legal framework governing navigation, environmental protection, and coastal State powers in the region. However, this applicability is shaped by limited and contextual adaptations that reflect the region’s environmental sensitivities and functional conditions.