北極海 環境리스크 管理를 위한 事前配慮原則의 適用에 관한 硏究

Abstract

The climate change symbolized as global warming is one of the issues intensely discussed in the recent international society. Especially, the thawing of the Arctic ocean due to the temperature rise of the Arctic region has been mentioned by various media as the representative harmful effect of climate change. Since the thawing of the Arctic ocean causes the rise of the whole sea level, which can become a threat to the earth's ecosystem, it is recognized not as a problem of the neighboring countries, but as an environmental problem that should be dealt by the whole mankind.

In the other side of such recognition of environmental problem, the world attention is focused on the new economic opportunity that will be generated by the thawing of the Arctic. With the international attention focused on the Arctic, Arctic countries are showing actions to protect their own interests in the Arctic region. As one of such movements, Arctic countries have intense competitions to secure submarine resources by reinforcing dominium and maritime jurisdiction. Especially according to UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Arctic countries have started actively moving to secure the 200-nautical mile continental shelf in international waters around the Arctic pole. Also with the increased interest in ship routes of the Arctic ocean which can be another economic resource in it, there are more frequent trial voyages to estimate the role as a new silk road between Europe and Asia.

The changes in the Arctic has such two faces. Those two aspects including environmental preservation and development of the Arctic are questionable about if they really cannot be mixed together just like water and oil. In the era of industrialization, the development and environmental preservation were mutually incompatible. In modern society, however, they tend to aim for coexistence under the topic of sustainable development. The development and marine environmental preservation of the Arctic should be progressed toward this direction.

This article focuses on the approach of international law, in the aspect of applying Precautionary Principle for sustainable development of the Arctic ocean. Despite of the accumulated existing researches on Precautionary Principle, there are still insufficient researches considering environment on specific regions, especially the Arctic region. Currently, there are relatively accumulated theses related to the Arctic ocean, mostly focusing on the resource development and its problem in the Arctic ocean, and Arctic countries' development of marine territory while there is almost no thesis focusing on environmental protection.

This thesis primarily referred literature and theses, and then secondarily reviewed the theme of this thesis and relevant major international precedents, including cases of International Court of Justice(here in after, referred to as ICJ), Permanent Court of Arbitration(PCA) and WTO appeals organization. Also relevant information was collected from homepage of relevant international organizations such as International Maritime Organization(IMO) and Arctic Council. The study methods selected for discussions in each Chapter are different depending on the relevant themes, and they are like following.

Chapter 2 considered theoretical basis of general definition, effects and application of Precautionary Principle. Reviewing the definition for the unity of the term and the general requirements to apply Precautionary Principle, the effects of applying Precautionary Principle to environmental protection were considered. After ruling the meaning of environmental risk used to apply Precautionary Principle, rather than the risk of environmental pollution daily used, the application of Precautionary Principle was considered as measures of regulating environmental risk.

Chapter 3 reviewed the actual application and significance of Precautionary Principle under international law. Through such actual application and significance, we identify whether Precautionary Principle has been recognized as a common law under international law, and also suggest opinions about the status of Precautionary Principle.

Chapter 4 reviews regional cooperative mechanism, treaties and agreements under international law applied to control the current marine environmental pollution in the Arctic ocean, and then based on it, suggests imperfections after checking the conditions of marine environmental protection in the Arctic ocean.

Chapter 5 suggests the application of Precautionary Principle as an international law device that can complement such imperfections identified through Chapter 4. By reinterpreting UN Marine Environmental Protection Law which is the basic order of marine environment through Vienna Treaty in modern perspective, it shows a legal basis that can thicken marine environment protection of the Arctic ocean through Precautionary Principle. As the treaties of IMO controlling vessels as pollution sources are more likely to have characteristics of Precautionary Principle, it not only recommends the measures ruled by these treaties, but also have attempts for development and marine environmental protection through regional treaties and international cooperation.

Chapter 6 suggests the conclusion of this thesis based on the study results above.

In order to cope with environmental risk of the Arctic ocean, it is urgently needed to introduce Precautionary Principle. Here, Precautionary Principle is not such unconditional environmental protection and preservation, but precautionary legal mechanism of marine environment based on the principle of sustainable development. Thus it is necessary to balance between conflicting interests of development and marine environmental protection of the Arctic ocean through regional sea treaties and ecological foundation management to cope with overall marine environmental risk of the Arctic ocean as Arctic countries also should actively accept the treaty based on Precautionary Principle.