Originally published in Russian, this book is the first major Russian treatise on the international law of the sea in the post-Soviet era. The book covers the legal status and legal regime of the sea expanses and follows their classification in the 1982 United Nations Convention. In addition, a separate section is devoted to the legal status of the Caspian Sea. The author analyzes in-depth the international legal norms regulating the preservation of the marine environment and concludes that a system of international cooperation is essential both in the sphere of navigation and economic exploitation of oceanic resources.

Extensive attention is given to Russian practice. The Russian Federation ratified the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and has to a considerable extent integrated its provisions into Russian legislation. Pending ratification of the 1982 Convention by the United States, the Russian Federation is the most substantial maritime power to be a party to the treaty. As the international law of the sea is increasingly complex and the quantity of relevant laws and regulations emanating from national States is growing daily, this book will offer an easy reference manual. Furthermore, as Russia plays a central and influential role in world maritime policy, a book that specifically deals with Russian approaches in this field cannot fail to be of importance to anyone interested in the law of the sea.

Target group

Academics

Author's information

Alexander Antonovich Kovalev graduated in 1960 from the Admiral Makarov Leningrad Higher Marine Engineering School, in 1969 from the Leningrad State University, and in 1979 from the All-Union Academy of Foreign Trade. He worked as navigator and then master on ships of the Baltic Shipping Company and from 1971 in foreign economic and diplomatic work. He has lectured since 1984 at the All-Union Academy of Foreign Trade and from 1993 at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also has held positions within the apparatus of the Government of the Russian Federation and has the rank of State Counsellor of the Russian Federation, Second Class. He has written widely on the law of the sea and is at present the Head of the Chair of International Law in the Diplomatic Academy.

About the Editor
William Butler is Professor of Comparative Law and Director of The Vinogradoff Institute, University College London, He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Bar of the United States Supreme Court and licensed to practise local law in Russia and Uzbekistan. He has been elected to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and the Russian Academy of Legal Sciences; Partner, Phoenix Law Associates CIS (Moscow); M.M. Speransky Professor of International and Comparative Law and Dean (1993-98), Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences; Member, International Court of Commercial Arbitration (1995-) of the Russian Federation. In 2003 Professor Butler was awarded the G.I. Tunkin Medal by the Russian International Law Association.