UNCLOS is not yet a viable regime for governing the Arctic

Facially, it appears that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a comprehensive international maritime treaty establishing rights, responsibilities, and procedures for settling claims in the world’s oceans and seas, should be the proper mechanism to determine jurisdiction in the Artic.⁹ UNCLOS, how- ever, is not a viable option because not all of the interested parties have ratified the treaty and the UNCLOS component that recom- mends limits of the continental shelf has not achieved the status of customary international law.¹⁰ While the United Nations should take steps to address these shortfalls, it is highly unlikely that any amendment to the present regime will be proposed and accepted before anarchy on the high Arctic seas ensues. UNCLOS, therefore, is not the answer.