Arctic law is challenging – not least for lawyers themselves

Practicing law in the Arctic poses unique challenges. The biggest of those is the wide range of interdisciplinary topics that legislation is influenced by. These include history, indigenous communities, security, geopolitics and science.

My best friend is a lawyer. He’s an intelligent guy, but his daily practice of law doesn’t cover the breadth of the topics just mentioned.

My only other experience with lawyers was my divorce lawyer. She was awesome. But she didn’t know anything about the failing Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

Then I met the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Maine School of Law Arctic fellowship program and realized how unique a group they are. Crazy smart. It takes an exceptional group of people to teach and learn about the distinctive nature of Arctic Law.

In Maine, we refer to the issues facing the Arctic as a “wicked” problem. Why? Because the Arctic is the populated intersection of the world, and it’s changing in a lot of ways with urgency.

The recently published NOAA Arctic Report Card includes headlines like “the warmest year on record,” “near record-low sea ice extent,” and “the largest glacial thinning on record.” All of which contribute to the acidification of the oceans, rising sea levels, and the alteration of the jet stream and other global phenomena.

Complicating matters are Russia’s and China’s activities in the Arctic, as well as the Trump Administration’s stance on climate change, NATO cooperation, and Greenland. Indigenous communities have raised their voices, justifiably so, against concepts like green colonialism and their sovereign claims to the region. Distilling the complexity of this unique area is a challenge that must be addressed, and quickly.

The University of Maine’s School of Law is the only law school in the United States that trains legal minds in such urgent issues. In 2017, Professor Charles Norchi (the school’s Benjamin Thompson Professor of Law and the Director for Oceans and Coastal Law), and Dr. Paul Mayewski (then Director and Professor of the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute), wrote a seminal article addressing how to consider Arctic problems from the legal and scientific standpoints.

In “The Arctic: Science, Law and Policy,” the authors advocate a multi-method approach to solving Arctic problems, in which legal scholars and scientists can collaborate to address pressing Arctic issues. That article led to the creation of the University of Maine School of Law Arctic fellowship program.

The fellowship program enables students to be mentored by experienced faculty as they apply an interdisciplinary approach to solving complex Arctic problems. Students are also afforded opportunities to study in Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and other Arctic and near-Arctic nations. Maine even offers in-state tuition to Alaska students, as Alaska doesn’t have an ABA-accredited law school. Arctic lawyers can practice in corporate, environmental, and maritime law and undertake advocacy for a diverse range of interests.

The collision of international politics, climate urgency, and economic competition makes it seem as though we are running out of time concerning these issues. But the practice of law is a critical space for approaching the topic slowly and thoughtfully, to fully understand the region’s complexities before global competition and well-intentioned policymakers exacerbate the situation.

The law provides the necessary boundaries and standards that have worked in the Arctic for decades. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982, codifies the Law of the Sea and provides a framework for dispute resolution. The International Maritime Organization’s Polar Code, although not legally binding, is a mandatory regulation that ensures ship safety and environmental protection. These laws are being challenged by competitors operating in the region. It may be time to ensure that these laws and regulations are up to date and fully enforceable.

It takes a specialized kind of lawyer to practice Arctic law, and it requires advanced training, such as that provided by the University of Maine School of Law. Schools in Iceland, Norway, and Finland offer similar training, but only Maine offers such essential and timely education in the United States. It may be too late for my best friend and beyond the scope of my divorce lawyer’s practice to change their career aspirations. Still, it is an exciting time for legal students with the mental agility and personal grit to practice Arctic law. They should get to work with a sense of careful urgency, because conditions in the Arctic are changing.

Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Arctic Today.

Darryl W. Lyon is an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. student at the University of Maine and will be a member of Maine’s Arctic Circle Assembly delegation.