In recent years, the Arctic has evolved from a comparatively isolated political backwater that engaged the interest almost solely of its eight coastal states, to a region of substantial and sustained global attention. The current and projected retreat of the Arctic sea-ice has raised the prospect of the re-emergence of the fabled Northwest Passage, which could revolutionize modern shipping logistics, and provide access for the first time to a staggering array of mineral and hydrocarbon resources. The political and economic importance of the Arctic has never been higher. Against this backdrop, however, key tensions persist concerning the regulatory ownership of the Arctic. Should this region be controlled primarily by coastal states which must bear the brunt of the environmental ramifications of Arctic development, have long wrestled with difficult questions concerning the role of the indigenous Arctic communities, and have elaborated regulatory processes to address issues of regional importance? Or should a more globalized view be taken, recognizing that some of the Arctic Ocean comprises high seas and that its pristine wilderness arguably encompasses the common heritage of humankind, so that Arctic issues are the equal concern of non-Arctic states? The diplomatic furore created in 2007 when a Russian flag was placed on the North Pole has created the impression that the Arctic is a throwback to a more laissez-faire era of international law, with little discernible regulation and a frontier mentality towards its resources. As Michael Byers swiftly establishes in this excellent treatise on the core issues facing the Arctic region, this erroneous notion distorts a climate of genuine cooperation, from which a distinct lex arctica is clearly emergent.

International Law and the Arctic comprises eight substantive chapters, addressing the core issues of internationalized concern facing this unique region. The book opens with an insightful and informative survey of territorial claims. This immediately dispels the impression that the Arctic is a scene of contested ownership, with the nationality of the tiny Hans Island as its sole contentious issue. Instead, Byers outlines with great clarity that a series of innovative approaches have been developed to accommodate territorial claims and the multi-state use of certain Arctic areas. These range from the unique treaty arrangements concerning Svalbard/Spitsbergen to the emerging voice of Greenland, which seems set to constitute a key test case of Arctic decolonization in the coming decades. This concise, yet informative, chapter sets the tone for the remainder of the book by demonstrating that Arctic issues have long been subject to a degree of improvisation and creativity to foster collaborative solutions.

Chapters 2 and 3 engage the more technical and politicized question of maritime boundaries in the Arctic. Chapter 2 discusses the negotiated settlements over many of the Arctic boundaries and demonstrates that a significant proportion of delimitation exercises in the region have been successfully concluded between the parties. Byers shows that accommodations have been reached in respect of natural resources in most cases – the exception being hydrocarbon arrangements between Canada and Denmark in the Lincoln Sea. Of potentially greater difficulty, however, is the position of the Beaufort Sea between the United States (US) and Canada, which has taken on further significance given the game-changing volume of hydrocarbon resources in this area. Chapter 3, which rewards careful reading, provides an extensive overview of the Beaufort Sea dispute and the legal positions of the respective parties, while also providing a learned review of recent delimitation practices and an insightful appraisal of the practical options that face the two parties in negotiating a pragmatic settlement.

On an allied note, Chapter 4 examines the controversial issue of extended continental shelves and the potential application of the complicated processes established under the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS)^{Footnote 24} to the Arctic seabed. This chapter is insightful in its own context, but also provides a highly accessible and useful review of practices of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) under the pertinent rules of the law of the sea.^{Footnote 25} In the Arctic, the position is complicated by the natural features of the seabed and Byers concludes that further cooperation between the states in question is likely to be necessary in fostering a workable solution to these claims.

Interstate cooperation and technical processes of the law of the sea are also a feature of strait navigation in the Arctic, as Byers explores in Chapter 5. Here, the vexed question of the regulatory ownership of particular stretches of water within the Arctic is examined. Byers provides an informed and informative account of the position of particular states and the various accommodations that may be reached between them. The chapter closes with an interesting discussion of the future role of Article 234 UNCLOS, which furnishes states with stronger jurisdictional powers to preserve the environment of ice-covered areas, and was inserted into the Convention with the Arctic explicitly in mind. Do these powers remain in situ when the ice retreats? What degree of ice coverage is necessary for an area to qualify as ice ‘covered’? As Byers suggests, it is likely that alternative legal bases may be necessary to protect these sensitive waterways as ice coverage clears and navigational routes start to become increasingly viable.

The latter section of the book moves to examine more the substantive topics of environmental protection, the role of indigenous peoples and the future of marine security in the region. Here, Byers introduces the issues relating to Arctic biodiversity and the vexed question of whaling (albeit with the curious omission of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO)),^{Footnote 26} fishing and shipping-related matters, and an excellent overview of the projected problems of hydrocarbon extraction, much of which is likely to affect areas populated by indigenous communities. The role of the many disparate Arctic peoples is considered in a fascinating Chapter 7, which introduces the reader to the complex issues raised in relation to sovereignty and self-determination and the uneasy question of the future role of these communities in Arctic governance. Finally, exploring questions about security in the Antarctic (as vividly illustrated by the recent controversy over the arrest of a range of activists, including those sailing with the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise, following the Prirazlomnaya oilrig protests), the book closes with a review of emerging challenges. Byers considers the threat posed by activists and terrorists to be relatively low, but the problems raised by search and rescue demands are likely to be a future cause for some concern.

Overall, International Law and the Arctic provides an excellent appraisal of the core issues facing the future regulation of this unique region and is an insightful, informative and highly accessible treatise on the subject. It has an engaging style, with personal vignettes woven into the wider narrative to illustrate that these questions are not merely abstract political matters, but instead affect a wide range of peoples in a variety of different jurisdictions. Not surprisingly, the book is especially strong on Canadian issues, but also provides views from other Arctic states and, in places, addresses the interests of non-Arctic states. The regulatory landscape of the region is shifting as swiftly and as unpredictably as its pack-ice and a number of difficult legal questions lie ahead. For those seeking a well-argued, comprehensive and rigorous appraisal of the core issues affecting the Arctic, Byers’ work ought to be highly recommended.