Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region in the Light of International Law

Yearbook of Polar Law

Volumn 2, Issue , 2010, Pages 279-309

  Hasanat, Md Waliul ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF RAJSHAHI   (Bangladesh)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LAPLAND   (Finland)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84874354713     PISSN: 18768814     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book Series    
DOI: 10.1163/22116427-91000039     Document Type: Article

References (156)

1. The Cooperation has introduced the concept of the Barents Region, which initially included the county of Lapland in Finland, the counties of Finnmark, Troms, and Nordland in Norway, “the counties of Murmansk and Archangel in Russia,” and the county of Norrbotten in Sweden. Declaration, Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Conference of Foreign Ministers, adopted in the First and Founding Session of the Barents Euro Arctic Council, Kirkenes, Norway, 11 January 1993, “Participation and area of application.” http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/459_doc_KirkenesDeclaration.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009). Later on the region expanded with the inclusion of the Republic of Karelia, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and the Republic of Komi in the Russian Federation, and Kainu, Oulu, and the Vasterbotton Regions.
2. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations 1986, signed in Vienna, Austria 21 March 1986, not yet in force; International Legal Materials 25 (1986):543.
3. See also Jan Klabbers, An Introduction to International Institutional Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 203;
4. Josef L. Kunz, “General International Law and the Law of International Organizations,” The American Journal of Int'l Law 47 (1953):456-462.
5. Timo Koivurova, Environmental Impact Assessment in the Arctic: A Study of International Legal Norms (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2002), 125.
6. See, e.g., Oran R. Young, “Institutional Linkages in International Society: Polar Perspectives,” Global Governance 2 (1996):1-24.
7. Pertti Joenniemi, “The Barents, Baltic and Nordic Projects: A Comparative Analysis,” in The Barents Region Revisited, ed. Geir Flikke (Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 1998), 9-23.
8. John M. Kvistad, The Barents Spirit: The process of regionalization and Norwegian foreign policy in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (Oslo: University of Oslo Press, 1994).
9. Frank Möller and Samu Pehkonen, “Discursive Landscapes of the European North,” in Encountering the North:Cultural Geography, International Relations and Northern Landscapes, eds. Frank Möller and Samu Pehkonen (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003), 1-30.
10. Mark Monsma,“Winds of Change within the Barents Organization: An Institutional Analysis of Transnational Regionalization in the North,” (Working Paper No. 10, Umeå: CERUM, 1995).
11. Nils Orvik, “Nordic Cooperation and High Politics,” International Organization 28 (1974), 61-88.
12. Alexander A. Sergounin, “The Barents Regional Cooperation and the Russian Security Discourse,” in The Barents Region Revisited, ed. Geir Flikke (Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 1998), 48.
13. Ulf Wiberg, “Cooperation in the Barents Region,” in The Barents Region: Security and Economic Development in the European North, eds. Jan Å. Dellenbrant and Mats Olsson (Umeå: CERUM, 1994), 27-39.
14. Nils A. Engstad, “Developing the Barents Sea Region: Opportunities and Risks,” in The Barents Region: Security and Economic Development in the European North, eds. Jan Å. Dellenbrant and Mats Olsson (Umeå: CERUM, 1994), 21-23.
15. Johan Eriksson, “Security in the Barents Region: Interpretations and Implications of the Norwegian Barents Initiative,” (Working Paper No. 5, Umeå: CERUM, 1995).
16. See, however, Md Waliul Hasanat, “Definitional Constraints Regarding Soft Law,” AALCO Quarterly Bulletin 3 (2007):28-30
17. S.G. Sreejith, “Subjective Environmentalism: The Barents Euro - Arctic Council and Its Climate Policy,” in Climate Governance in the Arctic, eds. Timo Koivurova, Karina Keskitalo and Nigel Bankes (United Kingdom: Springer, 2009), 383-402.
18. Supra note 1. For a brief history of the BEAC, see: Finnish Barents Group Oy and Others, Barents:The Barents Euro Arctic Council (Helsinki: Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1996), 1-18.
19. The Kirkenes Declaration, “Participation and area of application.” Supra note 1. See also note 8, Section 2.
20. Terms of Reference for the Council of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, adopted by the Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Conference of Foreign Ministers, Kirkenes, Norway, 11 January 1993. The Terms of Reference were set forth in the Annex to the Kirkenes Declaration, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs_tmp/460_doc_AnnextotheKirkenesDeclaration.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
21. The Kirkenes Declaration, “Participation and area of application,” supra note 1.
22. Supra note 8, Section 6.
23. The Council includes representatives of the member governments and the European Commission (EC).
24. The year 1997 was exceptional in that there was no Ministerial Meeting.
25. Section 5.
26. Supra note 8, Section 9.
27. Barents Euro-Arctic 10 Year Anniversary Declaration, Kirkenes, Norway, 11 January 2003, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/462_doc_BarentsSummitDeclaration.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
28. The Ministers of the Environment met for the first time in 1994 in Bodø, where they adopted the Barents Euro-Arctic Council Environmental Action Program, followed thereafter by meetings of the Ministers of the Environment in Rovaniemi in 1995, St. Petersburg in 1997, Umeå in 1999, Kirkenes in 2001, Luleå in 2003, Rovaniemi in 2005, and Moscow in 2007. Ministers responsible for other important fields (culture, youth and sports, etc.) also meet occasionally.
29. For instance, their commitment to the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, Millennium Development Goals, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
30. Section 11.
31. “Observer States of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council,” http://www.barentsinfo.org/?deptid=25893 (accessed December 31, 2008).
32. The Protocol Agreement from the Statutory Meeting of the Regional Council of the Barents Region (the Euro-Arctic Region) adopted by the Regional Council of the Barents Region, Kirkenes, 11 January 1993, see, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/501_doc_StatutoryMeetingRegionalCouncil.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
33. Andrei Kozyrev, “Visions of the Authors of the Barents Euro Arctic Region Cooperation - Past and Future,” in Europe's Northern Dimension: the BEAR Meets the South, eds. Lassi Heininen and Richard Langlais (Rovaniemi: University of Lapland Press, 1997), 45;
34. see also Johan Jorgen Holst, “The Barents Region: Institutions, Cooperation and Prospects,” in The Barents Region: Cooperation in Arctic Europe, eds. Olav Schram Stokke and Ola Tunander (London: SAGE Publications, Ltd., 1994), 11-24.
35. The founding members of the BRC are: Archangelsk County (Oblast'), Finnmark County Council (Fylkeskommune), Lapland County (Län), Murmansk County (Oblast'), Nordland County Council (Fylkeskommune), Norrbottens County (Län), the Saami Council, and Troms County Council (Fylkeskommune).
36. Supra note 21, Section 4.
37. Supra note 21, Section 9.
38. The Republic of Karelia joined the BRC in 1993, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug in 1996, the Kainu, Oulu and Vasterbotton Regions in 1998, and the Republic of Komi in 2002.
39. Towards More Effective Regional Barents Cooperation, report prepared by the Ad-Hoc Group on Organisational Changes 14 May 2007, 5, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/Ad-Hoc_Group_Report_ENG.pdf (accessed December 28, 2009).
40. Supra note 21, Section 4.
41. Signatories of the Protocol Agreement.
42. Protocol Agreement, Supra note 21, Section 4.
43. Supra note 27.
44. For instance, see supra note 27, 11 and 19.
45. It includes the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of further exploitation of forest resources.
46. “Forest Sector Task Force,” http://www.beac.st/?deptid=26056 (accessed December 31, 2009).
47. “Working Group on Customs Cooperation,” http://www.barentsinfo.org/?Deptid=25673 (accessed December 31, 2009).
48. “Working Group on Environment,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25674 (accessed December 31, 2009).
49. The AMAP/NEFCO Hot Spot list shows 42 serious environmental challenges in NorthWest Russia. The Environment Ministers have agreed to counter those challenges with a view to eliminating all hot spots in the Barents Region.
50. “Working Group on Youth Policy”, http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25710 (accessed December 31, 2009).
51. The Conclusion of the Barents Euro-Arctic Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth Policy Murmansk, 23-24 September 2009, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/Declaration-Youth-Minister-Conference2009.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
52. The identification of transport corridors on the European scale began in a conference in Crete in 1994. The third Pan-European Transport Conference in Helsinki in 1997 introduced the Barents Region into EU transport cooperation as a transport area.
53. Development of the transport infrastructure in the BEATA region, 24 April 2008 in Murmansk, Russia.
54. Agreement between the Governments in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region on Cooperation within the Field of Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response, Moscow, December 11, 2008, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/Agreement_Emergency_Prevention_Preparedness_and_Response_English.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
55. “Regional Working Group on Environment,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25685 (accessed December 31, 2009).
56. Report from the Regional Working Group on Environment to the Environment Ministers of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Lulea, August 28th, 2003, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/RWGE_report_Lulea_20030828.pd (accessed December 31, 2009).
57. The Pechenganikel industrial complex is located on the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia. However, emissions from the complex pollute a large area in neighboring countries as well. For a detailed description, see the Pazvik Program project 'Co-operation project between the environmental authorities and researchers in the three countries (2003-2006),' http://www.pasvikmonitoring.org/english/index_en.html (accessed December 31, 2009).
58. The Barents Euro-Arctic Council Regional Working Group on Environment Action Program 2007-2010. For the Action program see, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/RWGE_Action_Program2007-2010.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
59. “Regional Working Group on Communication,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25686 (accessed December 29, 2009).
60. “Regional Working Group on Youth Issues,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25687 (accessed December 27, 2009).
61. “Regional Working Group on Investment and Economic Cooperation,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25688 (accessed December 31, 2009).
62. See Section 11 of the Terms of Reference and the Joint Statement of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in the Second Session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Tromsø, Norway 14-15 September 1994, Part B: Regional Activities.
63. Kozyrev, supra note 22, 45;
64. see also Holst, supra note 22, 11-24.
65. The BEAC Bodø meeting of 4-5 March 1999 established the following priorities: combating new and re-emerging infectious diseases, supporting reproductive health care and child health care, counteracting lifestyle-related health problems, improving services for indigenous people, and improving the quality of medical services. However, it gave special attention to projects focusing on children. The Barents Euro-Arctic Council, BEAC Working Group on Health and Related Social Issues, Co-operation Programme on Health and Related Social Issues in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region 2008-2011, Section 1.1, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/JWGHS+Program+2008-2011.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
66. The mandate of the WGHS is to: 1). prepare and monitor multilateral actions in each of the three priority areas, 2). ensure co-ordination with other international initiatives in the Barents Region, 3). support the development of targeted sub-programmes on prioritized issues and concrete project proposals, 4). keep in touch with national and international donors in order to obtain funding, including combined funding from multiple sources, 5) organise evaluation of the co-operation by competent and suitable external institution, and 6) report to the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, BEAC. See supra note 57, Section 2.7.2.
67. The mandate of the WGHS is to: 1). prepare and monitor multilateral actions in each of the three priority areas, 2). ensure co-ordination with other international initiatives in the Barents Region, 3). support the development of targeted sub-programmes on prioritized issues and concrete project proposals, 4). keep in touch with national and international donors in order to obtain funding, including combined funding from multiple sources, 5) organise evaluation of the co-operation by competent and suitable external institution, and 6) report to the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, BEAC. See supra note 57, Section 2.7.3.
68. Terms of Reference, Working Group on Education and Research, approved by the BEAC/CSO and the Barents Regional Committee (10 June 2004), Committee of Senior Officials Information Document Doc. BEAC.CSO.2004.27 (22 June 2004), “Background”, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs_tmp/5198_doc_CSO.2004.27ToRWGER.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
69. “Education and Research,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25681 (accessed December 31, 2009).
70. Supra note 63.
71. “Composition and chairmanship of the WGER.”
72. Supra note 63, “Composition and chairmanship of the WGER.”
73. 'Method of Work.'
74. The University of the Arctic. For detailed information about the U-Arctic see, www.uarctic.com/.
75. Terms of Reference, Working Group on Education and Research, supra note 63, 'Duration.'
76. The annual progress report for the proceeding year must be submitted by 1 February of each year.
77. New Terms of Reference were approved by the CSO and the RC on 20 and 31 December 2004, respectively. See: BEAC Working Groups and Task Forces: Annual Reports (2006), Committee of Senior Official Information Document, Doc.BEAC.CSO.2007.2 (2 February 2007), 33. For this report see, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/CSO2007.2+WG+annualreports2006.pdf (accessed December 28, 2009).
78. “Working Group on Energy,” http://www.barentsinfo.org/?Deptid=25682 (accessed December 30, 2009).
79. Its priorities are: promotion of the activities of the Barents Energy Focal Points; further development, implementation and maintenance of the Barents information and communication concept; improvements in the efficiency of energy production, distribution and consumption in the Barents Region; project financing; promotion of the use of bio energy in northwest Russia; further work on the use of Joint Implementation and the other Kyoto mechanisms; and co-ordination with other relevant initiatives.
80. http://www.barentsenergy.org/stem/smpage.fwx?smlanguage=RUS (accessed December 31, 2009).
81. “The Joint Working Group on Culture,” http://www.beac.st/?Deptid=25684 (accessed December 30, 2009).
82. “Working Group of Indigenous Peoples,” http://www.barentsinfo.org/?Deptid=26084 (accessed December 26, 2009).
83. Supra note 77.
84. Towards More Effective Regional Barents Cooperation, supra note 27, 13-14.
85. The Kirkenes Declaration, supra note 1, “Indigenous peoples.”
86. Terms of Reference for the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, Section 4b. The English version of the Terms of Reference is available in the Action Plan of Indigenous Peoples 2005-2008, Appendix 2, p. 31, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/11934_doc_IPActionPlan2005-2008_English.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
87. Supra note 81, Section 4c.
88. Supra note 81, section 6.
89. “Working Group of Indigenous Peoples.” Supra note 77.
90. Action Plan for Indigenous Peoples in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region 2009-2012 adopted by the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (WGIP), Tromsø, January 21, 2009, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/WGIP_Action_Plan_2009-2012_ENG.pdf (accessed December 28, 2009).
91. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Finland, the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden on the Establishment of an International Barents Secretariat for the Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, signed on 15 November 2007, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/IBS_Agr_signed.pdf (accessed December 22, 2009).
92. Host Country Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the International Barents Secretariat for the Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region on the Legal Status of the Secretariat and the Privileges and Immunities of the Secretariat and its Permanent Staff Members, concluded in Rovaniemi, Finland, 15 November 2007, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/IBS_Host_Country_Final_Eng.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
93. Terms of Reference for an International Barents Secretariat for the Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, adopted by the Barents Regional Council on 6 September 2007, Tromsø, Norway and by the Committee of Senior Officials of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council on 9 October 2007, Helsinki, Finland, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/TOR_IBS.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
94. Financial and Staff Rules of the International Barents Secretariat adopted by the CSO on 16 September 2008, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/IBS_Financial+Staff_Rules_16_September_2008_final.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
95. Towards More Effective Regional Barents Cooperation, supra note 27, 6-7.
96. The declaration begins with an introduction. It has several separate parts: the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and its objectives, participation and area of application, the environment, economic cooperation, scientific and technical cooperation, regional infrastructure, indigenous peoples, human contacts and cultural relations, and tourism. However, none of the parts contains sufficient commitments to create legal obligations.
97. Rio Declaration on Environment and Development adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro 3-14 June 1992. UN Doc. A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. I); International Legal Materials 31 (1992):874.
98. Chapter 26 of Agenda 21, “Recognizing and Strengthening the Role of Indigenous People and their Communities.”
99. The Kirkenes Declaration, supra note 1, “The Barents Euro-Arctic Council and its Objectives” and “Indigenous Peoples.”
100. The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, 22 September 1992, entered into force 25 March 1998; International Legal Materials 32 (1993):1069.
101. The Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (the EIA Convention), signed on 25 February 1991, entered into force in 1997; International Legal Materials 30 (1991):802.
102. The Kirkenes Declaration, supra note 1, “The Environment” and “Economic Cooperation.”
103. Terms of Reference, Section 7 reads: “The participant hosting a meeting of the Council will bear the costs related to conference services, premises and interpretation.”
104. Section 13 reads: “Participation in the Council will not in any way infringe on any international obligation, be it of a legal or a political nature, undertaken by any of the participating states.”
105. Supra note 8, Section 8.
106. Supra note 8, Section. 5.
107. Section 11.
108. Barents Summit Declaration on the Occasion of the Barents Euro-Arctic 10 Year Anniversary, Kirkenes, Norway, 11 January 2003, http://www.beac.st/_upl/doc/568_doc_Joint%20Communiqué%20eng.doc (accessed December 23, 2009).
109. Examples of words in this category are 'recognizes,' 'takes note of,' 'encourages enhanced cooperation,' 'expresses its appreciation,' 'welcomes,' 'appreciates the activities,' and 'notes the active role.'
110. Examples are 'continues to pay special attention,' 'underlines the need to address,' 'emphasizes the importance,' 'commends the enhanced cooperation,' 'believes that,' and so on.
111. Examples of words showing the intention of doing something are 'supports efforts to further improve,' 'stresses the urgent need to affirm,' 'Parties should,' 'reaffirms its willingness,' and 'considers the application of.'
112. Agreement, supra note 86.
113. Articles 8-9.
114. Host Country Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the International Barents Secretariat for the Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region on the Legal Status of the Secretariat and the Privileges and Immunities of the Secretariat and its Permanent Staff Members, concluded in Rovaniemi, Finland 15 November 2007, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/IBS_Host_Country_Final_Eng.pdf (accessed December 31, 2009).
115. Article 2 reads: “The Secretariat shall possess a legal personality in Norway. It shall have such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its functions and the fullfilment [sic] of its purposes, including the capacity to contract, to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property and to institute and participate in legal proceedings.”
116. Article 5.
117. Article 7(2) reads: “The premises and the property and assets of the Secretariat in Norway shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference whether by executive, administrative, judicial or legislative action.”
118. Supra note 110, Article 4.
119. The Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations, Vienna, Austria signed 18 April 1961, entered into force 24 April 1964;
120. United Nations Treaty System 95;
121. The Vienna Conventions on Consular Relations, Vienna, Austria signed 24 April 1963, entered into force 19 March 1967;
122. United Nations Treaty System 262.
123. Supra note 44.
124. As declared by the Chair of the BEAC: “In December 2008, the first intergovernmental agreement in the history of the BEAC, on cooperation in emergency prevention, preparedness and response, was signed in Moscow. As a follow on to it, extensive international training exercises, Barents Rescue 2009, were held in the Murmansk Region this past September.” See the Agenda of the XII Session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Murmansk, 15 October 2009, 3, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/All_Documents_of_the_XII_Session_of_BEAC.pdf (accessed December 29, 2009).
125. Mr. Bjarne Store-Jakobsen, Chair of the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples, reported to the BEAC in the XII Session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Murmansk, 15 October 2009, 22. For the minutes see, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/All_Documents_of_the_XII_Session_of_BEAC.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
126. According to international law, only states are able to conclude an international treaty. See the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Vienna, 22 May 1969, entered into force 27 January 1980;
127. 1155 United Nations Treaty Series 331;
128. International Legal Materials 8 (1969): 679, Articles 2 (a) and 2(g).
129. Section 4.
130. Section 5.
131. Action Plan, supra note 85, Section 4.1.
132. General Assembly Resolution No. 61/295 of 13 September 2007.
133. Resolution A/RES/59/174 of 22 December 2004.
134. Action Plan, supra note 85, Section 4.1.
135. ICJ Practice Direction XII (July 30, 2004), http://www.icj-cij.org/presscom/index.php?p1=6&p2=1&pr=94&search=%22soulev%E9es%22 (accessed December 31, 2009). The
136. Direction permits an NGO on its own initiative to submit a document or statement relating to an advisory opinion which will be placed in a designated location in the Peace Palace. According to Steve Charnovitz, these types of papers will be treated as a readily available publication and may be referred to by states and international organisations in the same manner as publications in the public domain, although they will not be considered as part of the case file. Steve Charnovitz, “Nongovernmental Organizations and International Law,” American Journal of Int'l Law 100 (2006):353.
137. The Union of International Associations (UIA), established in 1907, and the International Law Association, founded in 1873, began to promote legal personality for international NGOs in 1910. Institut de droit international, Draft Convention Relating to the Legal Position of International Associations (1923);
138. reprinted in International Association Statute Series 1 (1988). See also James Brown Scott, “The Institute of International Law,” American Journal of Int'l Law 17 (1923):751, and 753-756.
139. Charnovitz, supra note 126, 354.
140. Harold K. Jacobson and Edith Brown Weiss, “Assessing the Record and Designing Strategies to Engage Countries,” in Engaging Countries: strengthening compliance with international environmental accords, eds. Harold K. Jacobson and Edith Brown Weiss (USA: MIT Press, 1998), 511, 527, 529, and 533.
141. Abram Chayes and Antonia Handler Chayes, The New Sovereignty: compliance with international regulatory agreements (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1998), 250-251.
142. International law defines an international organisation as: “An association of States established by and based upon a treaty, which pursues common aims and which has its own special organs to fulfill particular functions within the organization.” See Rudolf Bernhardt ed. Encyclopedia of Public International Law: Regional Cooperation, Organizations and Problems (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1983), 120.
143. For instance, if they do not perform their duties or submit reports regularly.
144. Financial and Staff Rules of the International Barents Secretariat, supra note 90.
145. Section 4.3 says: “The Parties shall make their assessed contributions available to the Secretariat by 31st March each year.”
146. Towards More Effective Regional Barents Cooperation, supra note 27, 11-12.
147. The Cooperation Programme of WGHS, Section 1.2.
148. Towards More Effective Regional Barents Cooperation, supra note 27, 18.
149. Towards More Effective Regional Barents Cooperation, supra note 27, 27.
150. Since the creation of the Cooperation, the two individual bodies have never fallen into confrontation, as explained in the BEAC Joint Communiqué: “The Council underlines that the International Barents Secretariat (IBS) should be utilized to improve the coherence, efficiency and the continuity of the BEAC and BRC cooperation and strengthen the effectiveness of their sectoral and intersectoral work.” Joint Communiqué of the 11th session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Rovaniemi 14-15 November 2007, Paragraph 31. See, http://www.barentsinfo.fi/beac/docs/JointCommunique11thBEACSession151107.pdf (accessed December 30, 2009).
151. As Schermers and Blokker describe: “A rule of thumb is that, while states are free to act as long as this is in accordance with international law (which may prescribe or proscribe state activities), international organizations are competent to act only as far as powers have been attributed to them by the member states.” See Henry G. Schermers and Niels M. Blokker, International Institutional Law (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 2004), 141.
152. See Koivurova, supra note 3, 125.
153. See, http://arctic-council.org (accessed December 31, 2009).
154. Dissenting opinion of Judge Read, Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. Case [1952] ICJ Rep.93 (United Kingdom v. Iran), 144.
155. Dissenting opinion of Judge A. Alvarez, supra note 143, 125.
156. Supra note 144, 124-125.