CONTROVERSIAL AREAS AND LEGAL STATUS IN THE ARCTIC IN THE CONTEXT OF BASIC SOVEREIGNTY AREAS IN THE MARITIME LAW

There are many regions in the world where there are problems and disputes. One of them is the Arctic. Unfavorable geographical conditions have kept the region away from the hegemonic sharing of global forces until recently. However, in addition to technological developments, environmental factors such as climate change have incorporated the Arctic region into the agenda of global struggle. Arctic, which is one of the last geographies not shared in the world, is being spoken today especially with the claim of sovereignty of the five common coastal countries. There is no special treaty or regulation regulating the legal status of the North Pole for today. The coastal states are based on the 1982 UNCLOS for the resolution of disputes in the region. The most important problem in the region is the problem of determining the boundaries of the continental shelfs of the common coastal countries. In this context, the four countries other than the United States, have applied to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, requesting the extension of their 200 mile continental shelfs to 350 miles, and the applications have not yet been tied up. In this study firstly the basic concepts related to maritime law are explained. Later on, it was tried to explain the conflict areas in the region and their legal status