Ensuring safety of maritime transport: current trends and conceptual generalizations of its international legal mechanism

Introduction

The aggravation of existing threats and the formation of new challenges puts the problems of legal provision of maritime security in significant positions in all corners of the Earth ^[24]. It is no coincidence that the global problem of maritime safety is a matter of serious concern to the world community ^[5]. It requires consolidated efforts by various States to combat illegal acts (the use of weapons, terrorism, piracy) that threaten the safety of people and property, seriously disrupt maritime traffic and undermine the faith of the peoples of the world in the safety of maritime navigation and the universal rule of international law ^[25].

Research in the field of knowledge of the modern mechanism of ensuring international maritime security has been conducted for a long time and has deep roots in the national school of jurisprudence. They extend to the methodological, theoretical and empirical levels of scientific research, focus both on the assessment of challenges and threats in this area, and on the characterization of existing international legal mechanisms.

Various threats to international maritime security are noted in the scientific literature, which include, first of all, maritime piracy and ship hijacking, the use of the sea for their own purposes by terrorists or private military companies (including those affiliated with individual States), smugglers, human traffickers, international criminal and extremist organizations, and sometimes even ordinary militaryby the maritime forces of States, if this is done contrary to existing international legal mechanisms.

We have recently observed an example of the implementation of a potential threat to maritime security in the case of the undermining of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, produced through the use of marine and underwater transport in order to realize the interests of a certain group of states.

The obvious diversity of legal institutions that make up the law of maritime security determines the complexity and nature of the international community's response to threats to such security. The law of maritime security has much in common with international humanitarian law (also called the law of armed conflict), for example, the problems of detention and the use of force at sea. Like issues related to the use of force and the geography of war in the law of armed conflict, the law of maritime security raises new issues of the exercise of law enforcement jurisdiction or the use of naval force in various areas of the oceans.

Modern threats come not only from international criminal organizations, non-State armed groups and rebel movements, but also acts of terrorism and military operations ^[3].

The variability and complexity of the nature of maritime threats and various measures to respond to them require an understanding of policies, regulations, national civil and criminal legislation of the participating States and international public law, and therefore actualize the issues of conceptualization of international legal regulation of maritime safety in this study.

Research methodology and a brief review of the literature

The methodology and methods of the author's research include appropriate methodological approaches used to generalize, study the essence and features of international legal regulation of safety in maritime transport, which include systemic (G.M. Aznagulova ^[2], Yu.A. Tikhomirov ^[17]), comparative legal (A.I. Kovler ^[10], T.Y. Khabrieva ^[22]) and dialectical (M.K. Mamardashvili ^[14], V.S. Stepin ^[16], I.T. Frolov ^[20], etc.) approaches.

The author uses diverse variations of analysis and synthesis of its results, analogy and comparison, generalization and concretization, functional cognition and deduction, abstraction, historical and formal legal methods as the main research methods.

Threats to maritime security, trends in its provision and problems of legal regulation in the field of safe navigation are issues that have been conceptualized in science and tested on practical examples (V.N. Gutsulyak ^[6], A.L. Kolodkin ^[11], I.V. Kholikov ^{[23; 26]}). Sufficient research attention was paid to the training of forces and means, as well as personnel of transport security agencies to perform tasks in marine conditions (A.N. Vylegzhanin ^[4], A.I. Zemlin ^[8], A.M. Skrynnik ^[15]). General theoretical aspects, economic constructs, regulatory prescriptions and law enforcement practice in the field of maritime transport safety have also been effectively summarized in the legal literature ^{[1; 7; 9; 12; 13; 18; 19; 27; 28]}. However, today there is no single or generally accepted definition of the concept of "maritime security", the definition of "maritime security law", as well as terminological certainty in understanding the definition of "maritime safety".

The author sees that in order to ensure safety in maritime transport from a legal and organizational point of view, it is necessary to reveal the formation of an international legal mechanism for ensuring safety in maritime transport, define the concept of an international legal mechanism for ensuring safety in maritime transport, summarize the characteristics of the main threats to safety in maritime transport, justify the right to ensure safety in maritime transport as an institution international maritime law, to present the results of an analysis of the established areas of maritime transport safety on the example of a particular region, to put forward proposals for improving international legislation in the field of maritime transport safety. The above provisions are the subject of this study.

The main part

The world ocean is primarily a resource and a function of spatial expansion, and its main use is as a means of transit and communication, therefore freedom of navigation is a fundamental maritime interest. In addition, the interconnected nature of the oceans and the important position of the doctrine of precedent in international law mean that international maritime law in one area as a law affects progress everywhere. Unlike a replenished but diminishing resource such as seafood and fish, the value of a spatial resource does not decrease as more and more real users use it and exploit it along appropriate sea routes.

Maritime transportation is the most in-demand mode of transport, which requires appropriate provision for the performance of transport clusters of their functions, including the creation and proper widespread use of international legal documents that regulate the activities of maritime transport and safety on it. Maritime transport is important not only in the international segment of the transportation and delivery component of the global economy and politics. Maritime transport also plays a key role in the domestic arena, as it ensures the modern development of the economy, the creation and availability of an appropriate number of jobs, as well as the successful and expeditious movement of a huge number of goods and passengers.

Ensuring safety in maritime transport and the organization of work on such provision is based on the dialectical interaction of international and national legislation, the implementation and mutual penetration of their norms into each other. Such provision is also connected not only with the existence of legal norms, but also with their conscientious implementation by all participants in international relations. Although examples of selective enforcement, including the norms of the law of the sea, have recently been observed everywhere.

The formation of a modern international legal mechanism for regulating relations in the field of maritime transport safety based on the application of the periodization criterion (and related criteria: temporary, organizational, regulatory) can be conditionally divided into three interrelated stages: initial; post-war and modern periods.

The characteristics of the key threats to international security in maritime transport include their illegality, anthropogenic nature, and technogenicity. They come from entities that can be divided by source into State (terrorism, military threats) and non-State (piracy, terrorism, transnational crime, illegal trade, environmental pollution), as well as historical (stocks and remnants of weapons and ammunition on the seabed, national conflicts in maritime territories). In order to increase the effectiveness of preventive measures to prevent crimes committed on ships, it is necessary to take into account not only the norms of national law, but also international maritime and criminal law, as well as trends in political and foreign economic activity of States. Recent military and political events are exacerbating the confrontation of "key" international players and have a tendency to intensify the struggle for influence in certain regions of the world.

It cannot be said that today the definition of the concept of "international maritime security" would be successfully conceptualized in international legal science. This term is interpreted as a state of stable order of the oceans, ensured by the supremacy of international maritime law. It should be noted that threats to international maritime security include, first of all, maritime piracy and ship hijacking, the use of the sea for their own purposes by terrorists, smugglers, human traffickers, international criminal and extremist organizations, and sometimes even ordinary naval forces of States. Threats also include intentional and illegal damage to the marine environment, intentional or illegal dumping of pollutants, illegal and unregulated fishing, and others.

The rules, regimes and norms applicable to maritime safety activities and when using transport moving along it are the subject of maritime safety law. Maritime security law is a comprehensive institution of law that combines mainly elements of international maritime law, international criminal law, international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Maritime security law also includes aspects of national and international migration, trade and customs law.

Such a variety of legal institutions that make up the law of maritime security determine how to respond to various threats. Maritime security law has much in common with international humanitarian law (also called the law of armed conflict), for example, the problems of detention and the use of force.

The legal mechanism for ensuring international security in maritime transport is understood as a set of established (ratified) legal norms, the procedure (algorithm) defined by these norms for their implementation in objective reality, as well as the practice of their application, especially in bringing to justice for violations of maintaining the security of maritime transport facilities.

Like issues related to the use of force and the geography of war in the law of armed conflict, the law of maritime security raises new issues of the exercise of law enforcement jurisdiction or the use of naval force in various areas of the oceans. Modern threats come not only from international criminal organizations, non-State armed groups and rebel movements, but also acts of terrorism, as well as military actions by individual countries, their unions or associations of countries.

The maritime security system includes a system of independent transport security, formed within the transport cluster, law enforcement agencies, the armed forces, as well as individual structures and services performing specific functions. The naval forces, coast Guard, marine police, coastal and maritime forces are joined by ground and air elements of the combined armed forces, other departments and agencies, including oceanographic and fisheries services, the intelligence community and international partners. The variability and complexity of the nature of maritime threats and the various responses to them require an understanding of the policies, regulations, national civil and criminal legislation of the participating States and public international law. Maritime security law includes legal powers to counter traditional and conventional threats, as well as irregular or asymmetric threats directed against the territorial integrity or political independence of flag States, ports, coastal States and landlocked States.

Conclusion

The nature of maritime threats and the complex of organizational and legal measures taken by the international community to counteract them require comprehensive research and scientific understanding of international legal regulation of maritime transport safety.

An effective way, means and ideology in the fight against criminal encroachments against maritime transport and its support nodes is the development, adoption and comprehensive application of international legal norms, which together form the international legal framework for ensuring maritime security. These norms are a process, a means and the result of long-term efforts of the consolidated functioning of civilized humanity, having patterns of their development and socio-historical conditionality.

The organization of maritime transport safety requires consolidated efforts of the international community, primarily in the observance, implementation and development of the norms of international law governing this sphere of social interaction. The world's oceans, seas and shipping lanes can only be used effectively and legally together, while maintaining a balance of interests and values protected by international law. Maritime transport safety is an essential part of ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation, since a huge amount of necessary goods are delivered only by sea.