The dispute between Ukraine and the Russian Federation has its origins in the events of 2014, when the Russian Federation assumed effective control over the Crimean Peninsula and the maritime areas adjacent to it. As a result of these developments, Russia began to exercise coastal state rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, managing natural resources, fishing activities, marine scientific research and infrastructure projects in the region. Ukraine considered that these activities infringed its rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and decided to invoke the compulsory dispute settlement mechanism provided for in Annex VII to the Convention.

The arbitral award analysed in this study produces binding legal effects exclusively between the parties to the dispute, namely Ukraine and the Russian Federation, in accordance with the legal regime applicable to arbitral proceedings conducted pursuant to Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Consequently, the tribunal’s findings do not create direct legal obligations for other states and do not automatically alter their rights or obligations. However, the significance of such an award clearly extends beyond the strictly bilateral framework of the dispute. Through the interpretations it offers regarding the jurisdiction of UNCLOS, the relationship between territorial disputes and the law of the sea, obligations to protect the marine environment, due diligence standards and the duty of cooperation between coastal states, the decision contributes to the development of international case law and to the clarification of norms likely to influence the behaviour of other states and international organisations. From this perspective, its legal effects are limited, but its doctrinal, strategic and geopolitical implications are considerably broader.