In contemporary Arctic, there are numerous specific issues, i.e. theories on how to delineate jurisdictional boundaries, regulatory codes to deal with ameliorated commercial shipping, regulations on how to prepare for the possibility of oil spills under Arctic conditions, rules to impose on tour operators and so forth. In short, it is apparent that there is no scarcity of legal framework for the Arctic zone; however, those legal frameworks are likely to give rise to vigorous debates that result in decisions that may well have significant impacts on human activities in the circumpolar north. Underlying such debates, however, are in-depth or broader issues circulating the legal frameworks the Arctic members have employed to operate in specific environmental situations. What has been left out is the inescapable truth that the doors of the Arctic are opening up and any door that is open in the ocean is bound to be utilized by the shipping industry for commercial advantage. The Arctic anticipates an era of ‘high politics’ marked by aggressive assertion of jurisdictional claims, increasing competition for control and rights over the Arctic’s natural resources, a remilitarization of the region, and more or less frequent clashes among leading states active in the Arctic.