西北航道法律争议涉及沿海国主权、管辖权与海洋大国航行自由之间的利益冲突。其核心问题是航道的法律地位，而航道的法律地位又与北极群岛水域法律性质紧密相连。加拿大与主张航行自由的美国、欧盟在此问题上各执一词。对于西北航道的法律性质，国内外学术界形成加拿大内水说、国际海峡说和客观折中说三种观点；学者提出的各种争议解决方案在论证其国际法理论依据时反映出较强的国家利益博弈色彩。航道的法律管制研究主要涉及环境保护、航行规则、《联合国海洋法公约》第234条冰封区域条款和以《北极水域污染防治法》为代表的加拿大国内立法的研究等方面。这些为未来更深入系统地研究西北航道法律问题奠定了良好的理论和实证研究基础。
Northwest Passage dispute involves the conflicts between sovereignty and jurisdiction of coastal states and navigation freedom of the marine powers. The legal status of the Passage is the key issue，which is closely related to the legal nature of the Arctic Archipelago waters. The United States and European Union hold different positions from Canada on this issue. Scholars have three different viewpoints，namely Canadian internal waters，international straits and the neutral approach. Despite the argumentation on specific legal basis，discussions about the dispute settlement reflect strong features of benefits equilibrium between states. Research on the legal regulation on the Northwest Passage includes environmental protection，shipping regulation，and Article 234 in the UNCLOS on both international level and Canadian domestic level. All these studies provide good theoretical and empirical basis for deeper research.
