Legal Protection of the Ecosystems of the Caspian Sea: International and Comparative Legal Aspects.

The article discusses the international legal status of the Caspian Sea and analyzes the provisions of the current instruments of international law entered into by Russia and the other Caspian littoral states (Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan). The authors study the provisions of the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran, November 4, 2003) and the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea (Aktau, August 12, 2018), express a number of constructive suggestions for the further development of the international cooperation between the Caspian littoral countries, including the establishment of an intergovernmental coordination body, and propose its powers for discussion. Since the implementation of international instruments involves the development of national legislation, the authors of the article conduct a comparative legal study of environmental legal acts of the five Caspian littoral states and identify their similarities and differences as well as advantages and disadvantages of the national approaches to the protection of the Caspian. They note that the international instruments aimed at regulating the use and protection of the natural resources of the Caspian do not mention the goal of joint movement of the Caspian littoral states to the transition to green economy standards and the objectives of sustainable development are formulated in them in a formal way. The authors substantiate the reasonability of developing model laws for the Caspian littoral states, which will consolidate their efforts to protect the nature of the Caspian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]