Study On Convention On The Legal Status Of The Caspian Sea

In order to develop and utilize the resources of the Caspian Sea and stabilize the order of the region,the five coastal countries carried out negotiations on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and other issues for 22 years.Finally,the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea was signed at the 5th Caspian Coast Heads of State Summit on August 12,2018.Based on the historical tradition,geographical features and political reality of the Caspian Sea region,as well as the current marine legal system and the international lake system.The Convention “determines” the special legal status of the Caspian Sea as “non-lake,non-sea,and lake-sea” by specifying relevant contents such as regional activities unique to the Caspian Sea,interconnected contents,division of waters and subsoil,common utilization,and submarine pipeline laying.This thesis explores the legal basis and political influence of the relevant provisions of the Convention through research on the content of the Convention.Secondly,the thesis analyzes the deficiencies in the content of the relevant provisions of the Convention and give suggestions on how to improve the disadvantages.Finally,the thesis summarizes the ingenious treatment of the Caspian Sea’s legal status by the Convention,and provides a reference for China to understand the Caspian Sea’s legal system framework after the signing of the Convention,which can help China to better participate in Caspian economic and trade cooperation,strengthen energy cooperation,and promote the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.From the perspective of the main content of the Convention,first of all,the convention stipulates comprehensive principles of activities in Caspian Sea,including safety,navigation,ecological environmental protection and other areas of activity.Among them,the Convention requires the establishment of political and military mutual trust internally,excludes foreign countries from interfering with other countries,and strengthens regional security cooperation,which is of great significance for maintaining the security and stability of the Caspian Sea region.Based on the types of navigational waters and ships,the Convention continues and develops the traditional Caspian navigation rules and promotes cooperation in transportation within and outside the region.Secondly,the provisions of the Convention on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea include not only the division of different Caspian waters and the seabed and subsoil,but also the scope of the rights and obligations of the parties,which is an important prerequisite for ensuring the distribution and development of Caspian resources.Thirdly,the Convention also gives the parties the right to lay submarine pipelines,and at the same time there are constrained by environmental protection requirements,which reconciled the opposing positions of pipeline laying,and satisfied the demands of oil and gas exports of the new Caspian countries.However,the “constitutional” framework convention is more the result of compromise by all parties.There are deficiencies such as too broad content provisions,inadequate interpretation of terms,and lack of technical provisions.There are many potential interpretation and application issues that lead to certain limitations of the Convention in guiding specific practices.The core issue of the legal status of the Caspian Sea is not directly stipulated in the Convention,and this issue should be drawn based on the analysis of the entire content of the Convention.From the definition of “Caspian Sea” in the Convention,the Caspian Sea activities and divisions that are closely related to the legal status of the Caspian Sea,it can be inferred that the Caspian Sea has a special legal status of“non-lake,non-sea,but both lake and sea”.Moreover,whether from the perspective of treaty inheritance or from the perspective of the previous treaty regarding the Caspian Sea,this special legal status has the basis of international law and the rationality of system integration.It can not only calm the dispute over the legal status of the Caspian Sea,but also fundamentally unify the legal basis of the relevant regulations of the Caspian Sea.The regulations ensure the overall consistency of the comprehensive Caspian legal system that the Convention attempts to build.The Convention not only has an important impact on the countries in the region,but also has an important impact on the countries outside the region.For China,it not only provides China with a more stable external environment,but also provides opportunities for China to cooperate with the Caspian countries in security and energy.However,with the high standard environmental protection requirements and the diversified trend of Caspian pipeline construction also bring China a certain challenge.In this regard,China should use the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a platform to strengthen security cooperation with Caspian countries,and use Caspian cooperation as a link to promote the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative,and make risk assessments and forecasts to prevent potential negative impacts.