Problems of Cooperation between the Caspian States: Investment and Legal Aspects

Aim. The presented study aims to substantiate the objective need for legal regulation of interaction between the Caspian states in the development of Caspian resources as a starting point for balanced economic cooperation.

Tasks. The authors develop baselines for analyzing the state of economic cooperation between the Caspian Five countries, laws and regulations adopted by the Caspian states to regulate interaction in the Caspian Sea; analyze the impact of the current legal regulator of relations on the possibility, nature, and directions of cooperation between the Caspian states in the investment sphere and key sectors (energy, trade, transport, etc.).

Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition in various aspects to substantiate approaches to analyzing the legal framework of Caspian economic cooperation, identify key problems of regulating the rights of the Caspian Five states as owners of the Caspian Sea, and propose major directions for solving these problems.

Results. Analysis of laws and regulations governing the interaction between the Caspian Five states in the usage of the Caspian Sea and its resources in the context of the current stage of development of their relations shows the uncertainty of the legal status of the Caspian Sea to be the main reason for economic problems in the cooperation between the Caspian states. The identified problems determine the selection of approaches to the formation of the fundamentals of legal regulation of interaction between the Caspian states and their application to determining the content of such concepts as “the Caspian Sea as an object of law”, “legal status of the Caspian Sea”, and the principles of formation of norms regulating the legal status of the Caspian Sea serving as the main missing elements of the legal framework of cooperation between the Caspian states – the owners of the Caspian Sea and its resources.

Conclusions. Establishing the legal status of the Caspian Sea has become one of the main goals and at the same time a major problem of interaction between the Caspian states in the investment sphere, energy, trade, and transport infrastructure since their unification into the five co-owners of the Caspian Sea. This problem has not been resolved to this day.

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