International legal status of energy sector objects in the aspect of anti-terrorism protection: rights and obligations of the state

The article is devoted to the study of the international legal status of fuel and energy complex facilities in terms of their anti-terrorist protection against the backdrop of increasing threats to critical infrastructure and the transnational nature of modern terrorist activities. The aim of the research is to identify the content and structure of this status through the analysis of the rights and obligations of states as primary subjects of international law responsible for ensuring the safety of energy infrastructure. The article substantiates that the facilities of the fuel and energy complex do not possess independent international legal personality, which means that their international legal status is indirect and is realized through the state's competence in defining critical infrastructure, implementing physical and cyber protection measures, as well as participating in international mechanisms for cooperation and information exchange. Key rights of states are highlighted, including the right to international protection of infrastructure, access to collective security mechanisms, and information interaction, as well as the main obligations related to the implementation of security standards, preventing terrorist and cyber threats, and fulfilling international reporting and cooperation obligations. Special attention is paid to the international legal regulation of the protection of nuclear energy facilities, where the most developed complex of contractual and institutional mechanisms to counter terrorism has been formed. The conclusion is made about the formation of a specialized international legal sub-regime for nuclear safety, serving as a model for further development of the regulation of anti-terrorist protection of other fuel and energy complex facilities. The research employs the following scientific methods: formal-legal, systemic, and comparative-legal methods. The scientific novelty of the study lies in substantiating the indirect nature of the international legal status of fuel and energy complex facilities, which is implemented through a combination of rights and obligations of states as primary subjects of international law responsible for ensuring the safety of critical energy infrastructure. The study proposes a structural model of this status, including a system of international rights of states related to ensuring infrastructure protection and participation in international cooperation mechanisms, as well as corresponding obligations to implement standards for physical, organizational, and cyber protection. Additionally, it is substantiated that the most developed international legal regime for anti-terrorist protection has been established in the field of nuclear energy, allowing it to be considered a model for further development of the regulation of safety for non-nuclear fuel and energy complex facilities and the formation of universal approaches to protecting critical infrastructure.