Mechanisms of International Legal Regulation of Transboundary Pipeline Projects in the Caspian Region

The Caspian region contains huge reserves of oil and gas. The complexity of implementing transboundary pipeline projects along the bottom of the Caspian Sea is associated not only with the special legal status of this body of water, but also with the different interests and political and legal positions of the Caspian and non-Caspian states. The main objective of the paper is to identify and assess the international legal mechanisms regulating the construction and operation of transboundary pipelines in the Caspian region. The scientific novelty of the work lies in identifying gaps and problems in the application of the provisions of the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea concerning pipelines, as well as in a comprehensive comparative legal analysis of the provisions of international treaties regulating the construction and operation of such transboundary pipelines in the Caspian region as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines and the Nabucco gas pipeline. The authors revealed the importance of international law in the implementation of pipeline projects in the Caspian region, and identified mechanisms that allow for a balance of interests between the states participating in such projects, on the one hand, and the states and operating partners, on the other. The results of the study can be applied in the preparation of amendments to the 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea regarding the legal regime of pipelines in the Caspian Sea, as well as draft agreements on new energy projects in the Caspian region and the Eurasian region as a whole.