HAZAR DENİZİ’NİN HUKUKİ STATÜSÜ
LEGAL STATUS OF CASPIAN SEA

Summary/Abstract: The Caspian Sea has a geopolitical importance that focuses on the interest of both global and regional powers due to its oil and gas resources and its current strategic position. The Caspian Sea, which was only under the control of the Soviet Union and Iran before 1991, was opened to the common use of the five states- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan being a riparian state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and power struggles began to take place there. The problem of sharing of the Caspian Sea arose with the start of power struggles. Since the legal status of the Caspian Sea could not be determined, the problem of the definition of national borders on the Caspian Sea has continued until 2018. In particular, the lack of legal status until 2018 prevented the existing energy resources in the Caspian Sea from being supplied adequately and supplying to international markets in the desired manner. In 2018, the Caspian Sea Convention was signed by five littoral states and the legal status of the sea was determined. In this article, taking into consideration the theses of the states of the region, it will be evaluated that whether the Caspian Sea is a lake, a sea or a special water basin within the framework of international law and the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea signed in 2018 will be examined.

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