Application of the Principle of Succession to the Caspian Sea as a Prerequisite to Solving Its Environmental Crisis

The Caspian body of water is one of the strategically sensitive areas of the world which has led to lack of an even relative consensus over laws governing it. This, in turn, has given rise to many problems notably the environmental crisis. The authors of this article are on the belief that lack of consensus on the basic principles governing this lake largely accounts for such an environmental crisis. This is particularly manifested in the legal nature of the lake (if it is a sea, a lake, a high sea or an enclosed sea) and the rules governing the succession in the Caspian Sea. Attainment of a consensus on the two aforementioned issues would pave the way for the convergence among the littoral states and their enjoyment of rights and assumption of duties, which would prove an essential step in tackling the environmental crisis there.