Review: This article analyzes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a part of international legal standards on human rights, as well as the Russian law enforcement practice of this document. Based on the differences in legal technique of the references applied by the Russian courts (form, procedure, peculiarities of implementation, target of application of the references of the Universal Declaration), the authors determine the status of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Russia and the role of courts that ensure implementation of international legal standards in application of international legal regulations incorporated into the Russian legal system. Logical analysis of court rulings on civil cases submitted by the federal courts of the Russian Federation with references to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights allows making a conclusion that the Russian legal system realizes the international legal standards in the area of human rights. The authors reveal the relevance of studies on implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in court practice of the Russian Federation necessary for the precise determination of the status of this international legal act within the Russian legal system. A conclusion is made that reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the decisions of Russian courts is a sustainable practice and established legal tradition within the Russian legal system.

Keywords: Russian legal system, legal position, protection of individual rights, law enforcement practice, international legal standards, United Nations, international law, declaration of human rights, legal technique, implementation of international legal norms

Review: The author examines the aspects of environmental component of legal regulation of the Caspian Sea, the largest landlocked body of water on Earth. The cooperation of littoral states with regards to its environmental protection is complicated by the fact that after the dissemination of USSR, instead of two countries – Iran and Soviet Union, there have formed five countries interested in hydrocarbon extraction from the bottom of Caspian Sea, which caused acute contradictions between them. In light of this reason, the validity of Tehran Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in encumbered. The signed in 2018 Convention on the Status of Caspian Sea, overall, follows the regulations of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982. The author notes that the planned adoption of the obligatory document on environmental protection and sustainable use of maritime biodiversity (as an addendum to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) can become a positive addition to the legal system existing in the Caspian Sea. The need is claimed for the expansion of further productive cooperation of the states, which interests in one or another way are affected by this problem.

Keywords: environmental law, UN, Caspian state, international treaty, environment, biodiversity, Caspian sea, ecological safety, maritime law, international law

Review: The object of this research is the problems occurring within the framework of introduction in the Russian Federation of the subsidiary bodies documents of the Council for Rail Transport of the Commonwealth member-states. These include the absence of: explicit reference in regulation about the Council for Binding Arbitration of its commissions and expert groups; distinct hierarchy of subsidiary bodies of the Council; practice of compulsory publication of decisions of the subsidiary bodies. For the detailed analysis, the author selected commissions and expert groups of the Council as the most numerous bodies. The subject of this research is the regulations on the substantive and subsidiary bodies of the Council and case law. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that this work is the first in the Russian Federation and CIS regarding the problems of implementation in the Russian Federation of the documents of subsidiary bodies of the Council for Rail Transport of the Commonwealth member-states. The author approves the practice of direct applicability of the documents of subsidiary bodies of the Council in the absence of explicit reference in acts of the Council or their official publication. The author gives recommendations on demarcation between legal positions of the commissions and expert groups of the Council. The research results can be applied in law enforcement practice, as well as by any rail administration as the initiative for changing regulations on the Council and its subsidiary bodies.

Keywords: implementation of acts, acts of international organizations, expert groups, working groups, executive bodies, commissions, subsidiary bodies, implementation of international law, Council for Rail Transport, CIS

Review: This article examines subsidiarity as the practical approach towards making better decisions within the systems of multilevel social control. Following the special procedure aimed at substantiating the need for decision making, the concerned parties are able not only express their argument, but also reach a consensus regarding the best one. The author appeals to the concept of integrative subsidiarity, which implies that in effective solution of social problems there is no point of restraining or benefiting the interference of one level of control into another; only parity interaction of concerned parties leads to making better, epistemologically substantiated solutions, based on the irresistible force of the most eloquent argument. The author conducts the analysis of three “yellow cards”, initiated within the framework of subsidiary control mechanism, which was introduced to the EU management practice for the first time. Special attention is given to the factors that helped reaching a consensus with the EU Commission regarding subsidiary objections. Using the method of historical discourse-analysis, the author determines the nature of the principle of subsidiarity its evolutionary trends, and views this nature contextually, from the perspective of suitability for solving particular issues. Although the subsidiary control mechanism does not empower the national parliaments to influence the final legislative solution of the European Union, the practical value of the mechanism is fairly high. Under certain circumstances, the subsidiary control mechanism can be an effective tool not only for the interinstitutional dialogue, but also for the responsible participation of member-states (through their national parliaments) and the European Union itself (through EU Commission) in making better legislative decisions.

Keywords: national parliaments, inter-institutional dialogue, European Union, subsidiarity control mechanism, responsible participation, mediating structure, system of multi-level management, integrative subsidiarity, green card, consensus

Review: Discussions regarding the impact of regional trade agreements (RTA) have exceeded the framework of theoretical polemics long ago. RTA are of great importance for the international trade overall. Yet there are multiple gaps in legal regulation of the questions concerning execution and effect of the regional trade agreements that should be addressed. One of such gaps is the functioning of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA). The relationship between RTA and WTO, which are the object of this article, carry a horizontal character that affects the international trade overall. Despite the fact that the states engaged in RTA reduced the functions of CRTA to mere formality, the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements, which manifests as a subject of this research, remains a significant element within the system of WTO. The conclusion is made on the need for amending legal regulation of the activity of CRTA for increasing its efficiency, which would have a positive impact upon the international trade system. The author suggest specific formulization of the Articles GATT-94 that are essential for filling the gaps.

Keywords: Custom Union, GATT, International Trade, DSB, WTO Commettee, WTO, Regional Trade Agreements, Integration, Free Trade Area, Common Market