Comparison of the Fishery Zone in the Aktau Convention and the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Convention on the Law of the Sea

The Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, known as the "Aktau Convention" has been the result of the fifth summit of the Caspian Sea littoral States in 2018 in the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. Although this Convention has divided the Caspian Sea into different maritime zones, including the Fishery Zone, to ensure security and stability in the Caspian Sea region, nevertheless, the implementation of this important matter requires the determination and clarification of the provisions governing the Fishery Zone in light of the rules and regulations of international law, in particular the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The present study using descriptive-analytical method focuses on answering the question of how the rights and obligations governing the Fishery Zone in the Aktau Convention is compared to the rights and obligations governing the Exclusive Economic Zone in the UNCLOS . The assumption is that a significant part of the rules of the Fishery Zone in the "Aktau Convention" is inspired by the rules of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the UNCLOS. However, some of the regulations in the Fishery Zone are specific to the Aktau Convention, hence unique. This paper concludes that in comparison with the UNCLOS, the Aktau Convention has taken three active, moderate, and passive approaches with regard to the Fishery Zone. In the first approach, the Aktau Convention opens new horizons in the field of ​​provisions governing the Fishery Zone and, as a result, protection of the sovereignty of the Caspian Coastal States has set its own pattern. In the second approach, the Aktau Convention has moved aligned with the UNCLOS, and in the final approach, the Aktau Convention, unlike the UNCLOS, has remained silent on some specific legal issues.