The Legal Regime of the Caspian Sea, Past, Present and the Future: From the Position of State Succession to the Conclusion of the 2018 Aktau Convention (Part One: State Succession)

With the creation of new coastal States in the Caspian shore, there was no territorial replacement that would affect Iran's coastal access to the Caspian Sea. The new coastal States all succeeded to the former Soviet Union in the latter’s territory. The concept of being a Soviet successor means that a “replacement of one State by another in the sovereignty over the territory” of the Soviet Union has occurred. The international legal principle of "land dominates the sea" is the point of departure for determining the coastal State's maritime rights. The existence of equal shipping rights in the Caspian, envisioned in the Treaties of 1921 and 1940, does not equate with the existence of a comprehensive legal regime for this Sea. The determination of a ten-mile fishing area along the coast of each State under the 1940 Treaty, was itself based on the principle of "the land dominates the sea". It shows that the allocation of this area during the time of the Soviet Union was also based on the length of the coast of the littoral States. Signature of the Aktau Convention by the Government of Iran implies the lack of persuasive strength of the position of equal and common sovereignty as advanced by the maximalist view of some Iranian writers, but the participation itself is a realistic measure  corresponding to international law and international relations.