New legal Opportunities for the Implementation of the “North – South” International Transport Corridor Project in the Context of a New Global Multipolarity

INTRODUCTION. The relevance of the study is confirmed by the fact that in the context of globalization of the world economy, as well as for further economic integration within the CIS and other border countries, it is necessary to have a unified and structured transport system that provides sustainable logistics links between the participating countries of these structures. At the present stage, such functions can be performed by international transport corridors, one of which is the International North – South Transport Corridor (hereinafter – INSTC). In this paper, the authors consider the current legal regulation and regime of the INSTC, as well as study the issues of implementation of the INSTC project in the foreseeable legal realities and in the emerging world economic multipolarity. The authors analyze the provisions of the main legal acts adopted in this area, as well as the potential and prospects for the development of this project. The basic normative-legal document and legal basis for the regulation of this INSTC is the Intergovernmental Agreement on the International Transport Corridor “North – South”, which was signed on September 12, 2000 during the Second International Euro-Asian Conference on Transport in St. Petersburg between the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of India and the Sultanate of Oman. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The main works of Russian and foreign scholars in the field of international law devoted to the study of legal regulation of international transport corridors, including the INSTC served as information for the study of the research question. The methodological basis for the consideration of this study was the general scientific and special methods of cognition (dialectical method, methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, comparative-legal and historical-legal methods). RESEARCH RESULTS. As a result of the study, the authors conclude that the INSTC is one of the most important relevant corridors and transport arteries of the modern multipolar world. The established and constantly improving legal and regulatory framework and the practice of application of these acts in this area emphasize only the importance and relevance of continuous improvement of existing and potential gaps in the legal regulation of this multimodal route. Such gaps in legal regulation are the absence of a single information and legal space on this corridor, a single legal field in the field of transportation, an effectively functioning system of operations that carry out the procedure of currency settlements, as well as clearly established norms of control at border and customs checkpoints and interaction of customs services of the member states. In this regard, the representatives of the participating states are actively interacting with each other at various regional and global platforms in order to solve the range of planned and set tasks, as well as to exchange views on topical legal issues on the current agenda. Thus, it is noted that not only an orderly systematization of normative and legal acts is important, but also their improvement and actualization in connection with the current geopolitical conditions in the region. The favorable geographical location of the transport route and, as a consequence, the optimization of the process of cargo transportation taking into account time gain, cost reduction and distance minimization, the participation and implementation of large investments by the CIS and border countries in this project all these factors only emphasize the fact that the INSTC can rightfully become a new trade “Silk Road”, connecting all countries interested in this project into one large and unified logistics. It is indisputable that for the Russian Federation the successful functioning of this multimodal route will have a positive impact not only on the improvement of regulations in the field of the national transport and logistics system and the development of this industry as a whole, but also on reaching a new level of competitiveness of cargo units among other foreign ports and the growth of socioeconomic indicators in the southern regions of Russia, through the territory of which the INSTC passes. Taking into account all of the above, the authors emphasize that this transport corridor already has, in fact, megaregional significance and can serve as a vivid example for improving international economic, transport and logistics relations between many states of different geographical regions. The authors have analyzed the legal regime of the INSTC, systematized definitions and the most important provisions of legal acts in this area, and developed practical recommendations to improve the legal framework of the INSTC. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS. The authors draw attention to the fact that the system of normative-legal acts developed in this sphere should be constantly improved and regulated in accordance with the actual current geopolitical conditions in the region and the national legislation of the states directly involved in the implementation and operation of the INSTC project. Thus, it would be more appropriate to form a single legal field in the field of implementation of transportation services, namely, to implement legal harmonization in the field of registration of customs documents, to apply unified transportation documents, unified rules of interaction in transport hubs, to coordinate the activities and cooperation of customs services, to simplify border crossing procedures on the principle of a single window, to create the necessary conditions for the transition to the usage of the institution of authorized economic operator (AEO) in the corridor countries, to ensure the implementation of digitalization of transport documents, exchange of information flows between member states, the formation of a common tariff policy of this corridor, the introduction of a mechanism of payments and mutual settlements between participants in foreign economic activity.