The article highlights the facts and the reasons influencing the current situation in the field of protection of human rights. The problems of bridging the gap between the “old model of democracy and the new realities” such as the right to vote and the right to education, the gender equality and the women’s empowerment; the situation of children are considered in the article. Also the most important ways of solving the “gender” problems: the rational use of management capabilities and personal qualities of women, the assets, the ability to act and the opportunities that women have; and the expansion of individual and collective abilities of women to act are suggested. Special attention is paid to the contemporary forms of racism, the racial discrimination, the xenophobia and related intolerance, the migration policy.

The long-lasting stay of the world known literature classic Ch. Aitmatov abroad (1989-2008) still remains an understudied period of his biography. Meanwhile, thought in addition to his literary work, Chinghiz Aitmatov served as ambassador; his almost 20-year long diplomatic career is scarcely investigated. The article attempts to disclose some details of Aitmatov’s diplomatic work.

Trying to develop the current ideas on the right of self-defense, the author comes to a conclusion that the law basis and consequences of an armed response to threats paused by state and non-state subjects are different. He examines the reasonability to correct the indirect aggression definition for those cases when a state let a non-state actor use its territory to attack another state. Also he estimates the compliance of the Russian internal law with the International Security law in regards to the right of self-defense.

The article is dedicated to the comparative analysis of the mechanism of implementation of EU goals (values) in the framework of «Lisbon» integration legal order, on one hand, and of the legal ability of the Eurasian Economic Community on the other.

In March 2012 a milestone event for the international space society took place: at the UNIDROIT Diplomatic conference held in Berlin was adopted the Space Assets Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. For the last thirty years it is the first international space treaty and the very first document governing commercial space activities.
The Convention and the Protocol are aimed at the establishment of an international legal regime for guaranteeing creditors’ rights in space assets and thus shall create investor-friendly climate in space industry. Although, despite the evident advantages, implementation of such a regime into practice will create substantial difficulties for space activity participants, which are considered in detail in the present article.

The article is accompanied by the applied and technical analysis of the General agreement on trade in services (GATS) and dedicated for the specialists and students. It contains in systematic view the extracts from the Report of the Working Party on the accession of the Russian Federation concerning Russia’s obligations in the sphere of services.

Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), singed between the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong in late 2003, became the first ever free trade deal for the both parties. CEPA is an international agreement, subjected to international (WTO) law, between the central government of China and the government of one of the China’s special administrative regions. This distinguishes the Arrangement from a myriad of other regional trade agreements (RTA). CEPA focuses on liberalization of trade in goods and services between China and Hong Kong. The Arrangement generally complies with relevant WTO provisions and covers areas of trade not governed by WTO agreements (WTO-plus). Moreover, in some respects CEPA goes far beyond trade liberalization agenda of many RTAs. CEPA demonstrates China’s intention to neutralize those excessive and arguably discriminatory conditions, accepted by her upon admission to the WTO, through the insertion of more favorable rules in her trade agreements with other WTO members.

The article addresses the issue of the principal causes of action in the international investment arbitration. The first part gives analysis of the expropriation at the present stage. The second part is devoted to the breaches of international law unrelated to expropriation. Breach of contract and concurrent breach of contract and treaty are analyzed in the third and fourth parts of the article.

The article examines the legal implications of the Russia’s accession to the WTO. The differences in legal systems of Russia and WTO members raise the question of how to bring Russian law in line with the WTO conventions to protect intellectual property rights. In this case, it could be a law which would make amendments to the existing RF Civil Code reproducing the wording of the TRIPS Agreement or limit the application of the TRIPS to relations involving a foreign element. Alternatively, it will be directly applied by courts in priority to the Civil Code by virtue of Article 15 of the Constitution.

This article is dedicated to the theoretical and practical aspects of the unification and harmonization of the EU private law. The author gives the definitions of the key terms in this area as well as analyses and estimates the latest documents concerning unification and harmonization of the EU private law, such as Draft Common Frame of Reference of the Joint Network on European Private Law and Proposal for a Regulation Of The European Parliament And Of The Council on a Common European Sales Law.