The content of peremptory norms is always erga omnes obligations. The mirror conclusion is also correct: erga omnes obligations always mean the content of peremptory norms.
It is impossible to give a list of peremptory norms and the content of erga omnes obligations. The principles of international law can be regarded as peremptory norms. It does not rule out the interpretation of them. Some provisions of the Declaration of principles of International law (1970) can also be regarded as concretizing peremptory norms.
The concluding of an international treaty creating more favorable conditions for its participants which does not contradict peremptory norms should not be related to the violation of peremptory norms.
The hierarchy of peremptory norms should not be understood as the priority of some norms in comparison with other ones. The development of inter-State relations and the development of international law make possible collisions between peremptory norms.
It is possible to suppose the existence of regional peremptory norms or a linking group of States by another indication, on the condition that they do not contradict global peremptory norms.
The Commission of International Law took a decision not to use the term “international crimes” preferring the term having a broader meaning “serious breach of a peremptory norm”.

The article notes that the armed conflicts emerged after collapse of the Soviet Union on the territories of the CIS member states gave rise to conclusion of agreements in the sphere of the international humanitarian law (IHL). The first of them was the agreement on immediate measures to protect victims of armed conflicts in 1993. Later in the post-Soviet space the IPA CIS began to play an active role in legislative activity for convergence and harmonization of laws of the states ‒ participants of CIS, including the development of legislation in the sphere of IHL.
The authors analyze the model laws in the field of IHL, adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS member states (IPA CIS).

Today, breeders and patent owners through the mechanisms of intellectual property rights receive monopoly privileges which encourage the implementation of innovation in plant breeding. During this process, the least well-off farmers can become even more dependent on means of production. In this article the question how seeds policy of states can contribute to realization of human right to food is considered, it is indicated how to make most effective use of researches in developing countries for the least wealthy farmers, and how to regulate commercial seed farms in the interests of the right to food and food security.

The author explores legal prospects for criminal prosecution of George W. Bush in foreign courts for sanctioning the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” to extract information from detainees in U.S. special prisons. She analyses whether decision by former U.S. president to authorize torture against suspected terrorists can be qualified as his “official acts” covered by functional immunity. The purpose of the article is to establish the potential existence of a rule of customary international law providing for an exception from immunity of ex-heads of state who have committed international crimes, in particular, torture. In order to do that, the author analyses national jurisprudence (criminal cases against A.Pinochet, H.Habré and D.Bauterse), decisions by international courts, non-official codifications of international law of immunities, and legal writings. She also studies the question of whether commission of international crimes entails the exception from state immunity and immunity of state officials ratione materiae from foreign civil jurisdiction.

China’s active pursuit of maritime policy results in a constant improvement of its maritime legislation. In recent decades serious efforts have been made in this country to streamline maritime regulations on various levels – from the Constitution and general statutes to the maritime statutes to local regulations. In this article, the author analyzes the general question of maritime regulations in modern China from the standpoint of law (general and specific, central and local) and the authorities of governmental bodies. In the annexes to this article, the author gives the selective translation of certain maritime law statutes of China, and the list of current maritime laws and regulations.

The obligation of the EU to accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms has become one of the most significant changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty. Despite the fact that the accession negotiations between the EU and the Council of Europe are still going on, there is little doubt that they will be successful in the near future. The present article is dedicated to the analysis of the legal and political effects of the EU accession to the ECHR. In the first part of the article the author addresses the difficulties that the EU had to overcome in order to launch the negotiation process. The goals and objectives of the accession together with the probability of their attainment are examined in the second part. Finally, in the third part the author analyses the implications of some ECHR judgments for the functioning of the EU institutions and their impact upon the development of the EU law. The author is convinced that the ECHR judgment in the Menarini case will force the ECJ to substantially modify its approach to EU Competition law cases.

International cooperation of Russia in the field of production, technology, telecommunications – is an instrument of the modernization of the science sectors of the economy of the country, a catalyst of the scientific and technological advances in the field of the communications, information and communication infrastructure. International Telecommunication Union is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. The article is devoted to the legal basics of the international cooperation of Russia in the field of telecommunications; investigates the state of the international telecommunications regime and studies the basic acts in the area of the telecommunications; to the description of the activity of the Regional Commonwealth in the field of communications, having been covering a different aspects of the info telecommunications’ industry in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The article is devoted to the modern practical questions of air traffic international regulation. Aircraft noise has always been the primary environmental concern, and nowadays there is a great demand for drafting uniform provisions on harmonization of noise assessment and management, particularly in the field of liability for damage caused due to aircraft noise. In order to alleviate or prevent damage the ICAO Assembly elaborated the concept of a “balanced approach” which comprises four basic elements: reduction of noise at source, land-use planning and management, noise abatement operational procedures and operating restrictions. Another way to tackle the crucial issue of aircraft noise is imposing charges for airports and air navigation.

The article examines the application of US Supreme court of international law concerning historic waters; the article focuses on the legal grounds and evidences of the contesting parties that they allege in the US Supreme court to proof the rights to historic waters. The author demonstrate the influence on the decision making of the UN study “Juridical Regime of historic waters, including historic bays” and the Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone 1958. In addition in the article is given definition of the term “historic waters” that is used in the US case law.

The article generally reviews the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (The ICSID Convention), 1965, according to which the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) was established.
Nevertheless the ICSID Convention is of framework character and in the Preamble to the Convention, it is mentioned that no Contracting Party shall by the mere fact of its ratification, acceptance or approval of this Convention and without its consent be deemed to be under any obligation to submit any particular dispute to conciliation or arbitration, detailed research of the ICSID Convention key statements is of great importance as it allows to clarify the mechanism of international investment arbitration as well as its distinguishing features.
In conclusion of the article, the new international projects similar to the ICSID Convention are mentioned.