Public Law Studies Quarterly

The Construction and Operation of the Ilısu Dam by the Turkish Government From the Perspective of International Law

Document Type : Article

Authors

Seyyed Ghasem Zamani 1
Pouya Berelian 2

1 Professor of International Law, Faculty of law and Political Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. Student of International Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2020.302576.2430
Abstract
Turkey by constructing the Ilısu Dam on the Tigris in Turkey will result in stressful significant environmental consequences between Iraq, Syria, and Iran. The norms and principles governing the exploitation of common water resources have pushed the governments towards a lawful system that they are adhered to it according to general principles of law, customary international law, and international treaties. Not adhering to these principles and violating them will impose international responsibility for the governments. Turkey cannot proceed to exploit a project that its harmful effects will cause severe significant damages to the environment of adjacent countries. Therefore, the decision to operate the Ilısu Dam that became operational in the first half of 2019, according to experts estimations about its extensive consequences to adjacent governments, is in contradiction with international commitments of Turkey as preventing the transboundary environmental damages, violating the Principle of the Unharmful Utilization of Territory and The Principle of Equitable and Reasonable Utilization of Shared Water Resources, which nowadays, are considered as a rule of customary international law. In this research, the background of Ilısu Dam construction by the Turkish government and its destructive environmental effects will be studied using the library and internet resources and using international documents.

Keywords

international water law
modern international law
Ilisu Dam
haze phenomenon
Tigris–Euphrates rivers
  1. انگلیسی
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References in Persian:

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  1. B) Articles
  2. Akbari, Narges & Mashhadi, Ali (2019), "Environmental Threats and Obligations of the Government of Turkey in Implementing the GAP Project in Relation to Environmental Impacts in Iran (Dust Storms)", International Law Review, Vol. 61, pp.351-311 (In Persian).
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  11. Navari, Ali (2018), " The Construction and Operation of the Ilisu Dam in Turkey and the Dust Haze Phenomenon in Iran: Supremacy of Relevant Principles of International Environmental Law ", Legal Studies, Vol. 4, pp.261-219 (In Persian).
  12. Navari, Ali (2019), " Utilization of Ilisu Dam in Turkey and the Rules of International Water Law ", Public Law Research, Vol. 63, pp.190-163 (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 53, Issue 4
Winter 2024
Winter 2024
Pages 1881-1909

  • Receive Date 15 May 2020
  • Revise Date 19 August 2020
  • Accept Date 09 November 2020

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