Abstract: "The Big Five", "the Great Powers", "the permanent Five" - all of these terms refer to the Permanent Member of the Security Council of the United Nations Organizations. These states - the Russian Federation, the United States of America, the Great Britain, France and China - bear special responsibility for the protection of international peace and security, and they make decisions, which influence the entire universal collective security system.  Throughout 68 years of existence of the UN the reaction of the international community to this institution has been ambiguous.  The Permanent Members of the Security Council of the UN treasure their status greatly and protect it actively, and these states also bear the key political responsibility for the mistakes and failures of the organization as a whole. That is why, it is of interest to the author to study the role of the "Big Five" in the peace-making system of the UN. The author analyzes the actions of the "Big Five" states in the conditions of continually complicating goals, which the UN is facing, and she also discusses the perspectives for the future reform of the UN Security Council.

Keywords: international law, Security Council, the UN, peace-making, the Great Powers, the Big Five, international relations, veto, use of force, states

Abstract: The article concerns legal aspects of international cooperation and the EU policy in the sphere of protection of soils from various types of pollution. The study of these issues at an international level requires analysis of the key normative acts regulating the legal relations in this sphere.  The policy of the EU is also being discussed from the legal regulation standpoint, bearing in mind its main goal, which is prevention of worsening of soils.  The author notes that the legislation on condition and use of soil is not sufficiently developed both at the international and national level. There is no unified document on all soil-related aspects.  The author studies key international legal documents, statistical data, results of NGO work.   The article concerns improvement of soil protection both at the regional level (in the EU) and on an international level. However, some legal acts of the EU  prove that some efforts towards soil protection have been taken, or, at least, these acts are more developed than in other states and regional associations.

Keywords: protection of soils, soil degrading, desertisation, international cooperation, the UN, the European Union, Convention, Charter, international treaties, European programs

Abstract: The article concerns international legal cooperation in the sphere of the human rights, which is aimed towards  legalizing of the refugee status from the standpoint of the history of the last decade of XX century.  The author shows the perspectives of cooperation among the different states and regions on this sphere. She also studies the development of Russian national law on  refugee status and its  correspondence with the international legal standards. It is stated that the maintenance of migration problems requires cooperation among the Eurasian states.  She studies the legislation of the foreign states and its compliance with the legal norms, as well as the UN documents on refugee status, and on migration on international and regional levels. The author states that migration problems are currently among the key security issues at national, regional and international levels.  Due to this fact, she offers to search for coordinated solutions at national, regional (with the frameworks of the European Union and the Council of Europe) and universal levels.    

Keywords: politics, solidarity, refugee, Russia, citizenship, constitution, law, state, perspective, cooperation

Abstract: The article includes analysis of the categories of development, right to development and sustainable development within the framework of international relations. The comparison between the said categoreis and international program acts and regulators allows one to state that these phenomena are interconnected.  The article contains references to regulatory support of development, right to development and sustainable development in the international treaties, declarations and program acts of the UN.  It is pointed out that the right to development is an integral part of both human rights and the rights of peoples, and it requires a collective bearer (subject).  It is proven that the nations taking part in international relations (as well as indigenous nations) are bearers of the right to development. It is pointed out that implementation of rights to development and sustainable development requires both the international cooperation and implementation of international program regulators in the national legal systems.  It is recognized that responsibility of states for the implementation of right to development presupposes the need for program regulation of sustainable development in international law and constitutional law, the author also shows the negative features of existing practice.

Keywords: development, sustainable development, rights of peoples, human rights, program regulation, peoples, indigenous peoples, international cooperation, implementation, international programs

Abstract: The article shows the value of involvement of the Russian Federation in the activities of the International Court of Justice in the sphere of guarantees of international law and order. The article includes the historic analysis of the institution of a universal judicial body. The author studies the characteristics of this judicial body, which make it the most influential element within the system of maintaining the legal order and compliance with the international law. The author compares it with the arbitration. He evaluates the importance  of the international legal dispute regulation by an independent international judicial bodies. The author also describes the potential of greater role for the ICJ, and acts of states in the ICJ as reflecting  the principle of supremacy of law. The author also analyzes some aspects of judicial procedure, definitions of rule of law and universal legal order, as well as the key elements and characteristic features of the universal legal order.  

Keywords: international court, lawfulness, legal order, good faith principle, arbitration, justice, international obligation, the dispute between the states, jurisdiction, supremacy of law