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International Law and International Organizations
Reference:

Legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Yadgarov Shakhrukh Shavkatovich

ORCID: 0009-0001-8354-7233

Postgraduate student of the International Law chair, Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia

53/2 Ostozhenka str., Building 1, Moscow, 119021, Russia

sh.yadgarov@gmail.com
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0633.2023.2.40637

EDN:

SSYFXZ

Received:

02-05-2023


Published:

19-05-2023


Abstract: The author examines the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the field of coordination of the activities of the participating states in the field of public health protection. The author examines the current state of international legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the SCO through the prism of generally recognized international legal standards in this direction. The theoretical basis of the research is the works of M.V. Podvyaznikova, M.S.Malichenko, S. I. Pomazkova, N.Gafurova, Zh.Oryntaev. In order to determine the areas of cooperation in the field of health protection, international legal documents adopted at the SCO summits, in particular the SCO Charter, Declarations and Agreements on Mutual Cooperation, were analyzed. In addition, the general state of cooperation between the SCO states in the field of health protection in practice was analyzed. As a result, it is concluded that cooperation in the field of health protection within the SCO needs to strengthen the legal component, in particular, it is necessary to conclude international agreements on specific areas of public health protection and the organization of medical care. At a time when the consequences of the rapid spread of coronavirus infection, the largest humanitarian catastrophe of the coming century, have become an indicator of systemic problems of international law in the field of health protection as a branch of international law, and the established system of international legal regulation has proved unable to counteract COVID-19, rightly identifying the task of carrying out its consistent reform to ensure human security, strengthening the international legal framework for regulating the right to health within the SCO, in our opinion, can have a certain positive impact on the adoption of the necessary, more specific universal international treaties in this direction, especially in the fight against infectious diseases.


Keywords:

right to health, coronavirus pandemic, World Health organization, viral infections, health level, ensuring health maintenance, level of physical health, healthy development of the child, treatment of diseases, medical care

This article is automatically translated.

At the present stage, the importance of global and regional integration processes in the field of public health protection is increasing. The coronavirus pandemic, colossal in its tragic consequences, actualized the need for serious reform of the interaction of states in the field of medical care, further strengthening the international legal framework in this direction. It is obvious that effective counteraction to viral infections is possible only in the case of close cooperation and interstate interaction without regard to the difference in economic development, standard of living, degree of development of medical services, political interests, since viral diseases in the conditions of current globalization, the current unprecedented development of transport infrastructure, which makes it possible to move relatively quickly even between distant countries are a serious threat health and even the life of humanity.

 International intergovernmental organizations play a special role in the mechanism of establishing and further strengthening cooperation in the field of healthcare, since they are a unique institutional platform for accumulating the efforts of States in the field of international law-making, assisting the latter in fulfilling international legal obligations, and constantly monitoring the implementation of contractual and "soft" law. It is necessary to agree with A.I. Karpenko, who noted that "international governmental and non-governmental organizations are among those in whose power it is to overcome these problems. It is not surprising that in addition to attempts (successful or unsuccessful) to overcome threats and challenges to human security, organizations should propose a number of rules for international medical cooperation." (1). In our opinion, the use of the potential of international intergovernmental organizations in the field of deepening mutual integration of states in the field of healthcare is an objective necessity, on which the effectiveness depends crucially efforts to ensure the right to health at the global and regional levels.

The sharp increase in the relevance of cooperation between states in the field of public health has attracted the attention of the scientific community to this problem. International legal research in this direction covers both the mechanism of legal regulation of the interaction of states in the field of health, and the human right to health. Scientists in these studies rightly note that a person from birth has a natural and universally recognized right to health, enshrined in the relevant universal documents, which is provided by states both by concluding agreements on cooperation in specific areas of medical care, and by implementing these agreements into national legislation, while in foreign and domestic science it is reasonable and The idea is reasonably put forward in the actual formation of such a branch of public international law as international health law (2). Meanwhile, there are no special scientific studies devoted to the comprehensive study of issues of cooperation between states in the field of public health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which led to the choice of the topic of this article.

There is no doubt about the need to strengthen cooperation between the SCO member states in the field of healthcare. Experts note that the geographical region occupied by these countries is at high risk (especially South-East Asia) of the occurrence and spread of epidemic infectious diseases of bacterial and viral etiology (pandemics of plague, cholera, influenza), of the new diseases - SARS, avian influenza A/H5NI/, Nina viral encephalitis, etc.), as well as natural disasters (3). In this regard, despite the initial focus of the SCO on ensuring security in the border territories, combating terrorism, extremism and separatism, the founding states of this intergovernmental organization laid the legal prerequisites for the development of cooperation in the field of healthcare already in the statutory documents. Thus, the SCO Charter states as the main goals and objectives of the organization the promotion of comprehensive and balanced economic growth, social and cultural development in the region through joint actions on the basis of equal partnership in order to steadily raise the level and improve the living conditions of the peoples of the member States; promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international obligations of states- members and their national legislation; joint search for solutions to problems that will arise in the XXI century (4). The issue of cooperation between the SCO states in the field of public health protection is also indicated in the treaty on long-term good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, article 19 of which states that the above-mentioned countries develop between exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, art, education, science, technology, healthcare, tourism, sports and other social and humanitarian spheres (5).

The issues of cooperation of the SCO states in the field of healthcare received more substantive legal regulation in the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of healthcare, concluded in 2011 in Astana, the Agreement defines such areas of cooperation as science and innovative technologies; prevention and control of infectious diseases; safety and quality of medicines and medical products; informatization of healthcare and telemedicine, primary health care and high-tech medical care; maternal and child health care, etc. (6)

In accordance with article 5 of the Agreement, the coordination of cooperation on the implementation of its provisions is carried out by an expert working group, whose activities are regulated by the relevant regulations. The parties bear the costs of fulfilling their international legal obligations under this agreement independently and take all necessary measures to protect intellectual property objects obtained during the implementation of the Agreement (Article 3). The parties may also conclude additional contracts during the execution of the terms of the Agreement (Article 6).

The regulations of the expert working group were approved at the meeting of the Ministers of Health of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states on November 18, 2010 in Astana, where the plan of the main measures for cooperation of the SCO member states in the field of healthcare was approved, also at the initiative of the Kazakh side, a draft Agreement between the governments of the SCO member states on cooperation was presented to the participants of the meeting in the field of healthcare (7).

The analysis shows that the above agreement is a framework agreement that establishes only general areas of cooperation, which is implemented through specific organizational and legal measures, in particular, the exchange of experience, determining further areas of cooperation, professional development, provision of necessary medicines, etc. Thus, in June 2021, an expert group meeting was held with the participation of specialists from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (8), in which experts discussed the situation with the fight against COVID?19 in the SCO member states, and also identified the main directions of the main directions for the development of cooperation in the field of healthcare for 2022-2024.

A certain effectiveness of the SCO's activities in the field of establishing cooperation in the field of healthcare is noted by prestigious universal organizations, including the UN. Thus, the UN General Assembly resolution A/75/L.69 of March 17, 2021 "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization" noted the constructive role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in ensuring peace and sustainable development ... promoting regional cooperation in various fields, such as trade and economic development ... education, health, environmental protection and disaster risk reduction, as well as in other related areas (9).

Despite the fact that the SCO has already established a certain experience of cooperation between states in the field of healthcare, there are still a number of serious organizational and legal problems in this direction that need to be solved. The formation of a single legal space in the SCO region is objectively hindered by such problems as the existing huge gap in the economic development and potential of the organization's member countries in maintaining the infrastructure of medical institutions, the difference in the nomenclature and quality of medical services, the level of professional training of medical workers, the mechanism of medical care. E.I.Safronova notes that in the Central Asian states that are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the state of the medical and inpatient base remains unsatisfactory, there is a shortage of qualified personnel, especially in the poorest SCO member states - Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the awareness of medical professionals is low, and the awareness of highly vulnerable to diseases of the population generally leaves much to be desired. In many rural hospitals, there are no conditions for isolating contagious patients, and equipment for high-quality sterilization of surgical instruments may be missing or faulty (10).

A.A.Arastanbek notes that for a long time problems in the field of health and health development have been solved at the national level, but in the process of intensive regional integration and the ever-increasing scale of population migration, ideas about the forms and methods of international governance are being reassessed. The development of the institutional system of the economy often takes the form of the import of institutions from other countries. However, their direct transfer is rather difficult, since, for example, due to significant differences in socio-economic development, foreign institutions are often not optimal for another country and will not find implementation mechanisms in new conditions" (11).

The analysis shows that within the framework of the SCO, the organization of international legal cooperation follows a standard scenario: the consolidation in declarations and other sources of "soft law" of commitment to joint cooperation in the field of healthcare, followed by the adoption of cooperation programs in specific areas in the field of medicine and, at the moment, in connection with which the legal basis of integration processes within the SCO in the field of healthcare, at the moment, it is actually limited by the above-mentioned framework agreement on cooperation in the field of healthcare and the annual development of a plan of basic measures for the development of cooperation in this direction, since significant socio-economic differentiation in the healthcare system, unfortunately, hinders deeper integration in this direction.

It should be noted that the above problems are typical not only for cooperation in the SCO, but also for other regions. So, for example, in Europe, general issues remain within the competence of the member states of the European Union (EU), and other countries and the EU can carry out activities to support, coordinate or provide additional services without violating the independence of the country in this matter. To date, a number of issues have not yet been resolved — there are problems with interaction between EU member states, in particular, who should provide medical care if a citizen lives in one country and works in another. This problem is compounded by the difference in the methods of financial provision of health systems and their functioning (12).

Meanwhile, significant achievements have been achieved at the European level with regard to the formation of mandatory acts to regulate certain issues of public health protection. Within the framework of the Council of Europe, it was possible to adopt the Convention on the Development of the European Pharmacopoeia of 1964; the Convention of the Council of Europe on Combating the Falsification of Medical Products and Similar Crimes of 2011. (The Medicrim Convention), Threatening public Health; the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity in Connection with the Application of Advances in Biology and Medicine (the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine) (13).

A certain experience of integration processes in the field of healthcare can be used in the SCO, based on the analysis of the activities of the Commonwealth of Independent States in this direction. in the Agreement on the Provision of Medical Care to Citizens of the CIS Member States (Moscow, March 27, 1997), where citizens are guaranteed emergency and emergency medical care freely, free of charge and in full on the territory of the State of Temporary Stay by medical and preventive institutions, regardless of organizational and legal forms, departmental affiliation and forms of their ownership in the following cases: in case of sudden acute conditions and diseases that threaten the patient's life or the health of others, accidents, poisoning, injuries, childbirth and emergency conditions during pregnancy. From the moment when the threat to the patient's life or the health of others is eliminated and his transportation is possible, further medical care is provided on a paid basis (14).

Experts rightly point out that "the collapse of the USSR and the formation of new independent states brought to life centrifugal forces caused by the desire to ensure their independence from the once-existing center. Nevertheless, the neighborhood and the need to solve common regional problems force the former Union republics to look for new forms of interaction and cooperation. Last but not least, this concerns the human right to health protection and medical care" (15). In connection with the above, in our opinion, a promising direction for deepening cooperation between the SCO states may be the conclusion of special international legal agreements on specific areas of healthcare, including using modern information technologies. Thus, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh.M.Mirziyoyev put forward a proposal to create a concept of cooperation in the field of telemedicine (16), which will effectively use the accumulated professional experience in the field of medicine by the SCO leading states, primarily Russia and China, to organize high-quality medical care in other countries, organize the exchange of experience between medical professionals, improve the level of efficiency of interaction in the field of healthcare to a qualitatively higher level. We believe that a separate point of the above-mentioned concept should be the conclusion of an international agreement on cooperation in the field of telemedicine, which will consolidate specific international legal obligations of states in this direction, go beyond organizational and legal measures, create a more reliable legal basis for deepening the integration of SCO member states in the field of healthcare, become the legal basis for the implementation of international-legal obligations of the SCO member states in the field of telemedicine.

 Of course, the most urgent item on the agenda of strengthening cooperation in the field of healthcare is the optimization of interaction in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare. It is necessary to agree with V.Y. Smolensky, who noted that the scientific provision of international cooperation in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in modern conditions is one of the extremely urgent health problems. The priority in this area is the fight against infectious diseases, primarily new, returning, spreading to new territories (17). It is particularly relevant to establish international cooperation to combat the coronavirus that has raged on the territory of the SCO member states. As of 2020, in Southeast Asia, an increase in the number of registered patients was observed in countries with the most developed system of laboratory diagnostics. In India, there was an active uncontrolled spread of infection, there was a steady trend towards an increase in the number of cases registered daily.

In the Russian Federation, the incidence of COVID-19 has been registered since January 31, 2020, starting with isolated imported cases from China. At the same time, until the beginning of April 2020, the number of identified infected persons did not exceed 500 people per day, most of which accounted for Moscow. Further dynamics was characterized by a constant increase in daily reported cases of COVID-19 until reaching peak values in the first decade of May 2020. In the CIS countries, the incidence rate per 100 thousand population varies from 18.9 in Uzbekistan to 619.1 (18).

Taking into account the threat of coronavirus infection to the well-being of the population of the region, the SCO member states actively cooperate with each other in the format of adopting comprehensive action plans to combat epidemics on a periodic basis, which, although it allows for joint organizational measures, but from the point of view of the need to create more fundamental legal bases for cooperation to combat epidemics, in our opinion, is not quite sufficient. We should agree with E.Safronova, who noted that it seems necessary to create a legal environment for the implementation of a strategy to combat infectious diseases on the SCO scale, including preventive work with risk groups, and a decision-making process based on high-quality epidemiological data (19). The development of an international convention on combating epidemics and ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population, in our opinion, will allow the SCO to fully realize the potential of ensuring the right of the population of the countries of the region to health, will create a more solid legal foundation for cooperation between the SCO member states in this direction, create a closer legal framework for integration within this organization in the field of healthcare.

Based on the above, it can be concluded that international cooperation in the field of health is becoming increasingly relevant due to the need to ensure the fundamental right to health and the serious threat posed by epidemiological diseases. However, socio-economic differences in health systems prevent full integration in this direction. This situation is also characteristic of the cooperation of the SCO member states in the field of public health protection. In order to deepen cooperation and increase the effectiveness of cooperation within the SCO in the field of healthcare, it is necessary to further strengthen the legal framework towards the concretization of medical care, including the adoption of international treaties in the field of telemedicine and epidemic control.

References
1. Gafurova, N., & Oryntaev, Zh.(2006). International cooperation to combat the pandemic caused by the korovinarus COVID-2019: foreign and national experience. E-Review of law sciences, 2, 127-133.
2. Karpenko Features of international cooperation in the field of global health. Azimuth of scientific research: Economics and Management, 4, 433-435.
3. Pomazkova, S.I., (2011). Problems of correlation of international and nati
4. Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization - Retrieved fromhttp://rus.sectsco.org/load/43573/
5. Agreement on Long-term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Retrieved fromhttp://rus.sectsco.org/load/203695/
6. Agreement between the Governments of the member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, (2011), Astana - Retrieved fromhttps://lex.uz/docs/4835206
7. The Samarkand Declaration of the Heads of the SCO member States. Retrieved from http://rus.sectsco.org/load/913203/
8. UN General Assembly resolution A/75/L.69 of March 17, (2021)"Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization" . Retrieved from http://rus.sectsco.org/load/732455 /
9. Astanbek., A.A., (2014) International cooperation in the field of healthcare: problems and trends at the present stage, Izvestiya Irkutsk State Academy,6. Retrieved fromhttps://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/mezhdunarodnoe-sotrudnichestvo-v-sfere-zdravoohraneniya-problemy-i-tendentsii-na-sovremennom-etape/viewer
10. Malichenko., M.S., (2021). Formation of international health law, Moscow Journal of International Law, 6-20.
11. Podvyaznikova., M.V., (2015). International cooperation in the field of public health protection and interdependence of national systems of social security law, Law and politics, 351-365.
12. Safronova., E.I., The SCO Decade: Some results of cooperation between the organization's countries in the field of healthcare and emergency response. Retrieved fromhttps://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/10-letie-shos-nekotorye-itogi-sotrudnichestva-stran-organizatsii-v-oblasti-zdravoohraneniya-i-likvidatsii-chrezvychaynyh-situatsiy
13. Smolensky., V.Y., (2012) Problems of formation of international cooperation in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, Abstract diss. Candidate of Medical Sciences, 16.
14. Kutyrev., V.V., & Popova., & A.Yu., Smolensky., & V.Yu., Yezhlova., E.B., & Demina., Yu.V., & Safronov., V.A., & Karnaukhov., I.G., & Ivanova., A.V., & Shcherbakova., S.A., Epidemiological features of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Message 2: Features of the course of the COVID-19 epidemic process in relation to ongoing anti-epidemic measures in the world and the Russian Federation. Retrieved fromhttps://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/epidemiologicheskie-osobennosti-novoy-koronavirusnoy-infektsii-covid-19-soobschenie-2-osobennosti-techeniya-epidemicheskogo
15. Benjamin Mason Meier, Judith Bueno de Mesquita, & Caitlin R. Williams**Global Obligations to Ensure the Right to Health, Yearbook of International Disaster Law Online- Retrieved fromhttps://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/yido/3/1/article-p3_1.xml
16. Ling Chen, International Cooperation and Assistance as Legal Obligations in Epidemics and Disasters. Retrieved fromhttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4038573
17. Taylor, A.L., (2017). Global Health Law: International Law and Public Health Policy, International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 268–81.
18. Fidler, David P., "International Law and Global Public Health" (1999)., Articles by Maurer Faculty, 652. Retrieved fromhttps://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/652
19. Anne Peters, Die Pandemie und das Völkerrecht (The Pandemic and Public International Law) (February 9, 2021), in: Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper, 2021-03.
20. Vorontsov A.L., & Vorontsova E.V., (2018), International legal interaction of states in the field of health protection: analysis of modern practice, Lex Russica (Russian Law), 71-82.

First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the research in the article submitted for review is, as its name implies, the legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The stated boundaries of the study are fully respected by the author. The methodology of the research is not disclosed in the text of the article, but it is obvious that the scientists used universal dialectical, logical, formal-legal, comparative-legal research methods. The relevance of the topic of the article chosen by the author is justified as follows. On the one hand, "At the present stage, improving the effectiveness of state cooperation in the field of health protection has become one of the key areas of activity of international institutional structures at the universal and regional levels. This is due to the fact that the right to health is one of the fundamental human rights, which should be fully ensured by the efforts of countries in domestic and foreign policy." On the other hand, "The need and importance of cooperation in the field of healthcare are conditioned by trends in global challenges and threats that threaten humanity in the field of healthcare." Finally, "the SCO as an institutional interstate association has become one of the forms of organization of interaction between states in key areas of vital interest, including in the field of public health protection." Additionally, the author needs to list the names of the leading scientists involved in the study of the problems raised in the article, as well as reveal the degree of their study. The article does not explicitly say what the scientific novelty of the work is. In fact, it manifests itself in the author's identification of some problems of cooperation in the field of healthcare within the SCO and his recommendations for their solution. However, the work is mostly descriptive in nature. The material used in it needs in-depth critical analysis. The scientific style of the research is fully sustained by the author. The structure of the work is not entirely logical in the sense that the final part of the article cannot be clearly separated from its main part. In the introductory part of the work, the author substantiates the relevance of the chosen research topic; in its main part, the scientist describes the content of key international documents regulating issues of cooperation in the field of healthcare within the SCO, identifies some problems of such and suggests ways to solve them. The content of the article fully corresponds to its title, but it is not without some disadvantages, both general and particular. Thus, in terms of volume, the introductory part of the work amounted to about 1/3 of the article, while the final part of the study is not separated from the main one. The author needs to reveal in more detail the main directions of cooperation in the field of healthcare within the SCO and identify the vectors of modernization of such. The scientist writes: "... strengthening the international legal framework for regulating the right to health within the SCO, in our opinion, can have a certain positive impact on the adoption of necessary, more specific universal international treaties in this direction, especially in the fight against infectious diseases." The author needs to explain and explicitly indicate which international agreements in the field of healthcare are needed in the first place. The author does not always make references to the sources of information used. The scientist should avoid continuous quoting. The bibliography of the study is presented by 16 sources (international documents, scientific articles, textbook, analytical data). From a formal point of view, this is enough; from the actual point of view, the author is recommended to expand the theoretical base of the study and for this purpose refer to the scientific works of V. L. Abramov, E. I. Safronova, as well as to the dissertation work of V. Y. Smolensky. This will allow the scientist to clarify and deepen some of the provisions of the article, as well as bring elements of discussion into it. There is no appeal to opponents as such, which is unacceptable for scientific work. The author refers to a number of sources used in writing the article solely to confirm his judgments and to illustrate some of the provisions of the study. The scientist does not enter into a scientific discussion. There are conclusions based on the results of the study ("The analysis shows that within the framework of the SCO, the organization of international legal cooperation follows a standard scenario: the consolidation of commitment to joint cooperation in the field of healthcare in declarative documents, followed by the adoption of cooperation programs in specific areas in the field of medicine..."Despite the relative effectiveness of this form of interaction, we believe that the SCO's potential in this direction is insufficiently involved, in particular, there is a shortage of international legal acts providing for the imposition on the member states of this organization of specific international legal obligations to implement citizens of the SCO member states to ensure the right to public health protection"; "... strengthening the international legal framework for regulating the right to health within the SCO, in our opinion, can have a certain positive impact on the adoption of necessary, more specific universal international treaties in this direction, especially in the fight against infectious diseases") and they deserve the attention of the readership, but they are dispersed throughout the article. The final part of the study, as already noted, cannot be clearly separated from its main part. In addition, some of the scientist's conclusions need to be specified. The article needs additional proofreading. It contains typos, omissions of words, repetitions, punctuation and syntactic errors. The interest of the readership in the article submitted for review can be shown primarily by specialists in the field of public international law, provided that it is finalized: additional justification of the relevance of the chosen research topic, disclosure of its methodology, expansion of the theoretical base of the study, clarification of the structure of the work and its individual provisions, formulation of clear and specific conclusions based on the results of the entire study, elimination of violations in the design of the article.

Second Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

A REVIEW of an article on the topic "Legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization". The subject of the study. The article proposed for review is devoted to topical issues of legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The author of the reviewed article comments on the provisions of international acts in this area, as well as provides the practice of their application. The subject of the study was the provisions of international legal acts, the opinions of scientists, and the business practice of interaction between subjects within the SCO. Research methodology. The purpose of the study is not stated directly in the article. At the same time, it can be clearly understood from the title and content of the work. The goal can be designated as the consideration and resolution of certain problematic aspects of the issue of the prospects for the development of legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Based on the set goals and objectives, the author has chosen the methodological basis of the study. In particular, the author uses a set of general scientific methods of cognition: analysis, synthesis, analogy, deduction, induction, and others. In particular, the methods of analysis and synthesis made it possible to summarize and share the conclusions of various scientific approaches to the proposed topic, as well as draw specific conclusions from examples of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The most important role was played by special legal methods. In particular, the author actively applied the formal legal method, which made it possible to analyze and interpret the norms of current legislation (first of all, the norms of the provisions of the acts concluded within the framework of the SCO). For example, the following conclusion of the author: In accordance with article 5 of the Agreement, the coordination of cooperation on the implementation of its provisions is carried out by an expert working group, whose activities are regulated by the relevant regulations. The parties bear the costs of fulfilling their international legal obligations under this agreement independently and take all necessary measures to protect intellectual property objects obtained during the implementation of the Agreement (Article 3). The parties may also conclude additional agreements during the fulfillment of the terms of the Agreement (Article 6). The possibilities of an empirical research method related to with the study of the materials of the practice of interaction of subjects within the framework of the SCO. So, we note the following: "There is no doubt about the need to strengthen cooperation between the SCO member states in the field of healthcare. Experts note that the geographical region occupied by these countries is at high risk (especially Southeast Asia) of the occurrence and spread of epidemic infectious diseases of bacterial and viral etiology (pandemics of plague, cholera, influenza), of the new diseases - SARS, avian influenza A/H5NI/, Nina viral encephalitis, etc.), as well as natural disasters." Thus, the methodology chosen by the author is fully adequate to the purpose of the study, allows you to study all aspects of the topic in its entirety. Relevance. The relevance of the stated issues is beyond doubt. There are both theoretical and practical aspects of the significance of the proposed topic. From the point of view of theory, the topic of expanding aspects in the interaction of states in the field of healthcare is complex and ambiguous. The author is right that "effective counteraction to viral infections is possible only in the case of close cooperation and interstate interaction without regard to the difference in economic development, standard of living, degree of development of medical services, political interests, since viral diseases in the conditions of current globalization, the current unprecedented development of transport infrastructure, which makes it possible to move relatively quickly even between remote They are a serious threat to the health and even the life of mankind." Thus, scientific research in the proposed field should only be welcomed. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the proposed article is beyond doubt. Firstly, it is expressed in the author's specific conclusions. Among them, for example, is the following conclusion: "international cooperation in the field of health is becoming increasingly relevant due to the need to ensure the fundamental right to health and the serious threat posed by epidemiological diseases. However, socio-economic differences in health systems prevent full integration in this direction. This situation is also typical for the cooperation of the SCO member states in the field of public health protection. In order to deepen cooperation and increase the effectiveness of cooperation within the SCO in the field of healthcare, it is necessary to further strengthen the legal framework towards the concretization of medical care, including the adoption of international treaties in the field of telemedicine and epidemic control." Secondly, the author offers original generalizations of the practice of interaction between states in the field of healthcare within the framework of the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The above conclusions may be relevant and useful for specialists in the field under consideration. Thus, the materials of the article may be of particular interest to the scientific community in terms of contributing to the development of science. Style, structure, content. The subject of the article corresponds to the specialization of the journal "International Law and International Organizations", as it is devoted to legal problems related to the legal regulation of the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The content of the article fully corresponds to the title, as the author considered the stated problems and achieved the research goal. The quality of the presentation of the study and its results should be recognized as fully positive. The subject, objectives, methodology and main results of the study follow directly from the text of the article. The design of the work generally meets the requirements for this kind of work. No significant violations of these requirements were found. At the same time, there are some minor inaccuracies in terms of the design of the work. For example, in the bibliography, in a number of paragraphs, initials are indicated before the surname when specifying the author of the source. However, according to the requirements of the bibliography, the author should first be indicated, and then the initials. Thus, before the publication of the work, it would be necessary to undergo a proofreading procedure. Bibliography. The quality of the literature used should be highly appreciated. The author actively uses the literature presented by authors from Russia and abroad (V.V. Kutyrev, A.Y. Popova, V.Y. Smolensky, E.B. Yezhlova, Yu.V. Demina, V.A. Safronov, I.G. Karnaukhov, A.V. Ivanova, S.A. Shcherbakova, Benjamin Mason Meier, Ling Chen, Anne Peters and others). Thus, the works of the above authors correspond to the research topic, have a sign of sufficiency, and contribute to the disclosure of various aspects of the topic. Appeal to opponents. The author conducted a serious analysis of the current state of the problem under study. All quotes from scientists are accompanied by author's comments. That is, the author shows different points of view on the problem and tries to argue for a more correct one in his opinion. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. The conclusions are fully logical, as they are obtained using a generally accepted methodology. The article may be of interest to the readership in terms of the systematic positions of the author in relation to the issues of promising directions for the development of legal regulation of cooperation in the field of health protection within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Based on the above, summing up all the positive and negative sides of the article, "I recommend publishing"