| The 21st century is the century of energy,and energy is an important issue related to the security and development of a country.At present,with the extensive development of economic globalization,the scope and depth of international energy cooperation are expanding.New forms of international energy cooperation are developing to meet the needs of globalization,such as investment cooperation,technology cooperation and so on.In order to further promote the development of international cooperation,a number of international legal regimes for energy cooperation have emerged both globally and regionally.International legal regimes for energy cooperation include the International Energy Agency,the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries,the Energy Treaty Charter Organization,International Energy Forum,and so on.Regional legal regimes for energy cooperation include the European Union’s energy legal regime,and the energy cooperation regime of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization among others.Among BRICS countries,as they have different characteristics of energy resources,yet similar demand for energy development,there is a strong basis for energy cooperation.In addition,energy cooperation is gradually becoming a major part of cooperation among BRICS countries,and as a result building a legal regime to facilitate this cooperation is increasingly necessary.Furthermore,because BRICS countries are among the most important representatives of emerging countries,energy cooperation among BRICS countries will effect profound changes in the content and forms of energy cooperation worldwide.To ensure the orderly and standardized operation of the energy cooperation in BRICS countries,it is necessary to draw lessons from the experience of current legal regimes of international energy cooperation,to build a legal framework of energy cooperation that conforms to the characteristics and requirements of the BRICS countries.In this thesis,a case study method is undertaken to study the legal regimes of five major international or regional energy cooperation practices,including the IEA’s energy cooperation regime,the OPEC’s energy cooperation regime,the ECT organization’s energy cooperation regime,the EU’s energy cooperation regime and the SCO’s energy cooperation regime.This thesis then proceeds to analyze the specific structural and functional institutions of the establishing treaties,the principles and designs of the energy cooperation organizations,and the specific multi-level operation mechanisms,including an information-sharing mechanism,a supervising mechanism,an emergency reserve mechanism and an energy dispute resolution mechanism.This thesis aims to make suggestions on the proposal and framework for the establishment of a legal regime for energy cooperation among BRICS countries.To be specific,it will start with signing a multilateral agreement on energy cooperation,and on this basis establish an energy cooperation organization and build related legal mechanisms to ensure the regime can play an effective coordination role. |
