Abstract:

The Turkish Straits, composed of the Bosphorus, the Marmara Sea and the Dardanelles that connect the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, have been on Turkish territory since the conquest of Istanbul. Thus, more than ten treaties have been concluded so far regarding these waterways, which have been under the sovereignty of a sole state for centuries, unlike the other similar natural waterways. For the last 85 years, a specific passage regime has been applied under the Montreux Convention. In addition to being a multilateral international treaty, its influence reaches beyond its states-parties and even to the NATO and EU as some of the Black Sea coastal states are also members of both of these organizations. The Turkish Straits have evolved from national importance to universal significance in the historical process. In order to determine both the significance of the Straits and the legal changes they have undergone, first, it is useful to examine the historical background up to the Montreux Convention. Second, this article scrutinizes the current status of the Straits and the status they would have if the Montreux Convention is terminated in the future. Finally, the importance of the Montreux Convention for Turkey and the Black Sea riparian states is analyzed.

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