What legal character does the Istanbul document have?

Question

The Budapest memorandum and the Istanbul document are two important documents thought to guarantee security & stability in the regions of the former Soviet Union. 1

The Instanbul documents states:

"We reaffirm the inherent right of each and every participating State to be free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, as they evolve. "

I have heard that the Instanbul document is a declaration of intent, not a treaty. What is the legal character of this document? Is it legally binding? If yes has Russia retreated from that agreement?

Istanbul document

Answer 1

This is what is usually called a declaration (that the Instanbul Document is sometimes called a declaration of intent has no legal significance). Declarations are not binding in the way that treaties are. They don't independently create obligations to the world. But they can play a role in establishing or reflecting customary international law; can provide evidence of opinio juris; and domestic legal systems can look to them in applying a presumption of conformity.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are two other declarations. They both happen to reflect a lot of customary international law: much of the content is binding even though it also appears in these declarations.