Abstract
Effective use and protection of transboundary water resources is a priority area of international legal regulation due to the interdependence of environmental, economic and social interests of States. This issue is critical for Kazakhstan, given the formation of a significant part of the country’s water runoff on the territory of neighboring states. The purpose of the study is to systematize international legal mechanisms for the settlement of transboundary water disputes and to develop recommendations for their effective application in the water diplomacy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The scientific and practical significance of the work is determined by the consideration of dispute resolution as an integrated system of prevention, coordination and institutional management. The methodological tools include formal-legal, comparative-legal, doctrinal, institutional and system-structural methods, which are used to conduct a comparative analysis of international conventions and water legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As a result, a multi-level settlement model has been substantiated, covering information exchange, prior notification, joint monitoring, negotiations, interstate commissions, mediation, fact-finding, as well as arbitration and judicial proceedings. The value of the research lies in the conceptual justification of the transition from the reactive settlement of water disputes to their prevention and sustainable institutional management.