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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">bricslawjournal</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">BRICS Law Journal</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Юридический журнал БРИКС</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="ppub">2409-9058</issn><issn pub-type="epub">2412-2343</issn><publisher><publisher-name>Publishing House V.Ема</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.21684/2412-2343-2025-12-3-81-100</article-id><article-id custom-type="elpub" pub-id-type="custom">bricslawjournal-1389</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>ARTICLE</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>Territories with a Special Regime in BRICS Countries</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title></trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2752-240X</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Vasiliev</surname><given-names>S.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Stanislav Vasiliev – Associate Professor, Head, Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law</p><p>33 Universitetskaya St., Sevastopol, 299053</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">mnogoslov@mail.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2545-5546</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Motsnaya</surname><given-names>Yu.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Yulia Motsnaya  – Junior Researcher, Scientific Expert Center</p><p>33 Universitetskaya St., Sevastopol, 299053</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">yuliya.mocnaya@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0385-6529</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name name-style="western" xml:lang="en"><surname>Potapova</surname><given-names>L.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Lyubov Potapova  – Junior Researcher, Scientific Expert Center</p><p>33 Universitetskaya St., Sevastopol, 299053</p></bio><email xlink:type="simple">lybovpssev@yandex.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff-1"><aff xml:lang="en">Sevastopol State University<country>Russian Federation</country></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2025</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>18</day><month>10</month><year>2025</year></pub-date><volume>12</volume><issue>3</issue><fpage>81</fpage><lpage>100</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>Copyright &amp;#x00A9; Vasiliev S., Motsnaya Y., Potapova L., 2025</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2025</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Vasiliev S., Motsnaya Y., Potapova L.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Vasiliev S., Motsnaya Y., Potapova L.</copyright-holder><license license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://www.bricslawjournal.com/jour/article/view/1389">https://www.bricslawjournal.com/jour/article/view/1389</self-uri><abstract><p>This research presents a comparative analysis of territories with special legal regimes in the BRICS member countries. It examines both the theoretical foundations and the practical aspects of the functioning of territories with special status. The study examines such features as the legal status, purposes, and ways behind their creation, as well as their impact on the socio-economic development of the country. Based on legal analysis and regulatory practices, the authors propose a classification of these territories into five categories: administrative, unrecognized (or with limited recognition), economic (special economic zones), ecological (specially protected natural areas), and ethnic. The findings of this study aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness and developmental prospects of such territories within the context of the legal framework of the Russian Federation.</p></abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>union territories</kwd><kwd>special administrative regions</kwd><kwd>special economic zones</kwd><kwd>protected areas</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group xml:lang="en"><funding-statement>This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation under Grant No. 24-28-00016. URL: https://rscf.ru/project/24-28-00016/.</funding-statement></funding-group></article-meta></front><back><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="cit1"><label>1</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="ru">Balgabaeva, G. B., &amp; Novakova, O. V. (2018). Constitutional and legal status of Hong Kong and Macao after joining the PRC. Asia and Africa Today, 10(735), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.31857/S032150750000866-4. 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