1991年蘇聯解體後，由除波羅的海三國以外的原來十二個加盟共和國組成獨立國家國協。獨立國協這個國家聯盟屬區域性政治組織，總部設在白俄羅斯首都明斯克，工作語言為俄語。多年以來，許多跡象顯示，獨立國協成員不只是俄羅斯，尤其是中亞地區的國家在國際上的活動越來越頻繁，並預期將成為來國際矚目的焦點。1992年在西班牙巴塞隆納奧運，獨立國協11個創始國聯合組隊首次以獨立國協名義參加；2002年，獨立國協集體安全條約理事會將「獨立國協集體安全條約」改為「集體安全條約組織」；2011年獨立國協的成員在聖彼得堡簽署協議成立自由貿易區。顯現其關係日益緊密。然而，土庫曼與烏克蘭未能批准獨立國協憲章，2008年喬治亞退出獨立國協，也對這個組織造成衝擊。本文旨在探討獨立國協的發展對國際法運作的影響，它將成為一般的國際組織、新型跨界國家聯盟或煙消雲散而解體？

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, twelve former Soviet republics except for the three Baltic States formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This new regional political organization is an association of states with headquarters inthe Belarusian capital Minsk and Russian as its working language. As time goes by many indications have showed that Russia, along with other CIS members, have been increasing their activities on the international stage; Central Asia states are especially foci of global attention. The CIS had its debut in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when the eleven founding states attended the Games under the CIS banner. In 2002 CIS Collective Security Treaty was renamed the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). In 2011 CIS states created a free trade area (CISFTA). These developments demonstrate an augmenting relation. However there have been setbacks. Turkmenistan and Ukraine failed to ratify the CIS Charter, and in 2008 Georgia withdrew its membership. This article examines the legal implications of the evolving CIS. Will it become just another international organization, a new form of international coalition, or will it eventually come apart?