Geography
The world's largest lake wasn't legally a lake for over two decades
By surface area, the landlocked Caspian Sea dwarfs every other lake on Earth, yet its five bordering states spent 22 years disputing whether it legally counted as a sea or a lake — a question worth billions in oil and gas rights. The 2018 Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea sidestepped the label entirely, giving it a unique 'special legal status' and dividing its waters by a new formula instead.