introduction 1- Research topic: The Nile River, which flows in the northeast of the African continent all the way to its middle, is one of the longest consecutive rivers in the world ([1]). Its length is approximately 6,700 km, and its basin area is estimated at about 2.9 million square kilometers. It passes through several countries (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan([2]), northern Sudan, and Egypt.([3]) There are several sources that mainly supply the Nile River with water, namely the Ethiopian Plateau, the Equatorial Plateau, and the Bahr Basin. Spinner . The Ethiopian Plateau ([4]) is supplied by the Nile River at Aswan with about 85% of the average annual revenue (about 71 billion cubic meters annually), and the waters of the Ethiopian Plateau are collected from several rivers, namely the Sobat River, the Blue Nile ([5]), and the Atbara River. As for the Equatorial Plateau, it is the most regular source of water supply to the Nile throughout the year. The annual average of water coming from the tropical plateau is about 13 billion cubic meters at Aswan, distributed among different sources. They are Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert, Bahr el-Jabal, and the White Nile. The Bahr el Ghazal basin is spread across several small rivers originating from the mountainous regions of Sudan and the Central African Republic. The total annual revenue of these rivers is about 15 billion cubic meters on average. Much of it is lost in swampy areas. ([6]) Perhaps the construction of dams on international river courses is a topic that preoccupies many countries of the world, international organizations, civil society, and even international public opinion. What Ethiopia is doing is seeking to build several dams on the course of the Nile River and its springs, the most famous of which is the Renaissance Dam. This increases the concern of the Egyptians about the extent of the continuity of the water level flowing from the river during the construction of the dam, after the completion of its construction, after its operation, and during the filling of its reservoir, and the extent to which the foundations of this dam are susceptible to corrosion and erosion factors and the impact of this on its collapse and water leakage from it. Therefore, it was necessary for me to be exposed to the international legal rules governing the construction of dams on international waterways, especially international rivers. 2- The importance of research: Ethiopia's commencement of building the Renaissance Dam had a significant impact on the search of jurists and those working in the field of international law for the international legal rules governing the construction of the dam, through which Ethiopia could be legally confronted in particular as a party to the crisis, and confronting the international community in general if the Egyptian administration decided to seek to take measures. And certain measures guarantee the protection of the Nile River and the share that goes to Egypt from it, in accordance with the rules of general international law, and in a way that does not hold the Egyptian administration any international responsibility for these procedures and measures. In addition to that, it was necessary to technically delve into some matters that deal with the construction of dams from an engineering and technical standpoint, and to match those Technical and technological standards with corresponding legal rules so that the research is integrated in terms of taking into account international legal aspects and taking into account technical aspects in accordance with international standards. 3- Research problems: The research addresses many questions raised by the research topic: The most important of which is - What are the most important agreements that regulate the use of the Nile water? What benefit will accrue to Egypt if it relies on these agreements? Is it permissible for countries upstream of the Nile to resort to the principle of a clean slate to evade historical obligations towards Egypt’s share in the Nile waters, or do agreements of an in-kind nature represent an exception to the principle of a clean slate? What are the theories of international jurisprudence that discuss the rights of riverine states to conduct projects on the course of the international river? Is Ethiopia relying on one of them in its construction of the Renaissance Dam? What is the effect of the dam’s size being disproportionate to the water flow rate? Is there a clear role for the Institute of International Law and the Helsinki Rules in protecting the rights of riverine states? Does Egypt have a historical right to the waters of the Nile, and what is the standard followed in recognizing such a historical right? One of the most important questions raised by the research is the extent to which it is permissible to build dams in upstream countries? What are the international legal rules that govern the construction and operation of dams so that this does not affect the level and shares of water that goes to the countries of the middle course of the river and the downstream countries? In other words, what are the rules governing filling dam reservoirs at the beginning of the dam’s operation and during the operation period? What are the international rules governing compensation for damages resulting from building a dam that does not comply with international standards? As a result of these questions, the study was divided according to the following plan: 4- Research methodology: In this research, I followed an analytical, grounded approach. The original approach was demonstrated in restoring the branches to their origins, as technical and legal documents issued by the relevant international organizations were researched, such as the report of the International Dams Commission, which set strategic priorities in building large dams. We echoed these priorities in the International Convention on the Law of International Watercourses and their use for non-navigational purposes. We also followed an analytical approach aimed at explaining, interpreting and clarifying international agreements and approaches to international jurisprudence to reach the results and recommendations of the study in this research. 5- Research plan: The plan of this research is to divide the study into two chapters. In the first chapter, we address the international legal system for utilizing the waters of the Nile River, and in the second chapter we discuss the strategic priorities in building dams. 6- Division: In this research we study the following: Chapter One: The international legal system for the use of the Nile River water. The first section: The legal nature of agreements to benefit from the waters of the Nile River. The second topic: international jurisprudence and the construction of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Chapter Two: Strategic priorities in building dams The first topic: The role of the Institute of International Law and the Helsinki Rules in protecting the rights of riverine states. The second topic: Respecting acquired historical rights such as fair sharing (reasonable and fair) for the waters of the Nile River.