promote and cooperate in such research. It confirms the rights of coastal States to require consent for such research undertaken in marine areas under their jurisdiction. These rights are balanced by specific criteria to ensure that coastal States exercise the consent authority in a predictable and reasonable fashion to promote maximum access for research activities.
The Convention establishes a dispute settlement system to promote compliance with its provisions and the peaceful settlement of disputes. These procedures are flexible, in providing options as to the appropriate means and fora for resolution of disputes, and comprehensive, in subjecting the bulk of the Convention's provisions to enforcement through binding mechanisms. The system also provides Parties the means of excluding from binding dispute settlement certain sensitive political and defense matters.
Further analysis of provisions of the Convention's 17 Parts, comprising 320 articles and nine Annexes, is set forth in the Commentary that is enclosed as part of this Report.
The Agreement
The achievement of a widely accepted and comprehensive law of the sea convention -to which the United States can become a Party- has been a consistent objective of successive U.S. administrations for the past quarter century. However, the United States decided not to sign the Convention upon its adoption in 1982 because of objections to the regime it would have established for managing the development of seabed mineral resources beyond national jurisdiction. While the other Parts of the Convention were judged beneficial for U.S. ocean policy interests, the United States determined the deep seabed regime of Part XI to be inadequate and in need of reform before the United States could consider becoming Party to the Convention.
Similar objections to Part XI also deterred all other major industrialized nations from adhering to the Convention. However, as a result of the important international political and economic changes of the last decade including the end of the Cold War and growing reliance on free market principles-widespread recognition emerged that the seabed mining regime of the Convention required basic change in order to make it generally acceptable. As a result, informal negotiations were launched in 1990, under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General, that resulted in adoption of the Agreement on July 28,1994.
The legally binding changes set forth in the Agreement meet the objections of the United States to Part XI of the Convention. The United States and all other major industrialized nations have signed the Agreement.
The provisions of the Agreement overhaul the decision-making procedures of Part XI to accord the United States, and others with major economic interests at stake, adequate influence over future decisions on possible deep seabed mining. The Agreement guarantees a seat for the United States on the critical executive body and requires a consensus of major contributors for financial decisions.
The Agreement restructures the deep seabed mining regime along free market principles and meets the U.S. goal of guaranteed access by U.S. firms to deep seabed minerals on the basis of reasonable terms and conditions. It eliminates mandatory transfer of technology and production controls. It scales back the structure of the organization to administer the mining regime and links the activation and operation of institutions to the actual development of concrete commercial interest in seabed mining. A future decision, which the United States and a few of its allies can block, is required before the organization's potential operating arm (the Enterprise) may be activated, and any activities on its part are subject to the same requirements that apply to private mining companies. States have no obligation to finance the Enterprise, and subsidies inconsistent with GATT are prohibited.
The Agreement provides for grandfathering the seabed mine site claims established on the basis of the exploration work already conducted by companies holding U.S. licenses on the basis of arrangements "similar to and no less favorable than" the best terms granted to previous claimants; further, it strengthens the provisions requiring consideration of the potential environmental impacts of deep seabed mining.
The Agreement provides for its provisional application from November 16, 1994, pending its entry into force. Without such a provision, the Convention would enter into force on that date with its objectionable seabed mining provisions unchanged. Provisional application may continue only for a limited period, pending entry into force. Provisional application would terminate on November 16, 1998, if the Agreement has not entered into force due to failure of a sufficient number of industrialized States to become Parties.
Further, the Agreement provides flexibility in allowing States to apply it provisionally in accordance with their domestic laws and regulations.
In signing the agreement on July 29, 1994, the United States indicated that it intends to apply the agreement provisionally pending ratification.
Provisional application by the United States will permit the advancement of U.S. seabed mining interests by U.S. participation in the International Sea-bed Authority from the outset to ensure that the implementation of the regime is consistent with those interests, while doing so consistent with existing laws and regulations.
Further analysis of the Agreement and its Annex, including analysis of the provisions of Part XI of the Convention as modified by the Agreement, is also set forth in the Commentary that follows.
Status of the Convention And the Agreement
One hundred and fifty-two States signed the Convention during the two years it was open for signature. As of September 8,1994, 65 States had deposited their instruments of ratification, accession or succession to the Convention. The Convention will enter into force for these States on November 16, 1994, and thereafter for other States 30 days after deposit of their instruments of ratification or accession.
