Integrating Sustainable Development into the Adoption of Emergency Orders for the Protection of the Common Heritage of Mankind and the Marine Environment

Author(s):  
Sebastián Preller-Bórquez

Abstract Subjacent to the concept of sustainable development lies a narrative of prevention or mitigation of damages that can constitute a useful argumentative mechanism. In particular, this narrative provides coherence to the motivation behind emergency orders issued by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which are aimed at the protection of the common heritage of mankind and the marine environment. Adopting a strong legal discourse from the beginning would subsequently strengthen the position of the Authority before the Seabed Disputes Chamber should a contractor decide to challenge the emergency order. This is especially true in instances where a contractor seeks to determine the liability of the ISA, as well as compensation for any economic losses the emergency order may have caused to its investment.

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Lodge

Abstract One of the key features of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is its recognition that the seabed and its resources beyond national jurisdiction are the common heritage of mankind. Part XI of the Convention gives precise legal meaning to this term. The International Seabed Authority is responsible for implementing the common heritage principle. Since the Authority was established in 1994, a comprehensive legal regime for the Area has been established. Despite initial problems, the international machinery for the administration of this regime is functioning well. The Authority has made good progress, on the basis of the evolutionary approach set out in the 1994 Agreement, in elaborating a regulatory regime for access to the resources of the Area. Much more work remains to be done, however; in particular, if the economic benefits of the common heritage are to be realized.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Mehdi Remaoun

This article focuses primarily on a submission made by the African Group of States to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) on the operationalisation of the Enterprise. The latter is one of the organs established under Part XI of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) and guided by the principle of the common heritage of mankind (CHM). Following several years of the status quo remaining unchanged, the start of the development of the exploitation regulations for deep seabed mining has led to louder calls to operationalise the Enterprise. This article first outlines the origins and legal foundations of the concept ‘Enterprise’. This is followed by discussions on the status of this organ prior to the African Group’s submission, the main elements contained in the submission as well as the reactions to, and the impact of, the submission. Beyond the issue of the Enterprise, this article also considers other attempts of the African Group to give full effect to the CHM principle in the ISA as well as the Group’s attempts to enshrine the CHM principle in a potential third LOSC implementing agreement on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. It concludes with critical observations that put the various aspects discussed into perspective.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Franckx

AbstractThe principle of the common heritage of mankind was introduced in international law to internationalize certain common spaces beyond national jurisdiction. It has found a certain application in outer space as well as in the Antarctic, but it is with respect to the oceans that it has so far found its fullest exposition. Since the principle is very much tied to the Area in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, i.e., the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, it can be said to have triggered that convention, but at the same time was also almost responsible for its demise. As a consequence, its content has changed over the years. The present article intends to have a closer look at how this principle at present relates to the obligation of broad-margin states to establish the outer limit of their continental shelf.


2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tullio Scovazzi

AbstractThe innovative concept of the common heritage of mankind is embodied in the 1982 LOSC for the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area). It has been subsequently adapted to meet further political and economic realities. Despite the present uncertain situation, the mandate of the International Seabed Authority (ISBA) is already broader than it is commonly believed. The legal condition of the space (the Area), its being the common heritage of mankind, may have an effect also on matters and activities that (though different from minerals and mining activities) are located in that space. While bioprospecting is not specifically regulated by the UNCLOS, there is an inextricable factual link between the protection of the deep seabed environment (including its biodiversity), marine scientific research and bioprospecting. the ISBA, the principles that it represents, as well as its existing competences and responsibilities, need to be taken into consideration when States decide to fill the legal gap of bioprospecting. The role of the ISBA could be expanded in the future to meet new objectives under commonly agreed cooperative schemes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-663
Author(s):  
Karin Mickelson

Abstract This contribution to the symposium on the economic exploitation of the commons focuses on the question of whether and to what extent the principle of the common heritage of mankind (CHM) imposes environmental limits on economic exploitation of the global commons. Focusing on the need to go beyond a unidimensional assessment of the principle, it considers how CHM was originally envisaged, the form it took in the deep seabed regime, in particular, how its role in that regime has developed over time and how it has been utilized as a basis for advocacy. It concludes with an assessment of CHM’s limitations and strategic advantages.


Author(s):  
Michael Sheng-ti Gau ◽  
Si-han Zhao

Abstract In 2014 Japan’s Cabinet Order No. 302 declared the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (OL) to the west and north of Oki-no-Tori Shima (Area 302). Oki-no-Tori Shima consists of two small, barren, and uninhabitable rocks in the West Pacific. The northern part of Area 302 is broader than what the 2012 recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) specify. A question arises whether Order No. 302 violates Article 76(8) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which provides that the OL established by a coastal state ‘on the basis of’ the CLCS recommendations shall be final and binding. Another question is the role played by the CLCS in ‘assisting’ the coastal states to delimit their national jurisdiction so as to know where the Area (i.e., the Common Heritage of Mankind under UNCLOS Articles 1(1)(1) and 136) begins. The essential questions arising from Area 302 concern how well the UNCLOS mechanism can perform to safeguard the Common Heritage of Mankind through preventing encroachment thereupon by individual coastal states. This article looks at the context and explores the obligations implied by Article 76(8) for coastal states to ‘follow’ the recommendations in establishing the OL, with special reference to the northern part of Area 302. The article also examines legal consequences arising from a breach of these obligations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
Yam Prasad Sharma

Batsa Gopal Vaidya's paintings integrate primordial images, symbols, and figures from myths, cultures, and rituals. These images and symbols are the archetypes that appear recurrently in his artworks. The artist shares these primordial images from his collective unconscious, the common heritage of mankind, and the storehouse of archetypes that reappear in the creative process. They suggest the pattern of experiences of our ancestors. These recurring communicable images function as an aesthetic mode of communication in society. Swastika, shaligram, tilaka, the Himalaya, rivers, various deities, and their attributes are such images and symbols that do not only provide aesthetic pleasure but also take the viewers back to their cultural roots, rituals, and myths. This article attempts to trace the archetypes in Vaidya's works and explain their significances.


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