The Issues of Sovereignty and Ownership in Respect to Sea-bed and Ocean Floor and its Resources (including exploration and Exploitation of Resources from the Sea bed beyond the boundaries of National Jurisdiction of States)
Abstrakt
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 sets in its Article 136 that "The Area and its resources are the common heritage of mankind". As far as the sea-bed and the ocean floor are concerned, the explicit prohibition of appropriation of the sea-bed beyond the jurisdiction of states is contained in Article 137 of the UNCLOS.
According to this article, no state shall claim or exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights over any part of theArea or its resources. This means not only the prohibition of claiming state sovereignty over the Area but also over its resources, that is deposits.
It is the prohibition of claiming sovereignty which could be realized, for example by occupation, exploitation, etc. Apart from appropriation in the sense of exercising sovereignty, Article 137 of the Convention contains the prohibition in the sense that no state or individual or legal person can claim any part of the Area.
The utility of the regime of the common heritage of mankind set in rbe UNCLOS is mainly in the fact that it prevents uncontrolled exploitation of important resources. The protection of the marine environment, which is so emphasized by the regulation, is especially important both from the perspective of rational administration of the resources and the protection of the sea environment from pollution.
In these aspects, the idea of common heritage of mankind as something we pass over to future generations could be fulfilled. As to the financial contributions from mining activities which will be paid by the contractors to the International Seabed Authority, their level and further distribution, this is a question for future development.