151 



"race" among nations to register claims, the 

 rec'oinini'iulations gi-eatly temper the nature 

 of this race. Most impoi-tant of all, registered 

 claims are limited in time; when they expire, 

 furtlier exploration or exploitation of the 

 mineral resources in the area covered by tlie 

 expired claim will l>e subject to whatever 

 Icfral-political framework nu\y then be in 

 ert'ect. The recommended framework can be 

 ciianged at any time in the light of experience 

 with mineral resources exploration and ex- 

 ploitation in the deep seas. Only the claims 

 already registered will be immune from such 

 change and tlien only until they expire by 

 tlieir own terms. Stability is achieved without 

 unduly inhibiting change. 



Tlirough the recommended International 

 Fund, the poor and developing nations of the 

 world will share the benefits of subsea min- 

 erals exploitation. 



Creation of an Intermediate Zone 



The uncertainties surrounding the present 

 definition of the continental shelf may have 

 raised tlie expectations of some coastal na- 

 tions to the point at which they may refuse to 

 accept the Commission's recommended re- 

 definition of the shelf without the preferen- 

 tial rights of access to the mineral resources 

 of a reasonable subsea area lying beyond the 

 shelf. It is also recognized that, in the lan- 

 guage of the Tnnnan Proclamation of 1945, 

 "self-protection" may comjjel "the coastal na- 

 tion to keep close watch over activities off its 

 shores which are of the nature necessary for 

 the utilization of" tlie mineral resources lying 

 reasonably beyond the shelf. 



At the same time, however, tlie Commission 

 remains of the view that the mineral resources 

 of the deep seas cannot, in fairness or law, be 

 said to belong to the coastal nations so that all 

 other nations sliould be entirely excluded 

 from the benefits of their exploitation. 



These considerations lead the Commission 



to recommend that intermediate zones be 

 created encompassing the betl and subsoil 

 of tlie deep seas, but only to tiie 2,500-meter 

 isobath, or 100 nautical miles from the base- 

 line for measuring the breadth of each 

 coastal nation's territorial sea, whichever al- 

 ternative gives the coastal nation the greater 

 area for the pui'poses for which intermediate 

 zones are created. 



Only the coastal nation or its licensees, 

 wliioh may or may not be its nationals, should 

 be authorized to explore or exploit the min- 

 eral resources of the intermediate zone. In 

 all otlier respects, exploration and exploita- 

 tion in the intermediate zone should be gov- 

 erned by the framework recommended above 

 for the areas of the deep seas beyond the 

 intermediate zone. 



If the same intermediate zone is claimed 

 by two or more nations whose coasts are op- 

 posite each other, or by two or more adjacent 

 nations, the boundaries should be deter- 

 mined by applying the "median-line" princi- 

 ples set forth in Article 6 of the Convention 

 on the Continental 8helf. 



The 2,500-meter isobath is considered by 

 authorities to be the average depth of the 

 basis of the world's geological continental 

 slopes; 100 nautical miles is the average 

 width of the continental shelves and slopes. 



The Commission proposes that the boun- 

 daries of each coa.stal nation's intermediate 

 zone be fixed in terms of geographical co- 

 ordinates for each nation and not subject 

 to change because of subsequent altera- 

 tions in the coastline or revelations by more 

 detailed surveys. The coordinates should be 

 recorded with the International Registrj' 

 Authority. 



The Commission's recommendations re- 

 garding an intermediate zone embody a com- 

 promise between the position that the conti- 



