20S 



undertaken there." But the coastal nation is 

 enjoined not to "norniully withhold its con- 

 sent if the request is submitted by a qualified 

 institution witli a view to purely scientific re- 

 search into the phj'sical or biological charac- 

 teristics of the continental shelf, subject to the 

 proviso that the coastal nation shall have the 

 right, if it so desires, to participate or to be 

 represented in the research, and that in any 

 event the results shall be jiublished." 



There are many ambiguities in this admoni- 

 tion which coastal nations may interpret to 

 enlarge the restrictions on scientific inquiry. 

 What is research "concerning" the continen- 

 tal shelf? When is such research "undertaken 

 there"? When are conditions "not nonnal"? 

 What is "purely" scientific research ? What is 

 the line between "exploring" the continental 

 shelf, for the purpose of which the coastal 

 nation exercises "sovereign rights" under 

 Article 2 of the Convention, and "funda- 

 mental oceanographic or other scientific re- 

 search" with which, according to Article 5(1) 

 of the Convention, neither the exploitation 

 of the continental shelf nor the exploitation 

 of its natural resources may interfere ? A new 

 international convention is needed to elimi- 

 nate these ambiguities and provide a solid 

 foundation for the freedom of scientists to 

 explore the world's oceans. 



The Commission recommends that the 

 United States take the initiative to pro- 

 pose a new convention embodying the fol- 

 lowing essential provisions: 



(1) Scientific research in the territorial 

 waters or on and concerning the continen- 

 tal shelf of a coastal nation may be con- 

 ducted without its prior consent, provided 

 that it is notified of the objectives and 

 methods of the research and the period or 

 periods of time during which it will be 

 conducted, in sufficient time to enable the 

 coastal nation to decide whether it wishes 



to participate or be represented in all or 

 part of the research; and provided that 

 the investigators agree to publish the 

 results of the research. 



(2) Fisheries research (including the 

 limited taking of fish specimens) may be 

 conducted in the exclusive fisheries zone 

 of any coastal nation under the same 

 conditions. 



(3) Research submersibles may be used 

 in the conduct of authorized scientific re- 

 search in territorial waters, even if they 

 do not navigate on the surface as the Con- 

 vention on the Territorial Sea and Con- 

 tiguous Zone now requires them to do, 

 provided that the coastal nation is also 

 notified of the time, place, and manner of 

 their use sufficiently in advance to assure 

 safety of navigation. 



(4) Research buoys may be placed in 

 any coastal nation's territorial waters. 

 Buoys so placed, as well as those placed in 

 the superjacent waters of the continental 

 shelves or in the high seas beyond the con- 

 tinental shelves, shall be protected against 

 unwarranted interference from any 

 source. The coastal nation, however, may 

 specify reasonable requirements for loca- 

 tion, lighting, marking, and communica- 

 tions with respect to buoys placed in its 

 territorial waters. 



It will not be difficult to prevent abuse of 

 the recommended new convention. From its 

 vessels or aircraft, the coastal nation can ob- 

 serve all acti\ities carried on in the name of 

 scientific inquiry. It also has the practical 

 power to inspect buoys and other unmanned 

 devices used for research purposes. 



AVhether a vessel or installation is engaged 

 in mineral resources exploitation or in scien- 

 tific research can readily be ascertained by 

 observing the gear or equipment it carries 

 and the overboard operations in which it is 



