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5. As may be recalled, the question of the Preparatory Commission had been 

 considered by the Plenary of the Conference at its informal meetings, as part of 

 the late President Shirley Amerasinghe's consultations on the final clauses. It 

 became clear that the issues involved were so closely related to the issues 

 negotiated on Port XI that the forum of the First Committee was the more 

 appropriate for the negotiating process. 



6. Consequently, following consultations with the President at this session, the 

 matter was taken up formally for the first time. In order not to lose the 

 valuable contents of the late President's report on the subject, and also to 

 facilitate our examination , it was decided tuat those contents be made the basis 

 for discourse. Furthermore, it was agreed that in order to avoid duplication, 

 the negotiating effort should be co-chaired by the President and the Chairman 



of the First Committee, using the established system of a 'forking Group of 21. 



7. The Working Group of 21 held four meetings and discussed, inter alia , critical 

 issues relating to the composition, mandate, decision-making system, and the 

 financing of the Preparatory Commission. Consistent with the understanding, it 

 took as a basis for negotiation, the report of the President on the work of the 

 Informal Plenary of the Conference on the question of the Preparatory Commission 

 (document. A/C0NF.62/L. 55 and Corr.l) in particular the annexed draft resolution 

 proposed for adoption by the Conference providing interim arrangements for the 

 International Gea-Bed Authority and the Law of the Sea Tribunal (see annex II of 

 the same document). 



8. Following an extensive and, I must add, illuminating discussion on the issues 

 in the Working Group of 21, the President of the Conference and I commenced 

 preliminary consultations with the members of the Working Group of 21 with at view 

 to updating the ideas contained in the said draft resolution. I am of the opinion 

 that the efforts made by the First Committee at its various negotiating fora on 

 the Preparatory Commission, though preliminary, has achieved some constructive 

 results in identifying major issues and the interrelationships among them. I am 

 encouraged consequently to make the following observations: 



9. First, there appeared to be general agreement that the Preparatory Commission 

 should be established by a resolution of the Conference included in the Final Act. 



10. Secondly, the objective in establishing the Preparatory Commission was broadly 

 recognized, that is to say the purpose of making provisional arrangements for the 

 first session of the Assembly of the International Sea-Eed Authority, and of its 

 Council. The objective included such arrangements regarding the establishment of 

 its other organs, namely the Secretariat ar 1 the Enterprise, as well as the 

 convening of the International Law of the Sea Tribunal. 



11. The title of ''Preparatory Commission for the International Sea-Bed Authority 

 and the International I*.-.: of the Sea Tribunal" may prove to be the mo^-t appropriate. 



12. On the issue of the membership of the Commission, the text of the President's 

 draft appeared to present difficulties for some of the industrialized countries. 

 They would prefer that it be opened to all signatories to the Final Act. The other 



