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meaning as possible, went quite well. The Drafting Committee 

 is well advanced with respect to all parts of the treaty 

 text, with the exception of the seabed mining and dispute set- 

 tlement provisions. These, however, constitute a very large 

 portion of the text and pose special problems of complexity 

 and technical usage not found to the same degree in other 

 parts. Some progress was made in the seabed mining texts, 

 but dispute settlement was left largely alone, with the in- 

 tention of concentrating on it during the first three weeks 

 of the Drafting Committee Session which begins in late June. 

 The second two weeks of the session will concentrate, on sea- 

 bed mining, and it is anticipated that the Committee may 

 again meet during the negotiating session. The objective is 

 to complete a first reading of the entire text by beginning 

 of the negotiating session in early August. 



The work of the Drafting Committee will never be completed 

 in a literal sense. In a treaty text this large, there will 

 always be room for improvement. The Committee will end its 

 work when the Conference, as a political matter, decides the 

 text is ready for adoption. 



5. A few years ago there was a short-lived rumor that 

 the U.S. and others might try to develop a mini-treaty. What 

 are the major differences between a comprehensive treaty and 

 a- mini- treaty? 



