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would jeopardize the "delicate compromise" reflected in the 

 Draft Convention. This concern was reiterated by two delegations 

 during that meeting and by several other delegations, privately. 



11. What is the status of deep seabed legislation in 

 other nations, like West Germany, Japan, France and the United 

 Kingdom? 



A. The Federal Republic of Germany enacted ocean mining 



legislation last summer. In the United Kingdom, an ocean mining 



Bill has been passed by the House of Lords and is ready for a 



vote in the House of Commons. France has recently issued a 



decree, which we have under study. Other Western European 



countries and Japan have expressed interest, but have made no 



decision to enact legislation. 



12. What effect was there on the deep seabed negotiatons 

 as a result of the legistation passed by the Congress last year? 



A. It is difficult to determine. Some believe it had 



no effect, because the legislation had been before the Congress 



for so long that its enactment was almost anticlimactic. 



Others believe that some of the amendments to the LOS text 



achieved last year could not have been accomplished without 



the legislation's enactment. The one point that is clear is 



that the legislation's enactment had no detrimental effect 



on the negotiations. 



13. What is the long-range outlook for deep sea mining 

 as potential for return on investment for private enterprises 

 and as the source of revenue for the International Seabed 

 Authority? 



It is impossible to predict with certainty the return on 



