537 



I. M ultilateral Arrangements 



The chief multilateral institution dealing with pollution of the 

 oceans due to deliberate waste disposal is the Convention on the Prevention 



of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (hereinafter 



4 

 "Ocecin Dumpxng Convention or "the Convention") signed m London in 1972. 



This Convention was concluded largely through the efforts of the United 

 States^ which had previously enacted Title I of its Marine Protection, 

 Research, and Sanctuaries Act, 33 U.S.C. §§1401 et seq. (1972). The Con- 

 vention was modelled to a great extent on the provisions of the U.S. legis- 

 lation. It became effective according to its terms in 1973, and came into 

 force for the United States in 1975. At the time it ratified the Convention, 



the U.S. amended its own ocean dumping legislation to conform with the Con- 



5 

 vention. 



The Convention generally applies to "dumping", which is defined in 



Art. Ill, Sec. 1(a) (i) as "any deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or 



other matter from vessels, platforms or other man-made structures at sea." 



Annexes to the Convention classify substances into different regimes of 



regulation. Dumping of substances in Annex I, which includes high-level 



wastes, is prohibited. Art. IV, Sec. 1(a). Dumping of substances in 



Annex II, which includes other radioactive wastes or radioactive matter, 



is subject to national permitting authority. Id. , Sec. 1(b). The dumping 



of unlisted substances is subject to general permits. Id. , Sec. 1(c). 



Annex III of the Convention specifies criteria to be employed in issuing 



pejnnits for any dumping at sea. ld_. , Sec. 2. Pursuant to Art. XIV, Sec. 



(4) (a) of the Convention, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 



has been designated as a recommendatory body to the Intergovernmental 



