659 
thoroughly the issues at stake in consultation with representatives of the Ameri- 
can Bar Association and others competent in the field of international law, with 
scientific and technical experts and with leaders of American industry in oceanic 
development” ; 
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the American Bar Association 
Supports the efforts being made in and out of the governments of interested 
states to protect the seabed and subsoil of the deep ocean floor beyond the limits 
of national jurisdiction from claims of sovereignty or rights of discretionary 
control by any nation or group or organization of nations; 
Supports the call by the United States Government for internationally agreed 
arrangements governing the exploitation of natural resources of the deep ocean 
floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction to be established as soon as 
practicable ; 
Recommends 
(1) That the United States consult with other parties to the 1958 Continental 
Shelf Convention with a view to establishing, through the issuance of parallel 
declarations or by other means, an agreed interpretation of the definition of the 
boundary between the areas of exclusive sovereign rights with respect to natural 
resources of the seabed and subsoil and the deep ocean floor beyond the limits of 
national jurisdiction. 
(2) That within the area of exclusive sovereign rights adjacent to the United 
States, the interests of the United States in the natural resources of the sub- 
marine areas be protected to the full extent permitted by the 1958 Convention on 
the Continental Shelf. 
(3) That on the basis of the information now available, the most desirable long- 
range goal for a regime to govern exploration and development of the mineral 
resources of the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil beyond the limits of na- 
tional jurisdiction is not the creation of a supersovereignty with power to grant 
or deny mineral concessions, but rather agreement upon norms of conduct de- 
signed to minimize conflicts between sovereigns which undertake such explora- 
tion and development. 
(4) That the resources of the bed and subsoil of the deep sea, beyond the limits 
of national jurisdiction, be the subject of study and consultation with a view to 
formulating rules and practices to be observed by common restraint or by other 
arrangements which will assure, inter alia, freedom of exploration by all nations 
on a nondiscriminatory basis, security of tenure to those engaged in producing 
the resources in compliance with such rules, encouragement to discover and de- 
velop these resources, and optimum use to the benefit of all peoples; and 
Authorizes representatives of the Sections of Natural Resources Law and In- 
ternational and Comparative Law and the Standing Committee on Peace and 
Law Through United Nations to express the foregoing as the views of the Amer- 
ican Bar Association to agencies of the Government of the United States and to 
the Congress of the United States. 
