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the deep sea-bed (if such agreement is believed to be required), it is 
appropriate to investigate various alternatives. Three major choices are 
most frequently suggested. 
(1) The flag nation concept 
One concept is essentially that of laissez faire: let the appropriation 
and development of the minerals of the deep sea-bed continue to be 
undertaken by any nation willing to risk its treasure and the lives of its 
nationals to win those minerals. 
(2) Creation of an international licensing mechanism 
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the proposal for establishment 
of an international licensing authority. This presupposes the creation in 
some supranational agency of a new competence, not now existing, to 
grant or refuse reconnaissance permits, exploration licenses, and pro- 
duction concessions just as sovereigns now do within their national 
jurisdiction on dry land and on the continental shelf. Presumably the 
new supranational agency would, or could, control or prohibit produc- 
tion, set prices, control repatriation of capital and profits, and fix and 
collect taxes and royalties, as some sovereigns do. Neither the United 
Nations nor any other international entity now has competence to exer- 
cise such powers. Presumably the nations of the world, collectively, do 
have that competence, but they have not, singly or collectively, delegated 
it to the Assembly of the United Nations. 
(3) Registry and code of conduct 
A third and intermediate solution is the ultimate establishment of 
“norms of international conduct,” to be obeyed by every nation whose 
flag is flown by an exploratory expedition. Coupled with this, the 
establishment, by international convention, of a central registry system, 
has been suggested as a refinement of the flag-nation concept. A two- 
fold concept seems indicated: registry of national claims, and a code 
of national conduct in the occupation and use of the areas claimed. 
These concepts find analogies in the existing mineral laws of many 
countries. 
If such arrangements evolved on the pattern of existing national laws, 
notice would be recorded in an international registry office by the flag 
nation of the expedition, stating the intended occupation of specified 
areas, of predetermined permissible size. An exclusive right of occu- 
pancy, secured for a known time, would accrue to the recording nation, 
for the benefit of its licensees, with respect to the published area. The 
