tion and use of the deep ocean floor may request 

 consultation concerning the activity or experi- 

 ment. 



7. States and their nationals shall render all 

 possible assistance to one another in the event of 

 accident, distress or emergency arising out of 

 activities on the deep ocean floor. 



It should be noted that the United States, 

 during the course of the debates on the resolution 

 creating the Ad Hoc Committee, referred to the 

 "deep ocean floor" without attempting to define 

 it and thereby seemed prepared to accept the 

 uncertainty surrounding the definition of the 

 continental shelf. By contrast, the principles sug- 

 gested to the Ad Hoc Committee recognize the 

 need to eliminate this uncertainty by establishing 

 "as soon as practicable, an internationally agreed 

 precise boundary for the deep ocean floor." 



Moreover, the United States position originally 

 stated by Ambassador Goldberg seemed to exclude 

 only (1) the "national lake" or "median line" 

 approach to the existing definition of the conti- 

 nental shelf; and (2) the view of the general 

 principles of international law that would permit 

 the nation of the first "occupier" of the sea-bed of 

 a submarine area to claim "national sovereignty" 

 over the sea-bed of that area, i.e., the right to 

 exclude anyone from making any use of the area 

 in question without its permission. It did not 

 exclude the claim and exercise of "sovereign 

 rights" in the area in question, i.e., the claim of 

 permanent, exclusive access to the mineral re- 

 sources of the sea-bed and subsoil of that area. By 

 contrast, the principles suggested to the Ad Hoc 

 Committee state expressly that no State "may 

 claim or exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights 

 over any part of the deep ocean floor." 



It should be emphasized that this principle does 

 not imply that title to or sovereignty over the deep 

 ocean floor is being vested in the United Nations. 

 Nations have signed treaties disclaiming sover- 

 eignty over outer space'" ^ and agreeing to make 

 no new claims, including enlargements of existing 



claims, in Antarctica without bestowing sover- 

 eignty or title to unclaimed areas upon the United 

 Nations or any other international agency. 



Finally, the principles suggested to the Ad Hoc 

 Committee, unlike the position earlier taken by 

 the United States, recognize "the interest of the 

 international community in the development of 

 the mineral resources of the deep ocean floor by 

 specifically proposing the "dedication as feasible 

 and practicable of a portion of the value of the 

 resources recovered from the deep ocean floor to 

 international community purposes." 



On the whole, the International Panel supports 

 the statement of principles proposed by the 

 United States. We recommend, however, that the 

 United States should amend its statement to 

 propose the principle that no State should claim or 

 exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights over any 

 part of the sea-bed or subsoil beyond the 200- 

 meter isobath. That would constitute a clear effort 

 to reserve the submarine areas beyond the 200- 

 meter isobath for future international decision. 

 The United States statement of principles seeks to 

 accomplish the same purpose by pronouncing that 

 exploitation "of the natural resources of the ocean 

 floor that occurs prior to estabUshment of the 

 boundary [for the deep ocean floor] shall be 

 understood not to prejudice its location, regardless 

 of whether the coastal State considers the exploi- 

 tation to have occurred on its 'continental shelf.' " 

 But this principle gives no indication of what the 

 United States-or any other coastal State-should 

 reasonably consider to be its "continental shelf 

 for purposes of the Convention on the Continental 

 Shelf. In the absence of such an indication, coastal 

 States may be encouraged to claim wider conti- 

 nental shelves than would be consistent with U.S. 

 interests and thereby influence the ultimate loca- 

 tion of the shelf s boundary. 



Nevertheless, the proposed statement of princi- 

 ples is an important step toward the attainment of 

 United States objectives in the oceans. It is consist- 

 ent with, and indeed points to, the new framework 

 which the panel recommends. While its embodi- 

 ment in a Declaration by the United Nations Gen- 

 eral Assembly may not be more than a recommen- 



108r 



See Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of 

 States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, 

 Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, signed at 

 Washington, D. C. Jan. 27, 1967; entered into force for 

 the United States, Oct. 10, 1967, T.I.A.S. No. 6347. 



""See the Antarctic Treaty, signed at Washington, D. C. 

 Dec. 1, 1959, entered into force for the United States, 



June 23, 1961 

 U.N. T.S. 71 



12 U.S.T. 794, T.I.A.S. No. 4780, 402 



VIII-31 



