which is a Party to the agreements embodying the 

 new framework. 



(k) To cover the costs of the Registry Author- 

 ity, every State shall be rquired to pay a specified 

 fee for each claim to explore which it registers 

 and an additional specified fee if and when that 

 claim is converted into a claim to exploit. The 

 Registry Authority shall be authorized to fix the 

 fees and collect them from the State Registrants. 



(1) Upon expiration of the period of registra- 

 tion of a claim to explore or exploit particular 

 mineral resources in a particular area of the deep 

 seas, further exploration or exploitation of such 

 resources shall be subject to whatever international 

 legal-political framework may be in effect at that 

 time. The State which registered the expired claim 

 shall not acquire, by virtue thereof, a vested right 

 to continue to explore or exploit the particular 

 mineral resources in the particular area in ques- 

 tion, or even a preference over any other State 

 with respect to such further exploration or exploi- 

 tation. 



This shall also be the case in connection with 

 expired claims in a coastal State's intermediate 

 zone. Of course, if the recommended framework 

 remains in effect at the time of expiration, only 

 the hcensees of the coastal State will continue to 

 be eligible to register claims in the intermediate 

 zone. Whether the business entity on whose behalf 

 the expired claim was registered will also be the 

 business entity on whose behalf a new claim will 

 be registered in the area covered by the expired 

 claim will depend upon the domestic law of the 

 coastal State. 



(m) The panel has recommended above that 

 every State that is a Party to the agreement 

 embodying the new framework shall undertake 

 not to engage in, or authorize, exploitation of the 

 mineral resources of the deep seas except under a 

 registered claim. To effectuate this requirement, it 

 should also be provided that in any conflict 

 between a registered and an unregistered claim, the 

 former shall prevail and no unregistered claim shall 

 be entitled to any of the benefits derived from 

 registration. Thus, operations under an unregis- 

 tered claim, whether conducted by licensees of 

 States which may not sign the agreements em- 

 bodying the new framework or which may not 

 honor the undertakings they have assumed, would 

 have to be carried on (/) in the face of inter- 

 national agreement that no State may claim title 



to or national sovereignty over any area of the bed 

 of the deep seas or its subsoil, or sovereign rights 

 (i.e., permanent, exclusive access) to the mineral 

 resources thereof; (//) without any of the limited, 

 exclusive rights to explore and exploit provided by 

 the new framework; and (iii) subject to the rights 

 granted under a registered claim. As a result, there 

 will be great incentive to become a party to the 

 agreement embodying the new framework and to 

 register claims. 



3. An International Fund 



(a) Every State registering a claim for 

 exploitation shall be required to pay a portion of 

 ,the value of the production, if any, into an 

 International Fund to be expended for purposes 

 specified in the agreements embodying the new 

 framework. The rates of payment shall be fixed 

 for the different minerals by the Registry Author- 

 ity and shall be uniform for all States. 



(b) The proceeds from these payments shall 

 not be expended for the general purposes of the 

 United Nations, but for such ocean-related pur- 

 poses as the financing of marine scientific activity 

 and marine resources exploration and develop- 

 ment, particularly food-from-the-sea programs, 

 and for aid to the developing countries through 

 the World Bank and other international develop- 

 ment agencies. 



(c) The Registry Authority shall collect the 

 payments from the States registering the claims 

 and turn the proceeds over to the International 

 Fund, but shall have nothing to do with the 

 Fund's management. 



(d) The membership of the International Fund, 

 and the manner of choosing its governing body, 

 shall be determined by the United Nations General 

 Assembly. 



The panel's proposal for the creation of an 

 International Fund for the specified purposes is 

 not just another suggestion that rich nations aid 

 poor nations. It offers a practical way to compen- 

 sate the common owners of the mineral resources 

 of the deep seas. It is not feasible for all the 

 nations of the world to divide the "economic 

 rent" that should be charged for the limited, 

 exclusive access to such mineral resources which 

 international registration will provide. The only 

 practical alternative is to use this economic rent 

 for purposes that the international conmiunity 



VlII-38 



