tation or any other use of the seabed or its subsoil, 

 presumably it will lose its value. 



If, however, a State wishes to make overt 

 military use of the bed of the deep seas and its 

 subsoil, it may do so if it does not unduly interfere 

 with mineral resources exploration and exploita- 

 tion under a claim registered with the Interna- 

 tional Registry Authority. Similarly, under the 

 recommended framework, such exploration and 

 exploitation must seek to accommodate other 

 uses, including military uses of the seabed and its 

 subsoil. 



A difficult question may arise if the overt 

 military use of an area of the deep seas cannot be 

 accommodated with mineral resources exploration 

 or exploitation of the area under a claim registered 

 or sought to be registered with the Registry 

 Authority. The panel recommends, in such case, 

 that if the overt military use was prior in time, it 

 shall prevail, but the State making such preclusive 

 military use of the area shall pay an appropriate 

 amount to the International Fund. If registered 

 mineral resources exploration or exploitation was 

 prior in time, it shall prevail, unless the State 

 wishing to make the military use purchases the 

 rights of the State Registrant and pays an appro- 

 priate amount to the International Fund. 



10. Dispute Settlement 



The panel recommends that the United States 

 ratify the Optional Protocol Concerning the Com- 

 pulsory Settlement of Disputes which was adopted 

 by the Geneva Convention on the Law of the Sea 

 on April 29, 1958 and which it signed. It also 

 recommends that the Registry Authority be em- 

 powered initially to settle disputes arising under 

 the recommended framework for the deep seas, 

 whether they are between States or between a 

 State and the Authority. 



At the request of any party to the dispute, 

 however, the Authority's initial decision shall be 

 subject to review by an independent international 

 arbitration agency possessing expertise in resolving 

 the kinds of questions likely to arise. The members 

 of the arbitration agency shall be appointed by the 

 Registry Authority^ The determination of the 

 arbitration agency shall be final. 



E. Conclusion 



The recommended international legal-political 

 framework for the exploration and exploitation of 

 the mineral resources of the bed of the high seas 

 and its subsoil is intended to meet the needs of the 

 immediate future. It is not intended to last for all 

 time. Accordingly, it does not foreclose the 

 possibility that, in time, (1) a United Nations 

 agency might be given title to the mineral re- 

 sources of the deep seas; or (2) each coastal State 

 might be given permanent, exclusive access to the 

 mineral resources of a submarine area off its coast 

 which is larger than the area of the "continental 

 shelf as redefined in accordance with our recom- 

 mendation; or (3) any State might be given 

 permanent, exclusive access to the mineral re- 

 sources of the areas of the deep seas which it is the 

 first to discover and exploit; or (4) some other 

 alternative not now envisaged might be adopted. 

 However, the panel's recommendations probably 

 do foreclose two future possibilities which we 

 think are contrary to American objectives in the 

 oceans: first, that the coastal States might divide 

 the mineral resources of the deep seas among 

 themselves; and second, that a State might secure 

 recognition of a claim to national sovereignty over 

 areas of the bed of the deep seas, i.e., a claim to 

 exclude any use of the areas without its prior 

 permission. 



For the immediate future, the panel concludes, 

 the recommended framework and accompanying 

 national policies wall help to achieve American 

 objectives in the oceans. They will encourage 

 scientific and technological efforts and the other 

 major capital investments needed for exploration 

 and exploitation of the mineral resources of the 

 bed of the deep seas and its subsoil, by creating 

 international machinery for the international rec- 

 ognition of claims to exclusive access to such 

 mineral resources in large enough areas for long 

 enough periods of time to make operations profit- 

 able. They will give private enterprise in the 

 United States fair opportunities to share in such 

 exploration and exploitation. 



While it is true that the recommended frame- 

 work may not, by itself, prevent uneconomic 

 exploitation of marine mineral resources requiring 

 high ratios of fixed costs to direct operating costs, 

 only an international monopoly will do so. We 



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