Ch. 1— Summary, Issues, and Options • 5 



Box 1-A. — The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 



Comprising 320 articles and nine additional annexes, the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) is 

 one of the most complex and comprehensive international agreements ever negotiated. Begun in 1973, the 

 negotiations aimed to formulate international law covering a broad range of uses of the ocean and seabed. 

 Eleven sessions were held between 1973 and the concluding session in 1982. Among the many law of the sea 

 issues for which new rules have been devised or customary international law codified are: 



1. innocent passage in the territorial sea, 



2. transit of passages and innocent passage in internationjil straits, 



3. extension of coastal state jurisdiction on the continental shelf, 



4. conservation and management of the living resources of the high seas, 



5. the regime of islands, 



6. enclosed or semi-enclosed seas, 



7. land-locked states, 



8. protection and preservation of the marine environment, 



9. environment of ice-covered areas, 



10. marine scientific research, 



11. settlement of disputes, 



12. exploitation of mineral resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and 



13. exclusive economic zone. 



The entire set of issues was negotiated as a package, an approach that called for trade-offs and com- 

 promise among the 150 or so countries participating in the Convention. As of eeirly 1987, 32 countries had 

 ratified the LOSC. The treaty wiU take effect one year after 60 countries have ratified it. Some believe that 

 this number will be reached in 1989 and that the treaty therefore will be in force by 1990. However, the United 

 States has not signed the Convention and currently has no plans to accede to it. 



The principal objections of the United States to the Convention are the provisions pertaining to exploita- 

 tion of mineral resources in the international seabed area, which are codified in Part XL The United States 

 objected to these provisions because, in its view, they would deter future development of deep seabed mineral 

 resources, the decisionmaking process would not give the United States a role that fairly reflected its interests, 

 assured access to qualified seabed miners was not stipulated, and the mandatory transfer of private technology 

 was required.* Most of the remainder of the Convention is acceptable to the United States, and all but a 

 few provisions are considered to be customary international law. 



Subsequent to the signing of LOSC, the Preparatory Commission was established to draft detailed regu- 

 lations for the regime governing the exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources. The United States is eligible 

 to attend the Preparatory Commission as an observer even though it has not signed the Convention. To date, 

 it has not sent any official observers. 



An alternative regime, known as the reciprocating states agreement, has been established by the United 

 States and several other countries interested in seabed mining (some of whom are also signatories to LOSC). 

 The principal purpose of the agreement is to ensure that disputes among signatories over possible overlapping 

 claims can be amicably resolved. 



•Statement by the President, press release July 9, 1982. See also Law of the Sea, hearings before the Subcommittee on Oceanography and the Commit- 

 tee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, U.S. Congress, Conunittee Print 97-29, p. 173. 



the EEZ make the management of offshore resources 

 a joint Federal-State problem.* 



As of July 1987, Congress had yet to enact im- 

 plementing Eind conforming legislation to codify the 



*R. Bailey, "Marine Minerals in the Exclusive Economic Zone: 

 Implications for Coastal States and Territories, " White Paper, Western 

 Legislative Conference, Pacific States/Territories Ocean Resource 

 Group, Feb. 28, 1987, p. 32. 



provisions of Executive Proclamation No. 5030, is- 

 sued in 1983, which established the U.S. Exclu- 

 sive Economic Zone except for reference in a few 

 specific laws. The legislative task of implementing 

 the EEZ Proclamation is not trivial. Reference to 

 national ocean boundaries is contained in' numer- 

 ous statutes, and the impact on each must be con- 

 sidered carefully when amending laws to implement 

 the new EEZ. 



