Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

2. The Enterprise shall conduct its initial deep seabed mining
operations through joint ventures. Upon the approval of a plan of work
for exploitation for an entity other than the Enterprise, or upon receipt
by the Council of an application for a joint-venture operation with the
Enterprise, the Council shall take up the issue of the functioning of the
Enterprise independently of the Secretariat of the Authority. If
joint-venture operations with the Enterprise accord with sound commercial
principles, the Council shall issue a directive pursuant to article 170,
paragraph 2, of the Convention providing for such independent
functioning.

3. The obligation of States Parties to fund one mine site of the
Enterprise as provided for in Annex IV, article 11, paragraph 3, of the
Convention shall not apply and States Parties shall be under no
obligation to finance any of the operations in any mine site of the
Enterprise or under its joint-venture arrangements.

4. The obligations applicable to contractors shall apply to the
Enterprise. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 153, paragraph 3,
and Annex III, article 3, paragraph 5, of the Convention, a plan of work
for the Enterprise upon its approval shall be in the form of a contract
concluded between the Authority and the Enterprise.

5. A contractor which has contributed a particular area to the Authority
as a reserved area has the right of first refusal to enter into a
joint-venture arrangement with the Enterprise for exploration and
exploitation of that area. If the Enterprise does not submit an
application for a plan of work for activities in respect of such a
reserved area within 15 years of the commencement of its functions
independent of the Secretariat of the Authority or within 15 years of the
date on which that area is reserved for the Authority, whichever is the
later, the contractor which contributed the area shall be entitled to
apply for a plan of work for that area provided it offers in good faith
to include the Enterprise as a joint-venture partner.

6. Article 170, paragraph 4, Annex IV and Other provisions of the
Convention relating to the Enterprise shall be interpreted and applied in
accordance with this section.

SECTION 3. DECISION-MAKING

1. The general policies of the Authority shall be established by the
Assembly in collaboration with the Council.

2. As a general rule, decision-making in the organs of the Authority
should be by consensus.

3. If all efforts to reach a decision by consensus have been exhausted,
decisions by voting in the Assembly on questions of procedure shall be
taken by a majority of members present and voting, and decisions on
questions of substance shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of members
present and voting, as provided for in article 159, paragraph 8, of the
Convention.

4. Decisions of the Assembly on any matter for which the Council also
has competence or on any administrative, budgetary or financial matter
shall be based on the recommendations of the Council. If the Assembly
does not accept the recommendation of the Council on any matter, it shall
return the matter to the Council for further consideration. The Council
shall reconsider the matter in the light of the views expressed by the
Assembly.

5. If all efforts to reach a decision by consensus have been exhausted,
decisions by voting in the Council on questions of procedure shall be
taken by a majority of members present and voting, and decisions on
questions of substance, except where the Convention provides for
decisions by consensus in the Council, shall be taken by a two-thirds
majority of members present and voting, provided that such decisions are
not opposed by a majority in any one of the chambers referred to in
paragraph 9. In taking decisions the Council shall seek to promote the
interests of all the members of the Authority.

6. The Council may defer the taking of a decision in order to facilitate
further negotiation whenever it appears that all efforts at achieving
consensus on a question have not been exhausted.

7. Decisions by the Assembly or the Council having financial or
budgetary implications shall be based on the recommendations of the
Finance Committee.

8. The provisions of article 161, paragraph 8 (b) and (c), of the
Convention shall not apply.

9. (a) Each group of States elected under paragraph 15 (a) to (c) shall
be treated as a chamber for the purposes of voting in the Council. The
developing States elected under paragraph 15 (d) and (e) shall be
treated as a single chamber for the purposes of voting in the Council.

(b) Before electing the members of the Council, the Assembly shall
establish lists of countries fulfilling the criteria for membership in
the groups of States in paragraph 15 (a) to (d). If a State fulfils the
criteria for membership in more than one group, it may only be proposed
by one group for election to the Council and it shall represent only that
group in voting in the Council.

10. Each group of States in paragraph 15 (a) to (d) shall be represented
in the Council by those members nominated by that group. Each group
shall nominate only as many candidates as the number of seats required to
be filled by that group. When the number of potential candidates in each
of the groups referred to in paragraph 15 (a) to (e) exceeds the number
of seats available in each of those respective groups, as a general rule,
the principle of rotation shall apply. States members of each of those
groups shall determine how this principle shall apply in those groups.

11. (a) The Council shall approve a recommendation by the Legal and
Technical Commission for approval of a plan of work unless by a
two-thirds majority of its members present and voting, including a
majority of members present and voting in each of the chambers of the
Council, the Council decides to disapprove a plan of work. If the
Council does not take a decision on a recommendation for approval of a
plan of work within a prescribed period, the recommendation shall be
deemed to have been approved by the Council at the end of that period.
The prescribed period shall normally be 60 days unless the Council
decides to provide for a longer period. If the Commission recommends the
disapproval of a plan of work or does not make a recommendation, the
Council may nevertheless approve the plan of work in accordance with its
rules of procedure for decision-making on questions of substance.

(b) The provisions of article 162, paragraph 2 (j), of the Convention
shall not apply.

12. Where a dispute arises relating to the disapproval of a plan of
work, such dispute shall be submitted to the dispute settlement
procedures set out in the Convention.

13. Decisions by voting in the Legal and Technical Commission shall be
by a majority of members present and voting.

14. Part XI, section 4, subsections B and C, of the Convention shall be
interpreted and applied in accordance with this section.

15. The Council shall consist of 36 members of the Authority elected by
the Assembly in the following order:

(a) Four members from among those States Parties which, during the
last five years for which statistics are available, have either consumed
more than 2 per cent in value terms of total world consumption or have
had net imports of more than 2 per cent in value terms of total world
imports of the commodities produced from the categories of minerals to be
derived from the Area, provided that the four members shall include one
State from the Eastern European region having the largest economy in that
region in terms of gross domestic product and the State, on the date of
entry into force of the Convention, having the largest economy in terms
of gross domestic product, if such States wish to be represented in this
group;

(b) Four members from among the eight States Parties which have made
the largest investments in preparation for and in the conduct of
activities in the Area, either directly or through their nationals;

(c) Four members from among States Parties which, on the basis of
production in areas under their jurisdiction, are major net exporters of
the categories of minerals to be derived from the Area, including at
least two developing States whose exports of such minerals have a
substantial bearing upon their economies;

(d) Six members from among developing States Parties, representing
special interests. The special interests to be represented shall include
those of States with large populations, States which are land-locked or
geographically disadvantaged, island States, States which are major
importers of the categories of minerals to be derived from the Area,
States which are potential producers of such minerals and least developed
States;

(e) Eighteen members elected according to the principle of ensuring an
equitable geographical distribution of seats in the Council as a whole,
provided that each geographical region shall have at least one member
elected under this subparagraph. For this purpose, the geographical
regions shall be Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the
Caribbean and Western Europe and Others.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Other provisions.