United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 9

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

 

SUBSECTION C. THE COUNCIL

Article 161
Composition, procedure and voting

1. 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 of total world consumption or have had net
imports of more than 2 per cent of total world imports of the
commodities produced from the categories of minerals to be derived
from the Area, and in any case one State from the Eastern European
(Socialist) region, as well as the largest consumer;
(b) four members from among the eight States Parties which have the
largest investments in preparation for and in the conduct of
activities in the Area, either directly or through their nationals,
including at least one State from the Eastern European (Socialist)
region;
(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, 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 European
(Socialist), Latin America and Western European and Others.

2. In electing the members of the Council in accordance with paragraph 1,
the Assembly shall ensure that:

(a) land-locked and geographically disadvantaged States are represented
to a degree which is reasonably proportionate to their representation
in the Assembly;
(b) coastal States, especially developing States, which do not qualify
under paragraph 1 (a), (b), (c) or (d) are represented to a degree
which is reasonably proportionate to their representation in the
Assembly;
(c) each group of States Parties to be represented on the Council is
represented by those members, if any, which are nominated by that
group.

3. Elections shall take place at regular sessions of the Assembly. Each
member of the Council shall be elected for four years. At the first
election, however, the term of one half of the members of each group
referred to in paragraph 1 shall be two years.

4. Members of the Council shall be eligible for re-election, but due regard
should be paid to the desirability of rotation of membership.

5. The Council shall function at the seat of the Authority, and shall meet
as often as the business of the Authority may require, but not less than
three times a year.

6. A majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.

7. Each member of the Council shall have one vote.

8. (a) Decisions on questions of procedure shall be taken by a majority
of the members present and voting.
(b) Decisions on questions of substance arising under the following
provisions shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the members
present and voting, provided that such majority includes a majority
of the members of the Council: article 162, paragraph 2,
subparagraphs (f); (g); (h); (i); (n); (p); (v); article 191.
(c) Decisions on questions of substance arising under the following
provisions shall be taken by a three-fourths majority of the members
present and voting, provided that such majority includes a majority
of the members of the Council: article 162, paragraph 1; article 162,
paragraph 2, subparagraphs (a); (b); (c); (d); (e); (I); (q); (r);
(s); (t); (u) in cases of non-compliance by a contractor or a
sponsor; (w) provided that orders issued thereunder may be binding
for not more than 30 days unless confirmed by a decision taken in
accordance with subparagraph (d); article 162, paragraph 2,
subparagraphs (x); (y); (z); article 163, paragraph 2; article 174,
paragraph 3; Annex IV, article 11.
(d) Decisions on questions of substance arising under the following
provisions shall be taken by consensus: article 162, paragraph 2(m)
and (o); adoption of amendments to Part XI.
(e) For the purposes of subparagraphs (d), (f) and (g), “consensus”means
the absence of any formal objection. Within 14 days of the submission
of a proposal to the Council, the President of the Council shall
determine whether there would be a formal objection to the adoption
of the proposal. If the President determines that there would be such
an objection, the President shall establish and convene, within three
days following such determination, a conciliation committee
consisting of not more than nine members of the Council, with the
President as chairman, for the purpose of reconciling the differences
and producing a proposal which can be adopted by consensus. The
committee shall work expeditiously and report to the Council within
14 days following its establishment. If the committee is unable to
recommend a proposal which can be adopted by consensus, it shall set
out in its report the grounds on which the proposal is being opposed.
(f) Decisions on questions not listed above which the Council is
authorized to take by the rules, regulations and procedures of the
Authority or otherwise shall be taken pursuant to the subparagraphs
of this paragraph specified in the rules, regulations and procedures
or, if not specified therein, then pursuant to the subparagraph
determined by the Council if possible in advance, by consensus.
(g) When the issue arises as to whether a question is within subparagraph
(a), (b), (c) or (d), the question shall be treated as being within
the subparagraph requiring the higher or highest majority or
consensus as the case may be, unless otherwise decided by the Council
by the said majority or by consensus.

9. The Council shall establish a procedure whereby a member of the
Authority not represented on the Council may send a representative to
attend a meeting of the Council when a request is made by such member, or a
matter particularly affecting it is under consideration. Such a
representative shall be entitled to participate in the deliberations but
not to vote.

 

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international


Posted

in

, ,

by

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *