MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION POSTPONES ELECTION OF CONTINENTAL SHELF COMMISSION MEMBERS UNTIL MARCH 1997

1 December 1995

Press Release
SEA/1507

MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION POSTPONES ELECTION OF CONTINENTAL SHELF COMMISSION MEMBERS UNTIL MARCH 1997

19951201 Will Meet Again from 4 to 8 March to Consider Draft Initial Budget for August 1996-December 1997 Period

The Meeting of States Parties to the Law of the Sea Convention this afternoon decided to postpone the election of members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf until March 1997, thus concluding the work of its present session, which began on 27 November. The Meeting of States Parties will convene again from 4 to 8 March to further consider its draft initial budget, which covers expenditures for the period from August 1996 to December 1997.

The decision to postpone elections for the Commission was taken with the proviso that should the postponement adversely affect any State which was Party to the Convention by 16 May 1996 -- in respect of obligations under article 4 of Annex II of the Convention -- States parties, at the request of the State in question would review the situation with a view to ameliorating the difficulty.

Article 4 of the Convention provides that States parties wishing to establish limits to their continental shelf beyond 200 miles should provide the Commission with particulars of those limits, together with supporting scientific and technical data within 10 years of the entry into force of the Convention for that State party.

Also this afternoon, Meeting President Satya Nandan (Fiji) summarized the results of the Meeting, including its informal consultations. He said the Meeting considered and revised the text of its draft protocols on the privileges and immunities of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, to be established in Hamburg, Germany. It decided to rename that document from draft protocol to a draft "agreement". Upon completion, the text would be subject to signature and ratification, and shall be open to signature by all States.

The Meeting also revised and reviewed estimates contained in the draft initial budget of the Tribunal, he continued. The draft would likely be adopted at the next Meeting. Regarding expenses prior to the election of the Tribunal, he said that the Secretariat would submit supplementary estimates based on the projections reflected in the draft budget. States parties should support the approval of those estimates by various budgetary bodies, given that the Convention mandated that those activities should fall to the Secretary-General.

It was necessary to limit the expenditures without compromising the effectiveness of the Tribunal, he said. It was heartening to know that the number of Members parties to the Convention were increasing, he said, Argentina being the latest to join. States were showing tangible support for the Convention and for the rule of the law. Funds dedicated to new institutions such as the Tribunal were all part of establishing legal rules in international affairs. The rule of law could not be achieved without binding jurisdiction and dispute-settlement procedures.

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