LEGAL AND TECHNICAL COMMISSION PRESENTS NEW DRAFT OF MINING CODE TO SEABED COUNCIL
Press Release
SEA/1562
LEGAL AND TECHNICAL COMMISSION PRESENTS NEW DRAFT OF MINING CODE TO SEABED COUNCIL
19970827 KINGSTON, 26 August -- The Legal and Technical Commission reported this morning to the Council of the International Seabed Authority, meeting in Kingston, that it has completed a third revision of the draft mining code for exploration of the international seabed area and intends to submit a final text at the 1998 session of the Authority.After a brief and preliminary discussion of the results of the Commission's work, the Council agreed to invite its members to submit written comments and suggestions on the text no later than 31 December 1997.
The Chairman of the Commission, Jean-Pierre Lenoble (France), presented the report on the work done by the Commission during its closed session last week (18-22 August). He said the Commission had not been able to prepare a final text of the mining code because delays in the schedule of meetings had prevented it from taking account of submissions made by members of the Authority. The Commission had decided to circulate an informal draft, in English first, to allow members of the Council to study it and make comments.
Outlining the scheme of the revised text, the Chairman said the basic approach had been to place all procedural matters in a seven-part set of regulations, to which was annexed the contract between mining investors and the Authority. The geographical coordinates of the exploration area, the programme of exploratory work and the training programme planned for persons from developing countries would be attached as schedules to the contract. Finally, the terms and conditions of the contract, in the form of standard clauses applicable to all contractors, were also annexed to the regulations.
That approach had been taken, the Chairman explained, to clarify the relationship between the contract and the regulations, and to ensure that contract terms were uniform among contractors.
Mr. Lenoble said the new draft reflected the extensive consideration given to three key areas that it had identified last year: protection and preservation of the marine environment, annual reporting and the transfer of data by contractors to the Authority, and confidentiality of the information submitted.
In this morning's discussion, several representatives welcomed the opportunity to study the document in detail in consultation with experts in
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their own countries and to make written submissions. Argentina, China, Germany and the United Kingdom were pleased that the revised draft contained a more extensive consideration of issues relating to the protection and preservation of the marine environment. China stressed that protection of the environment must be more than "an empty slogan", and the United Kingdom echoed that sentiment, calling for the relevant provisions to be sound and practical.
With regard to the submission of written comments on the draft, Germany initially suggested that those comments should be circulated to all Council members in addition to the Commission. However, the United Kingdom, supported by other members, felt that the circulation of preliminary comments to Council members would create a dialogue outside the work of the Commission and lead to confusion. On the other hand, Nigeria insisted that, in the interest of transparency and a better appreciation of the draft, it would be useful for each country's comments to be made available to all Council members.
The Council agreed to a compromise suggestion by the Secretary-General of the Authority, Satya N. Nandan, that all comments would go to the Commission, but that countries could circulate their own documents to Council members if they wished.
At the start of the open portion of the meeting, the President, Lennox Ballah (Trinidad and Tobago), announced that no agreement had yet been reached on the issue of how the Council should handle information supplied by registered pioneer investors in support of their plans of work -- a matter considered by the Council yesterday afternoon.
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