ELEVENTH MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION ELECTS PRESIDENT, HEARS REPORTS ON BUDGETARY, OTHER QUESTIONS
| Press Release SEA/1701/Rev.1 |
Meeting of States Parties SEA/1701/Rev.1*
To Law of Sea Convention 14 May 2001
53rd Meeting (AM)
ELEVENTH MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO LAW OF SEA CONVENTION ELECTS
PRESIDENT, HEARS REPORTS ON BUDGETARY, OTHER QUESTIONS
United Nations Legal Counsel Discusses
Secretary-General's Reporting Functions under Convention
The five-day Eleventh Meeting of States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea began this morning with its new President urging continued commitment to the common objective of universal participation in the 1982 instrument.
Cristian Maquieira (Chile), elected President of the Eleventh Meeting by acclamation, said Nicaragua, Maldives and Luxembourg had become parties to the Convention since the last session in May 2000, bringing the total number of States parties to 135. He succeeded Peter Donigi (Papua New Guinea), who opened the Meeting.
At the outset of the meeting, a moment of silence was observed in memory of Lihai Zao, a Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and others who had passed away since the Tenth Meeting of States parties last year. A successor to the late judge will be elected next Wednesday to complete the remainder of Judge Zao's term. The 21 judges of the Tribunal are elected to nine-year terms.
In other business today, the States parties established a working group to consider the 2002 budget of the International Tribunal, which was introduced this morning.
Introducing the report on the work of the Tribunal, its President, P. Chandrasekhara Rao, said that besides delivering judgments, the Tribunal had formed a special chamber to hear a dispute concerning the conservation and sustainable exploitation of swordfish stocks in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean, the first such chamber formed to deal with a particular dispute. He said the Agreement of the Privileges and Immunities of the Tribunal had not yet entered into force, despite having been adopted nearly four years ago. Only five States had either ratified or acceded to it.
Judge Rao also introduced the Tribunal's draft budget proposals for 2002, saying they were based on the overall budget’s zero-growth principle. The proposed budget amounted to $7.81 million, compared to the $8.09 million approved
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* Revised for technical reasons.
States Parties - 1a - Press Release
53rd Meeting (AM)
for 2001. The decrease had been made possible by the use of the latest United Nations standard salary costs for calculating staffing requirements. Budget items where more funds were requested over the level of 2000 included the judges’
pension scheme; maintenance of premises; library; purchase of equipment; and contingency.
In an oral report, Satya Nandan, Secretary-General of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority, said the Authority's Assembly had adopted a budget of $10,506,400 for 2001 and 2002 -- the first to cover a two-year financial period, as envisaged in the Financial Regulations of the Authority. The Assembly had also authorized the Secretary-General to establish the scale of assessment for the financial period 2001 to 2002 based on the scale used for the United Nations regular budget for 2000 and 2001.
He said, however, that the main achievement of the Authority's sixth session was the Assembly's approval of the Regulations for Prospecting and the Exploration for polymetallic nodules in the Area established by the Convention, following the adoption of the regulations by the Authority's Council. The Council also approved the Rules of Procedure of the Legal and Technical Commission.
Hans Corell, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, gave background information on the reporting functions of the Secretary-General as mandated by the General Assembly. He pointed out how they converged with the responsibilities entrusted to him under article 319 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, specifying an obligation to report to all States Parties, the International Seabed Authority and competent international organizations on issues of a general nature that had arisen with respect to the Convention.
Gritakumar Chitty, Registrar of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, introduced the external auditor's report for the financial year 1999 with financial statements of the Tribunal.
Also speaking this morning were the representatives of India, Germany, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Chile, Cuba and Sweden (on behalf of the European Union).
Meetings of States parties are convened by the Secretary-General under provisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. In addition to matters relating to the administration and budget of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Meetings have considered other issues relating to the implementation of the Convention, including matters concerning the work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
The next meeting of the States parties will be announced in the Journal.
Background
The States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea begin their five-day Eleventh Meeting this morning with a number of issues related to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea among its agenda items.
Its first actions this morning include election of its President and approval of the organization of work of the session; and hearing of reports by the President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Secretary-General of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority.
The Meeting will also hear the introduction of a report of the External Auditors for the financial year 1999 and the draft 2002 budget of the Tribunal.
(For more details, see Press Release SEA/1700 of 10 May.)
Election of President
PETER DONIGI (Papua New Guinea), President of the Tenth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, called for a moment of silence before requesting nominations for a candidate for President of the Eleventh Meeting.
The representative of Guatemala, on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, nominated Cristian Maquieira of Chile, who was accepted by acclamation.
CRISTIAN MAQUIEIRA (Chile), speaking after his election as President of the Eleventh Meeting, welcomed Nicaragua, Maldives and Luxembourg, noting that their adherence to the 1982 Convention had brought the total number of parties to 135. He said States must remain committed to reaching the common objective of universal participation in the Convention.
He also welcomed the President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and its Registrar, the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority and the Chairman of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. He said those institutions, created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, continued to carry out their mandates.
He noted that the Tribunal had had three cases submitted to it since last May. The International Seabed Authority had signed 15-year contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules with three of the seven registered pioneer investors, while the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf was ready to receive submissions from coastal States on the delineation of their continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical miles limit. More details of the progress of work of all three institutions -- established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea -- would be presented later.
Following recommendations made at the Tenth Meeting, the General Assembly at its 55th session approved the establishment of a voluntary trust fund to assist States in settlement of disputes through the Tribunal. A second fund would provide training to help developing States, particularly the least developed, and small island developing States, to prepare submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf with respect to the outer limits of the shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.
A third trust fund would enable members of the Commission from developing countries, particularly the least developed, to participate in its meetings. All the funds had been established by the Secretary-General and were now operational.
The President said the Meeting had a full agenda, including the election of its bureau and the establishment of a Credentials Committee. He also said a member of the Tribunal would have to be elected to fill the vacancy left by the death of Judge Lihai Zao of China.
The Meeting would also examine the proposed 2002 budget of the Tribunal, as well as its financial regulations. A working paper had been prepared by the Secretariat on those regulations. Linked to the question was a proposal to amend the rules of procedure of the Meeting of States parties to provide for the establishment of a finance committee.
Another rule under consideration was that which dealt with decisions on questions of substance, he said. At past meetings, different views had been expressed on the modalities for decision-making on financial and budgetary matters. The role of the Meeting of States parties with respect to the implementation of the Convention would be discussed, as was decided at the last session. Chile had submitted a proposal in support of such a role.
The Meeting would examine issues related to article 4 of Annex II to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The articles concerned compliance by coastal States with the 10-year time limit for submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, with respect to their continental shelf where it extended beyond 200 nautical miles.
Statement by United Nations Legal Counsel
HANS CORELL, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, gave the Meeting background information on the reporting functions of the Secretary-General as mandated by the General Assembly. He pointed out how they converged with the responsibilities entrusted to him under article 319 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, specifying an obligation to report to all States Parties, the International Seabed Authority and competent international organizations on issues of a general nature that had arisen with respect to the Convention.
He recalled that during the Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Chile had proposed that Meetings of States parties should also consider implementation of the Convention and that there should be reports of the Secretary-General every year, as provided for in article 319.
He referred to the mandate given to the Secretary-General by the General Assembly on preparation of comprehensive reports on developments relating to the implementation of the Convention, the law of the sea and ocean affairs as reflected in General Assembly resolutions. He observed that resolution 49/28, adopted on 6 December 1994 after the entry into force of the Convention, highlighted the importance of the Assembly's annual review of the overall developments relating to the law of the sea as the global institution with competence to undertake such a review.
The resolution, in particular, specified that the Secretary-General should prepare annually a comprehensive report for consideration by the General Assembly on developments relating to the law of the sea.
The resolution also mentioned that the report could also "serve as a basis for reports to all States Parties to the Convention, the International Seabed Authority and competent international organizations, and which the Secretary-General is required to provide under the Convention".
Reference was made to article 319 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea in a footnote to the subparagraph dealing with the annual report, Mr. Corell said. It seemed that the General Assembly had envisaged that the annual comprehensive report presented to it could also serve as the report "to all States Parties" as described in article 319.
He said this year's report (document A/56/58) submitted to the second meeting of the Consultative Process as provided for in General Assembly resolution 55/7, addressed issues of a general nature that had arisen during the year with respect to the Convention. It gave an overview of the status of the Convention and its implementing agreements, including a brief summary of the activities in the Meeting of States Parties. The report dealt with recent developments in maritime space, such as delimitation of maritime boundaries; national claims to maritime zones; the work of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf; and deposit of charts and/or lists of geographical coordinates and compliance with the obligation of due publicity.
The report also addressed issues of shipping and navigation and dealt with different aspects of those issues. There was a detailed discussion devoted to crimes at sea that covered, inter alia, piracy and armed robbery against ships, smuggling of migrants, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
He said the report also had a comprehensive section devoted to resources, living and non-living, marine environment and sustainable development. The section addressed both the developmental interests and the environmental concerns relating to the world's oceans and seas.
There was a section on settlement of disputes dealing with cases before the International Court of Justice; the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; and an Arbitral Tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII of the Convention.
In addition to the report to the General Assembly, he noted that three institutions established under the Convention, namely the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf also reported to the Meeting of States Parties.
NARINDER SINGH (India), stressing the importance of participation in the Convention on the Law of the Sea, called upon all States that had not yet done so to ratify the Convention. Also, States parties should ensure that national legislation was in line with the Convention, he added.
Noting that developing coastal States found it difficult to abide by the
10-year deadline for providing information on the limit of their continental shelf owing to lack of resources, he called for an extension of the deadline.
NIKLAS HEDMAN (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, proposed the establishment of an open-ended working group on the budget.
Mr. MAQUIEIRA (Chile), Meeting President, said the proposal would be considered when the States parties took up the subject.
Report of International Tribunal for Law of the Sea
JUDGE P. CHANDRASEKHARA RAO, President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, introducing that body’s report, announced that Gritakumar Chitty, the Tribunal’s Registrar, would resign with effect from 1 July 2001. The Tribunal was taking steps to elect a new Registrar as early as possible. In addition, the meeting would be considering the election of a member to complete the late Judge Lihao Zao’s six-year term, which would have ended on 30 September 2002.
He said the Tribunal had delivered judgments in two cases during the reporting period: the “Camoucou” case between Panama and France and the “Monte Confurco” case between Seychelles and France. More recently, it had delivered its judgment in the “Grand Prince” case between Belize and France. At the request of Chile and the European Union, the Tribunal had formed a special chamber to hear a dispute concerning the conservation and sustainable exploitation of swordfish stocks in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean. It was the first chamber formed to deal with a particular dispute.
Regarding the opening of the Tribunal’s new permanent premises on 3 July 2000, he said the Tribunal, the German Government and the Senate of the City of Hamburg had jointly organized the ceremony. While the Tribunal and the German Government had concluded an Agreement on Occupancy and Use of the Premises of the Tribunal, no such progress could be made in the finalization of the Headquarters Agreement. It was hoped that the issue would be resolved in a spirit of goodwill and accommodation.
The Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Tribunal had not yet entered into force, despite having been adopted nearly four years ago, he said. Only five States had either ratified or acceded to it and the General Assembly had called upon States that had not done so to consider ratifying and acceding to the Agreement.
Draft Budget Proposals of Tribunal
JUDGE RAO, Tribunal President, introducing that body’s draft budget proposals for 2002, said they were based on the overall budget’s zero-growth principle. It amounted to $7.81 million as compared to the approved budget for 2001, which was $8.09 million. The decrease had been made possible by the use of the latest United Nations standard salary costs for calculating the staffing requirements.
He identified budget items where more funds were requested over the level of 2000 as the judges’ pension scheme; maintenance of premises; library; purchase of equipment; and contingency. The terms of seven judges would expire in 2002, six of whom would be entitled to receive a pension if they were not re-elected.
Recalling his statement on the annual report, he said it had referred to the Premises Agreement between the Tribunal and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Tribunal had moved into its new building in November 2000. By virtue of the Premises Agreement, the Tribunal was now responsible for all maintenance and security of the new headquarters and its surrounding grounds.
He said that as the Tribunal’s workload continued to increase, it had been functioning with limited staff and resources. Included in the contingency annexed to the report was an amount intended to meet the compensation of ad hoc judges when required. A separate document on level of compensation payable to ad hoc judges had been circulated for the approval of States parties.
PETER TREBESCH (Germany) said it was a privilege for his country to be host to the Tribunal and to support it. Germany had invested $62 million in the Tribunal's new premises. With its movement into the premises, the Tribunal had completed the first phase of its development. Germany was pleased that the agreement on the occupancy of the new premises had been signed after protracted negotiations. He hoped negotiations on the Headquarters Agreement would soon be completed. He invited all States parties to make maximum use of the Tribunal.
ALIOUNE DIAGNE (Senegal) congratulated the Tribunal for its quick disposal of cases before it and urged it to continue in the same manner. He hoped it would continue to show transparency in its work.
JOHN DE SARAM (Sri Lanka) said he was glad to hear that the number of cases before the Tribunal was growing and that its jurisprudence was increasing. He expressed sadness about the pending resignation of the Registrar of the Tribunal (effective next June). He paid tribute to him and assured the Meeting that tributes paid to the Registrar would be conveyed to the Government of Sri Lanka from where the Registrar hailed.
MARIA-TERESA INFANTE (Chile) said the report of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea showed that there had been significant progress in the work of the Tribunal. The Tribunal had demonstrated a very efficient system in its operations. She also expressed regret about the pending departure of the Registrar who, she added, had performed his duties at a high level. She hoped his successor would carry on in a similarly distinguished manner.
The Meeting then took note of the report of the Tribunal.
Report of International Seabed Authority
SATYA NANDAN, Secretary-General of the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority, gave an oral report on its activities for the past year. He said the resumed session of the Authority was held from 3 to 14 July 2000. The first part of the sixth session was held from 20 to 31 March 2000. Ms. Lisbeth Lijnzaad (Netherlands) was elected President of the Assembly of the Authority.
He said the main achievement of the Assembly during the Authority's sixth session was the approval of the Regulations for Prospecting and the Exploration for polymetallic nodules in the Area established by the Convention, following the adoption of the regulations by the Council of the Authority during the same session. The Council also approved the Rules of Procedure of the Legal and Technical Commission.
The Assembly also considered, in accordance with article 154 of the Convention, the matter of a general and systematic review of the manner in which the international regime of the Area established in the Convention had operated in practice. The Assembly later concurred with the recommendation of the Secretary-General, contained in his report, that in the light of the very short experience that the Authority had had in implementing the regime, it would be premature for the Assembly to take any measures at this time.
He said the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the International Seabed Authority, adopted by the Assembly at its fifty-fourth meeting on 26 March 1998 and opened for signature in Kingston on 26 August of the same year, had been signed by 27 members of the Authority. The Protocol had been ratified by three countries -- Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom. On 8 September 2000, Croatia acceded to the Protocol. The Protocol would enter into force 30 days after the date of deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession. He hoped States members of the Authority would consider ratifying or acceding to the Protocol early.
He said the Assembly had adopted the Authority's budget for 2001 and 2002 in the sum of $10,506,400 -- the first budget to cover a two-year financial period, as envisaged in the Financial Regulations of the Authority. The Assembly also authorized the Secretary-General to establish the scale of assessments for the financial period 2001 to 2002 based on the scale used for the regular budget of the United Nations for 2000 and 2001.
As at 30 April 2001, 35 members of the Authority had made contributions to the 2001 budget, totalling $1,705,666 or 34 per cent of the total assessed contributions, he announced. As at the same date, 65 members had made full contributions, and four part payment, to the 2000 budget, totalling $5,044,722, or 97 per cent of the total budget for 2000. The Working Capital fund as at 30 April 2001 stood at $321,346 -- 73 per cent of total, he said.
In respect of the budget for 2000, he said contributions of $125,978 (3 per cent of the budget) remained outstanding from 67 members of the Authority
as at 30 April 2001, while contributions of $48,913 (1 per cent of the budget) for
1999 remained outstanding from 51 members of the Authority.
He expressed concern that as at 30 April 2001, 68 members of the Authority were in arrears of contributions for a period exceeding two years. He observed that in accordance with article 184 of the Convention and rule 80 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, a member of the Authority which was in arrears in the payment of its financial contribution to the Authority should have no vote if the amount of its arrears equalled or exceeded the amount of the contribution due from it for the preceding two full years. He urged all members of the Authority to pay their assessed contributions, and arrears, as soon as possible.
He reported that on 13 July 2000, the Council of the Authority adopted the Regulations for Prospecting and Exploitation for Polymetallic Nodules in the Area. The regulations were subsequently approved by the Assembly. Following the adoptions, he had prepared draft contracts for exploration in respect of each of the seven registered pioneer investors whose plans of work for exploration had been approved by the Council on 27 August 1997. Draft contracts were submitted to each of the registered pioneer investors in August 2000.
Following discussions with them, the first 15-year contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules in the deep seabed were signed on 29 March 2001 at the headquarters of the Authority in Kingston, Jamaica. Those were the contracts between the Authority and Interoceanmetal Joint Organization (a consortium formed by Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, Poland, Russian Federation and Slovak Republic); and the contract with the Republic of Korea, which was signed in Seoul on 27 April 2001 by the Minister for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Woo-Taik Chung.
He said the contract between the Authority and China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association would be signed at Beijing on 22 May 2001. The contracts between the Authority and India, IFREMER/AFTERNOD (France), and Deep Ocean Resources Development Company (Japan) had not yet been signed, but arrangements were in hand to do so in the near future.
A workshop was organized in June 2000 to provide information on the drafting regulations for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic nodules. The workshop was attended by more than 60 participants from 34 countries, including several members of the Legal and Technical Commission of the Authority. During the sixth session of the Authority, the Legal and Technical Commission discussed draft recommendations on environmental impacts arising from exploration for polymetallic nodules, and requested the Secretariat to revise and re-structure the draft for final consideration by the Commission during the seventh session of the Authority in Kingston from 2 to 13 July.
He encouraged as many delegations as possible to participate in the seventh session, noting that among the important items to be discussed would be the elections to the Legal and Technical Commission and the Finance Committee, as well as new draft regulations on prospecting and exploration of polymetallic sulphides and cobalt crusts.
He also paid tribute to the Registrar of the Tribunal, and drew attention to his pioneering work in the preparation of the first budget of the Tribunal. He said the Registrar set a very good standard from which all had benefited. The Tribunal was a new body and needed to be circumspect in its actions, he said.
SORAYA ELENA ALVAREZ-NUNEZ (Cuba) asked if it was possible to obtain a copy of the International Seabed Authority report.
Mr. MAQUIEIRA, Meeting President, said that Mr. Nandan would be happy to give copies to any interested delegations.
The meeting then took note of the report of the International Seabed Authority.
Report of External Auditors
GRITAKUMAR CHITTY, Registrar of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, introducing the report of the External Auditors for 1999, said the auditors had ruled that it reflected a true account of the Tribunal’s activities and expenditures for that financial year.
He said the audit for the 2000 financial year had just been received and the Tribunal had decided to make it available to the Eleventh Meeting, on an informal basis, even before it had itself reviewed the audit.
ALLIEU IBRAHIM KANU (Sierra Leone) said it was difficult to make any meaningful contribution to discussions on the reports introduced today because delegations had only received them this morning. More time was needed for delegations to reflect on them.
Mr. MAQUIEIRA (Chile), Meeting President, said the Secretariat had informed him that the reports had been available to delegations for a considerable period of time.
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