SATYA N. NANDAN RE-ELECTED AS SECRETARY-GENERAL OF INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY

Biographical Note                                          

SATYA N. NANDAN RE-ELECTED AS SECRETARY-GENERAL OF INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY

Ambassador Satya N. Nandan, C.F, C.B.E., of Fiji, who was re-elected to a third term as Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, was elected as the first Secretary-General of the intergovernmental body in March 1996 and  re-elected in March 2000.

He served as Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Fiji.  He was a representative of his country at the United Nations in New York (1970-1976) and 1993-1995), and was Fiji’s Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (1976-1980).

Ambassador Nandan served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea from 1983-1992.  He headed the United Nations Office for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and was responsible for the secretariat servicing the Preparatory Commission for the International Seabed Authority and for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

He was Chairman of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1993-1995) and President of the Meeting of States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at its first, second and third sessions.  He also served as Chairman of the Multilateral High-Level Conference, which negotiated the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (1997-2000).

In 1990, as Under Secretary-Secretary-General and Special Representative for the Law of the Sea, Ambassador Nandan initiated the Secretary-General’s informal consultations to address the problems of Part XI of the Convention and, subsequently, as delegate of Fiji, was Chairman of the informal group (“the Boat Paper Group”) that negotiated the Implementation Agreement adopted by the General Assembly on 28 July 1994, which resolved those problems and opened the door to universal participation in the Convention.

Ambassador Nandan headed the Fiji delegation to the Seabed Committee (1970-1973) and to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973-1982).  He was among the Conference leaders and participated in the negotiations on a number of key issues.  As Rapporteur of the Second Committee of the Conference (the traditional law of the sea), he composed the single negotiating text for the Chairman, which became the basic text of the Committee.  In 1975, he served as Chairman of the Working Groups on the Exclusive Economic Zone, Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries and the High Seas.

He also co-chaired a private informal (Fiji/United Kingdom) group which negotiated the compromise on the critical issue of passage through straits used for international navigation and the regime for archipelagic sea-lanes passage.  In 1977, he was appointed chairman of Negotiating Group 4 of the Conference which dealt with the participation of landlocked and geographically disadvantaged States in the exploitation of the living resources of the neighbouring exclusive economic zones.  He also chaired an informal group on production policy relating to deep seabed mining.

Ambassador Nandan has participated in numerous international conferences and seminars and has lectured and written extensively on the law of the sea, the United Nations and related matters.  He is General Editor of the Law of the Sea Commentary series, six volumes, published by the University of Virginia Center for Ocean Law and Policy, and Volume Editor for Volumes II, III and VI.

He holds an LL.B degree with honours from the University of London, and honorary doctorates from Newfoundland and the University of the South Pacific.  He is a Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln’s Inn, England, and Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Fiji.

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