Background Release

COMMISSION ON LIMITS OF CONTINENTAL SHELF CONVENES TO EXAMINE SUBMISSION OF BRAZIL

NEW YORK, 30 August (DOALOS) -- The Fourteenth Session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will be convened for three weeks, from 30 August to 17 September 2004, to examine the submission by Brazil regarding the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.  This is the second submission by a coastal State to establish the outer limits of an extended continental shelf -- the first was that of the Russian Federation, which was received in December of 2001.

The submission, containing data and information on the proposed outer limits of the continental shelf of Brazil beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured (often referred to as an extended continental shelf), was delivered to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 17 May 2004 by officials of the Brazilian Mission.  This submission was made pursuant to article 76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982, which came into force on 16 November 1994, the same date on which the Convention entered into force for Brazil.

Upon completion of the examination of the submission, the Commission will make recommendations to the submitting State in accordance with article 76 of the Convention.  During the examination of the submission, the Commission has the right to request from the submitting State additional data and information, or even to request that a new submission be made if the one already received does not meet the requirements of the Convention.  In the case of disagreement by the coastal State with the recommendations of the Commission, the coastal State shall, within a reasonable time, make a revised or new submission to the Commission.  The limits of the continental shelf established by Brazil on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission will be final and binding.  The Secretary-General will then give due publicity to the limits thus established.

A note verbale regarding Brazil’s submission was circulated to all member States of the United Nations, including the States parties to the Convention, in accordance with rule 50 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission (CLCS/40), which requires that the proposed outer limits of the extended continental shelf pursuant to the submission be made public.  The information made public includes the executive summary of the submission, including all charts and coordinates contained in that summary delineating the proposed outer limits in the Atlantic Ocean.  The information was posted on the web site of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (http://www.un.org/Depts/los), and has also been included in the Law of the Sea Information Circular.

The determination of the outer limit of the continental shelf of States is mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to separate those areas that fall under national jurisdiction from those areas of the seabed which were proclaimed by the General Assembly, and later the Convention, to be the common heritage of mankind.  The resources of the deep seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction are to be managed jointly by all States through the International Seabed Authority, a body also established by the Convention.

In addition to the examination of the Brazilian submission, the Commission will also consider training issues and the preparation of a Training Manual.  The Manual is being prepared by DOALOS, with the assistance of two members of the Commission acting as coordinators, to assist States in developing the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare a submission to the Commission. The Training Manual is expected to be of special value in assisting developing States in building their capacity to fulfil their obligations with respect to the preparation of their submissions to the Commission.

With respect to the provision of scientific and technical advice to coastal States, the Commission at its last session noted that to date there had been no formal requests for advice by a coastal State, a situation that the Commission found to be surprising, given the fact that the provision of such advice is one of the two main functions of the Commission.  The Commission concluded that additional efforts should be made to bring this source of assistance to the attention of coastal States, especially developing States.  Meanwhile, the Commission reiterated that it stands ready to provide any scientific and technical advice requested by States preparing submissions.

History and Purpose of Commission

The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf was elected following the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  Its purpose is to facilitate the implementation of its provisions in respect of the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast.  Article 76 provides the complex formulae by which coastal States may establish those outer limits.  The Scientific and Technical Guidelines (document CLCS/11) elaborate on these scientific criteria and the methods a State should follow in meeting those criteria.

The tasks of the Commission are twofold:  to examine the submission and make recommendations to the coastal State, and to provide scientific and technical advice, if requested by the coastal State concerned during the preparation of that submission.  The Commission’s recommendations and actions are without prejudice to the delimitation of boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts.  More than 30 States are said to possibly meet the requirements to take advantage of those provisions.

The continental shelf is defined in the Convention as the seabed and subsoil of submarine areas which, because of their geological characteristics, are considered as the natural prolongation of the continental or land mass beneath the oceans or seas to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.  The continental margin consists of the shelf, the slope and the rise.  It does not include the deep ocean floor with its oceanic ridges or the subsoil thereof.  The Convention gives coastal States sovereign rights to explore and exploit such resources, which have been estimated as being extremely valuable.

The current membership of the Commission was elected in April 2002 at the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties.  Since the Chairperson and Vice-Chairs are elected for half of the five-year term of the Commission members, a new election for those offices will be held at the current session.  The officers will be elected for a two-and-a-half-year term, and will serve until 2007.

Two sessions of the Commission are scheduled for 2005, the first from 4 to 8 April, and the second from 29 August to 2 September.  If necessary, either to continue the examination of the Brazilian submission, or to begin an examination of future submissions to be received, each of the sessions will be followed by two weeks of meetings of a subcommission.  It is expected that approximately 10 States will make their submissions to the Commission in the period between 2005 and 2009.  Australia has announced that its submission will be made before 16 November 2004.

For additional information, please consult the web site of the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS):  http://www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm.

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