Background Release

COMMISSION ON LIMITS OF CONTINENTAL SHELF to hold TWENTIETH SESSION

FROM 27 AUGUST TO 14 September 2007

 

NEW YORK, 21 August (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) -- The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its twentieth session at United Nations Headquarters from 27 August to 14 September.  This will be the first meeting of the Commission after the election at the seventeenth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, on 14-15 June.

The following 21 members were elected for a term of five years commencing on 16 June 2007 and ending on 15 June 2012:  Alexandre Tagore Medeiros de Albuquerque (Brazil), Osvaldo Pedro Astiz (Argentina), Lawrence Folajimi Awosika (Nigeria), Harald Brekke (Norway), Galo Carrera Hurtado (Mexico), Francis L. Charles (Trinidad and Tobago), Peter F. Croker (Ireland), Indurlall Fagoonee (Mauritius), Mihai Silviu German (Romania), Abu Bakar Jaafar (Malaysia), George Jaoshvili (Georgia), Emmanuel Kalngui (Cameroon), Yuri Borisovitch Kazmin (Russian Federation), Wenzheng Lu (China), Isaac Owusu Oduro (Ghana), Yong-ahn Park (Republic of Korea), Fernando Manuel Maia Pimentel (Portugal), Sivaramakrishnan Rajan (India), Michael Anselme Marc Rosette (Seychelles), Philip Alexander Symonds (Australia) and Kensaku Tamaki (Japan).  At the upcoming twentieth session, a new Chairman of the Commission will be elected.

The Commission is currently examining the submissions made by Australia, New Zealand and Norway, as well as the partial joint submission made by France, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom.  At this session the Commission will also consider a new submission, that of France.

The submission by France is the eighth submission received by the Commission.  The first was made by the Russian Federation in 2001.  The second and third were made respectively by Brazil and Australia in 2004.  The fourth was made by Ireland in 2005.  The fifth submission was the partial joint submission made by France, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom in 2006.  The sixth and seventh were made respectively by New Zealand and Norway in 2006.

The submission by France, containing scientific and technical data and information on the proposed outer limits of the continental shelf, was delivered to the Secretary-General on 22 May in accordance with the deadline provided for in article 4 of annex II to the Convention.

As required under the rules of procedure of the Commission (document CLCS/40), the executive summary of the French submission, including all charts and coordinates, was made public by the Secretary-General through a note verbale dated 29 May which was circulated to all Member States of the United Nations, including the States parties to the Convention.

The submissions to the Commission are made pursuant to Article 76, paragraph 8, of the Convention, which provides that, if a coastal State intends to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, information on such limits “shall be submitted by the coastal State to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. […] The Commission shall make recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf.  The limits of the shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of these recommendations shall be final and binding.”

Article 4 of annex II to the Convention establishes that a coastal State must make its submission “as soon as possible, but in any case within 10 years of the entry into force of this Convention for that State.”  However, as a result of a decision taken by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention, the commencement of this 10-year period was postponed for some countries, in order to take into consideration that it was only after the adoption by the Commission of its Scientific and Technical Guidelines on 13 May 1999 that States had before them the basic documents concerning the preparation of submissions.  The eleventh Meeting decided that:  “in the case of a State party for which the Convention entered into force before 13 May 1999, it is understood that the 10-year time period referred to in article 4 of annex II to the Convention shall be taken to have commenced on 13 May 1999” (document SPLOS/72).

As provided by article 5 of annex II to the Convention, “unless the Commission decides otherwise, the Commission shall function by way of subcommissions composed of seven members, appointed in a balanced manner taking into account the specific elements of each submission by a coastal State”.  All four submissions currently under examination are being considered by subcomissions.  At the twentieth session, the Commission may establish one additional subcommission to examine the new submission by France.

The Commission will also consider training issues and will be briefed on the capacity-building activities carried out by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea.  It will be recalled that the Division, has prepared a training manual to assist States in developing the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare a submission in conformity with the Guidelines developed by the Commission.  On the basis of this manual, four United Nations training courses for developing States with potential for extended continental shelf were organized at the regional level in 2005 and 2006.  Additionally, two training courses were organized at the subregional level in Brunei Darussalam from 12 to 16 February and in Cape Town, South Africa, from 13 to 17 August.

For information on the history and purpose of the Commission or additional information, please visit the website of the Division at www.un.org/Depts/los/index.htm.

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For information media • not an official record