Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf to Hold Fifty‑Seventh Session at Headquarters, 23 January–10 March
NEW YORK, 17 January (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) ― The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will hold its fifty-seventh session from 23 January to 10 March. The session will be held in person at United Nations Headquarters. On an exceptional basis, there will be three weeks of plenary meetings during the session: from 30 January to 10 February and from 6 to 10 March. The remaining four weeks will be devoted to the technical examination of submissions by established subcommissions in the Division’s premises, including geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities.
The fifty-seventh session will be the last session of the Commission in its current composition, as the term of office of the present members of the Commission will expire on 15 June. The latest election of 21 members of the Commission was held at the thirty-second Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in June 2022.
During the session, eleven submissions will be under consideration by the Commission and its subcommissions, namely the submissions made by the Russian Federation in respect of the Arctic Ocean (partial revised submission); Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin (partial revised submission); France and South Africa jointly in respect of the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands; Kenya; Mauritius in respect of the region of Rodrigues Island (partial submission); Nigeria; Palau in respect of the North Area (partial amended submission); Sri Lanka; Portugal; Spain in respect of the area of Galicia (partial submission); and India.
The plenary of the Commission will commence its consideration of the recommendations prepared by the subcommissions established to consider the submissions made by the Russian Federation in respect of the Arctic Ocean (partial revised submission), by France and South Africa jointly in respect of the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands, and by Kenya, which were transmitted to the Commission during the fifty-sixth session.
As it will be devoting its attention to the consideration of recommendations during this session, the Commission has not invited coastal States that have not yet presented their submissions to the Commission to this session.
Background
Established pursuant to article 2, annex II to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Commission makes recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, based on information submitted to it by coastal States. These recommendations are based on the scientific and technical data and other material provided by States in relation to the implementation of article 76 of the Convention. The recommendations do not prejudice matters relating to the delimitation of boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts or prejudice the position of States that are parties to a land or maritime dispute, or application of other parts of the Convention or any other treaties. The limits of the continental shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of these recommendations shall be final and binding. 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.
Under rule 23 of its rules of procedure (Public and private meetings), the meetings of the Commission, its subcommissions and subsidiary bodies are held in private, unless the Commission decides otherwise.
As required under the rules of procedure of the Commission, the executive summaries of all the submissions, including all charts and coordinates, have been made public by the Secretary‑General through continental shelf notifications circulated to Member States of the United Nations, as well as States Parties to the Convention. The executive summaries are available on the Division’s website at: www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/clcs_home.htm. The summaries of recommendations adopted by the Commission are also available on the above-referenced website.
The Commission is a body of 21 experts in the field of geology, geophysics or hydrography. They serve in their personal capacities. Members of the Commission are elected for a term of five years by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention from among their nationals having due regard to the need to ensure equitable geographical representation. Not fewer than three members shall be elected from each geographical region. Currently, one seat on the Commission continues to be vacant due to the lack of nominations from the Eastern European Group of States.
The Convention provides that the State party which submitted the nomination of a member of the Commission shall defray the expenses of that member while in performance of Commission duties. A voluntary trust fund for the purpose of defraying the cost of participation of the members of the Commission from developing countries has been established. It has facilitated the participation of several members of the Commission from developing countries in the sessions of the Commission.
The convening by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the sessions of the Commission, with full conference services, including documentation, for the plenary parts of these sessions, is subject to approval by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Assembly does so in its annual resolutions on oceans and the law of the sea, which also address other matters relevant to the work of the Commission and the conditions of service of its members.
For additional information on the work of the Commission see the website of the Division at: www.un.org/depts/los/index.htm. In particular, the most recent Statements by the Chair on the progress in the work of the Commission are available at: www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/commission_documents.