unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/03/89)
SEA-LAW CONVENTION TO NATIONAL MARINE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
TO BE EXAMINED BY EXPERT GROUP
A group of high-level technical experts will be convened at Headquarters
from 5-8 September to examine the issue of marine scientific research in areas
subject to national jurisdiction. The Group will be asked to assist in the
preparation of a practical guide for States in the application of the
provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning
the conduct of marine scientific research.
In order to assist States, the main objective of the meeting will be to
examine the procedures to be followed in the implementation of the relevant
provisions of the Convention. The experts are to conduct their discussions on
the basis of a paper prepared by the Secretariat entitled, Marine Scientific
Research: A guide to the Implementation of the Provisions of the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea. A compilation of national legislation on
such research has also been prepared by the Secretariat to assist the group
and will be issued subsequently as a United Nations publication.
Before the adoption of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea, there was no detailed regulation of marine scientific research. The
1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf made only a brief mention of the
issue |article 5(8)~, specifying that the "consent of the coastal State shall
be obtained in respect of any research concerning the continental shelf",
although, normally, the coastal State shall not withhold its consent in the
case of "purely scientific research".
That phrasing, with its application only to the continental shelf and its
reference to "purely scientific research", was so ambiguous that it inevitably
led to many difficulties between States. Since then, an entirely new zone of
national jurisdiction, i.e. the exclusive economic zone, has emerged and has
been firmly embodied in the 1982 Convention.
Under the 1982 Convention, there are new rules dealing specifically with
the conduct of marine scientific research. The Convention guarantees the
right of all States to conduct such research subject to the rights and duties
of other States, particularly the coastal States, in those areas under their
sovereignty and jurisdiction where the research is to be conducted. The
coastal States are given the right to authorize and regulate marine scientific
research in their territorial sea and exclusive economic zone and on their
continental shelf.
Overall, the Convention requires all States and competent international
organizations to promote and facilitate the development and conduct of marine
scientific research. To follow up these basic principles, States are required
to establish regulations to put new rules into effect.
The paper to be considered, prepared by the Office for Ocean Affairs and
the Law of the Sea, is intended to serve as a basis for uniform implementation
of the Convention's provisions, providing practical guidelines for both
researching States and coastal States in taking a series of actions related to
the conduct of marine scientific research.
A similar meeting of technical experts held in 1987 resulted in the
publication of another practical guide on the drawing of baselines from which
the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and the
continental shelf are measured (UN Publication Sales No. E88.V.5).
Members of the expert group are to serve in their personal capacity and
will come from the following countries: Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Chile,
China, Egypt, Fiji, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, India, Indonesia,
Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, the Soviet
Union, the United Kingdom, the United Republic of Tanzania and the United
States.
* Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501)
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Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange
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