SEA

THE

LAW
OF 305
HE a) and the Declaration adopted the
v i e w o f
Articls

by Preparatory Commission
1985,

o din
note that
AugusI,

30
nificant to
ta not
Article 1b
Or the Provisional
on prejudice to, nor
does it Understanding
provides that
is Sis
heagreement,
t
without
by
of the Parties, in repectaffect,
any
the
of the U. position
of the
parties, or
any
a s s u m e d

N. Convention on
tions tFrance,
that here
Japan, Belgium and Italy have the Law of
00a. t
be
may
be
no
noted

the Sea. Thus half of the signed the 1982

sea.on the ned the Convention. Federal States Parties to the Provisional
Conventionon
ndingnaay also join the convention it theRepublic of Germany has given an
an thatdR0 sea-bed mining
indicalio
Preparatory
interests under the pioneerCommission could
cCommodate
is, though
K. is. not as
as good, nearly same. It has been investors.193 The
U. K. of pointed out:
position
heen called 'the convoluted
Wha
s
compromise' over prospective community
ill certainly be widely interpreted
participationwill as an
any aand the U. K. to secure eventually a form
attempt the Federal Republic
of
of limited accession with
of Gera194 If such a trend continues, the U. S. may be left major
accessifre be hoped that it will not be long before the U. S. alone
may
therefore,
in the field. It
also joins the U. N.
Law of the
on the Sea, 1982."
195
Convention

consesus will ultimately triumph and the 1982 Convention will

d

ol over nearly 70 per cent of the provide an

effective lega regime surface of our
erstanding ween
Thus
eight Developed Countries, globe. the
rather I will prefer to call it
Provis Misunderstanding'
ProvisionalM i s u n d e will be null and void
because of the 1982 Conventior1 which
world onsensus.
is backed
by
One major difficulty which has stood in the way of the treaty's universal
acceptance was that
was that the majority of the industrialized States are
opposed to
ational regime for deep Sea-bed mining. As remarked provisions
governing the Internatio
by U. N.
utros-Boutros
Secretary-General, Boutr Ghali, a comprehensive solution would have to
cofenuard the principle of the common heritage of mankind. He added that it was the U.
N's duly to ensure that theConvention "enters fully into force at last and really becomes
the corner stone of tomorrow's international maritime law."
196

Aqreement Relating to the Implementation of Part Xl of the convention

(28 July, 1994).
With a view to overcome the objections of the industrial states, the U.N. Secretary-
General undertook informal consultations with all interested parties, lasting nearly four
years. As a resut, the General Assembly adopted on 28 July 1994 the Agreement Relating
o the Implementation of Part XI, thus removing the obstacle that stood in the way of
ersal paricipation of states to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982. The
reral Assembly adopted this resolution (48/263) by a vote of 121 to none, with 7
abstentions.
XlII. PROTECTION AND PRESERVATIiON OF
MARINE ENVIRONMENT
On of the main achievements of the Third U. N. Conference on the Law of the Sea is
oe
To adopt generally agreed provisions relating to protection and preservation of the marine
eVironme
hese provisions which will govern nearly three-fourth of the surtace ot tne
I Contained in Part Xll of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. in view O
93.
lbid,at p. 244.
34. K. R.
.

p. 359 Simmonds.
Slatus of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea" 1.C.L.Q., Vol. 34,
"The Status
at p.
368.
195. See
also R. P. Sates", I.J.I.L., Vol. 24
(1984) p. Anand, "U.
153 at pp.
N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea and the United
196. 198-199.
AS N.Chronicle,
Vol. XXX No. 2
(June, 1993) p. 71
(2005) Q. 7(a).