4.3.2 States’ Authority in the Area: Limitations Imposed by
the Common Heritage of Mankind Principle
Only recently has a third major principle come into play in the law of the sea, one
that equally regulates issues of sovereignty, but this time over the deep seabed
beyond national jurisdiction, or the Area. The common heritage of mankind principle, enshrined in Art. 137, UNCLOS, represented a paradigmatic shift in the way
parcels of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction are to be managed.
64 Prior to the
adoption of the Convention, humankind was at a rather embryonic stage of exploration of the deep seabed and its resources.
65 Given the inaccessibility of those zones
at the time, no legal treatment had been dedicated to it, until the discovery of massive
mineral deposit concentrations in depths earlier unknown to humanity.
66 Once the
minerals were there, interest was due to awake in many nations of the world,
particularly those with technological requirements for the hardcore task of extracting
minerals from such extreme conditions.
In order to prevent the unilateral exercise of sovereignty over the pristine deep
seabed and an oligarchic exploitation of riches located beyond every country’s
jurisdiction, the international community has opted for a legal regime that keeps
deep-sea minerals outside the unilateral appropriation by individual states. The
political motor for that option is believed to be the speech of Arvid Pardo before
the United Nations General Assembly in 1967, when Malta’s ambassador to the UN
urged states to declare the seabed beyond national jurisdiction as common heritage
of mankind (CHM).
67
64 The principle of common heritage of mankind is also considered by some scholars as a “status”,
which is attributed to the seabed beyond national jurisdiction and its resources by UNCLOS. In the
law of the sea there is plenty of room for different wordings and term combinations, each of which
will have different meanings and scopes. In the case of the common heritage of mankind, as a
“status”.
65 Scientists believe the international society is now venturing into a second phase of deep ocean
exploration. The first phase took place during the 1950s and 1960s, when Jacques Piccard designed
a submersible vehicle with financial support of the United States Navy, and dove into the depths of
the Challenger Deep, the deepest hole known in the world’s oceans, in 1960. In that occasion, the
submersible Trieste descended 11.000 meters until the very bottom of the sea. See First Trip to the
Deepest Part of the Ocean. Available at: http://geology.com/records/bathyscaphe-trieste.shtml.
Accessed 07 April 2020.
66 One of the most promising industries of the deep-sea is perhaps the mining of the deep ocean floor
for massive mineral deposits, including the so-called “polymetallic nodules”, “polymetallic sulfide
deposits”, “manganese nodules” and “cobalt crusts”. For further information on every mineral
compound, refer to the ISA homepage. Available at: https://www.isa.org.jm/mineral-resources/55.
Accessed 07 April 2020.
67 Common space areas are regarded as regions owned by no one, though hypothetically managed
by everyone. On the gender-related issue, it should be noted that, although some reports prefer the
gender-neutral equivalent “common heritage of humankind”, the expression is widely quoted as “of
mankind”, and so will it be used on this book.
4.3 From Sovereignty to Progressive Jurisdiction in the New Law of the Sea
101
the Common Heritage of Mankind Principle
Only recently has a third major principle come into play in the law of the sea, one
that equally regulates issues of sovereignty, but this time over the deep seabed
beyond national jurisdiction, or the Area. The common heritage of mankind principle, enshrined in Art. 137, UNCLOS, represented a paradigmatic shift in the way
parcels of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction are to be managed.
64 Prior to the
adoption of the Convention, humankind was at a rather embryonic stage of exploration of the deep seabed and its resources.
65 Given the inaccessibility of those zones
at the time, no legal treatment had been dedicated to it, until the discovery of massive
mineral deposit concentrations in depths earlier unknown to humanity.
66 Once the
minerals were there, interest was due to awake in many nations of the world,
particularly those with technological requirements for the hardcore task of extracting
minerals from such extreme conditions.
In order to prevent the unilateral exercise of sovereignty over the pristine deep
seabed and an oligarchic exploitation of riches located beyond every country’s
jurisdiction, the international community has opted for a legal regime that keeps
deep-sea minerals outside the unilateral appropriation by individual states. The
political motor for that option is believed to be the speech of Arvid Pardo before
the United Nations General Assembly in 1967, when Malta’s ambassador to the UN
urged states to declare the seabed beyond national jurisdiction as common heritage
of mankind (CHM).
67
64 The principle of common heritage of mankind is also considered by some scholars as a “status”,
which is attributed to the seabed beyond national jurisdiction and its resources by UNCLOS. In the
law of the sea there is plenty of room for different wordings and term combinations, each of which
will have different meanings and scopes. In the case of the common heritage of mankind, as a
“status”.
65 Scientists believe the international society is now venturing into a second phase of deep ocean
exploration. The first phase took place during the 1950s and 1960s, when Jacques Piccard designed
a submersible vehicle with financial support of the United States Navy, and dove into the depths of
the Challenger Deep, the deepest hole known in the world’s oceans, in 1960. In that occasion, the
submersible Trieste descended 11.000 meters until the very bottom of the sea. See First Trip to the
Deepest Part of the Ocean. Available at: http://geology.com/records/bathyscaphe-trieste.shtml.
Accessed 07 April 2020.
66 One of the most promising industries of the deep-sea is perhaps the mining of the deep ocean floor
for massive mineral deposits, including the so-called “polymetallic nodules”, “polymetallic sulfide
deposits”, “manganese nodules” and “cobalt crusts”. For further information on every mineral
compound, refer to the ISA homepage. Available at: https://www.isa.org.jm/mineral-resources/55.
Accessed 07 April 2020.
67 Common space areas are regarded as regions owned by no one, though hypothetically managed
by everyone. On the gender-related issue, it should be noted that, although some reports prefer the
gender-neutral equivalent “common heritage of humankind”, the expression is widely quoted as “of
mankind”, and so will it be used on this book.
4.3 From Sovereignty to Progressive Jurisdiction in the New Law of the Sea
101