the territorial integrity or political independence of any State”,
64 or other aggressive
activities in line with Art. 2 (4) of the UN Charter. It means that whereas military
exercises and maneuvers with nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in
the Area are prohibited, it cannot be said that the deployment of regular weapons
therein are a priori forbidden. States should, nonetheless, refrain from deploying any
kind of military artillery over the deep seabed, given the still undetermined losses in
terms of biodiversity and overall ecosystem balance such drills may cause. In this
sense, it is different from the continental shelf regime, where coastal states may
conduct military exercises, having in mind the limitations imposed by domestic
environmental rules, internationally recognized standards, as well as the rights and
freedoms of other states.
65
An additional element of the common heritage principle is that the seabed shall be
used in a manner consistent with the protection of deep-sea marine environment, in
line with Art. 145 UNCLOS. Such a feature approximates both regimes of the Area
and the continental shelf, as coastal states are also bound by the obligation to protect
and preserve the marine environment within national jurisdiction. A chapter of this
volume is dedicated to the analysis of the environmental powers and duties of coastal
states over the continental shelf beyond 200 nm, a moment in which the intersections
between the regimes of the Area and the continental shelf shall be studied in further
detail.
Finally, the “common benefit and equal participation” aspect of the principle
embraces the logic that deep seabed mining and its profits should not be monopolized by developed and industrially advanced states, and parties should prevent
discrimination (both formal and material) in the right to access natural resources of
the Area.
66 Activities in the Area should be carried out in the benefit of humanity as
a whole. A possible way to achieve this sharing of benefits would be the sharing of
benefits obtained through deep seabed mining.
67 A justification for this was formulated by the so-called “compensation” school of thought: use of resources was open
to all states; however, several states lacked technological advancements to access
those resources; thus, in order to uphold UNCLOS-given right of access to
resources, the distribution of benefits would constitute a sort of “indirect participation” in the use of the Area. In short, the right of access could only be materialized
64 Art. 301, UNCLOS, on the peaceful uses of the seas.
65 A limitation to the military use of the continental shelf is imposed by the so-called “Seabed Arms
Control Treaty”, or the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and
Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof,
signed 1971.
66 Art. 140, UNCLOS, on the benefit of mankind.
67 A way to implement de facto participation of all states in deep seabed mining was to create an
international institution mandated with managing the activities of exploring and exploiting the
seabed, but also receiving financial contributions from exploiting states and distributing those
contribution among the international community—that is precisely the mandate of the ISA.
5.3 The Outer Continental Shelf and the Area
123
64 or other aggressive
activities in line with Art. 2 (4) of the UN Charter. It means that whereas military
exercises and maneuvers with nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in
the Area are prohibited, it cannot be said that the deployment of regular weapons
therein are a priori forbidden. States should, nonetheless, refrain from deploying any
kind of military artillery over the deep seabed, given the still undetermined losses in
terms of biodiversity and overall ecosystem balance such drills may cause. In this
sense, it is different from the continental shelf regime, where coastal states may
conduct military exercises, having in mind the limitations imposed by domestic
environmental rules, internationally recognized standards, as well as the rights and
freedoms of other states.
65
An additional element of the common heritage principle is that the seabed shall be
used in a manner consistent with the protection of deep-sea marine environment, in
line with Art. 145 UNCLOS. Such a feature approximates both regimes of the Area
and the continental shelf, as coastal states are also bound by the obligation to protect
and preserve the marine environment within national jurisdiction. A chapter of this
volume is dedicated to the analysis of the environmental powers and duties of coastal
states over the continental shelf beyond 200 nm, a moment in which the intersections
between the regimes of the Area and the continental shelf shall be studied in further
detail.
Finally, the “common benefit and equal participation” aspect of the principle
embraces the logic that deep seabed mining and its profits should not be monopolized by developed and industrially advanced states, and parties should prevent
discrimination (both formal and material) in the right to access natural resources of
the Area.
66 Activities in the Area should be carried out in the benefit of humanity as
a whole. A possible way to achieve this sharing of benefits would be the sharing of
benefits obtained through deep seabed mining.
67 A justification for this was formulated by the so-called “compensation” school of thought: use of resources was open
to all states; however, several states lacked technological advancements to access
those resources; thus, in order to uphold UNCLOS-given right of access to
resources, the distribution of benefits would constitute a sort of “indirect participation” in the use of the Area. In short, the right of access could only be materialized
64 Art. 301, UNCLOS, on the peaceful uses of the seas.
65 A limitation to the military use of the continental shelf is imposed by the so-called “Seabed Arms
Control Treaty”, or the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and
Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof,
signed 1971.
66 Art. 140, UNCLOS, on the benefit of mankind.
67 A way to implement de facto participation of all states in deep seabed mining was to create an
international institution mandated with managing the activities of exploring and exploiting the
seabed, but also receiving financial contributions from exploiting states and distributing those
contribution among the international community—that is precisely the mandate of the ISA.
5.3 The Outer Continental Shelf and the Area
123