United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) , also called "Constitution for the oceans", has 168 parties, and sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out.
It established three institutions:
The
Future We Want recognizes the importance of the Convention on the Law of the Sea to advancing sustainable development and its near universal adoption by States, and in this regard urges all its parties to fully implement their obligations under the Convention.
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Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982
To address certain difficulties with the seabed mining provisions contained in Part XI of the Convention, which had been raised, primarily by the industrialized countries, the Secretary-General convened in July 1990 a series of informal consultations which culminated in the adoption, on 28 July 1994, of the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. The Agreement entered into force on 28 July 1996.
It consists of 10 articles dealing mainly with procedural aspects such as signature, entry into force and provisional application. Its article 2 deals with the relationship between the Agreement and Part XI of the Convention and it provides that the two shall be interpreted and applied together as a single instrument. In the event of an inconsistency between the Agreement and Part XI, however, the provisions of the Agreement shall prevail.
The Agreement has an annex, divided into nine sections, dealing with the various issues that were identified as problem areas during the informal consultations. These include costs to States Parties and institutional arrangements; decision-making mechanisms for the Authority; and future amendments of the Convention.
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