The International Seabed Authority will elect a new Secretary-General and half of its Executive Council and also continue work on a regulatory regime for sulphides and cobalt-rich crusts at its fourteenth session in Kingston, Jamaica, from 26 May to 6 June 2008.
The Authority will also adopt the budget for the biennium 2009-2010 as well as a scale of assessment for contributions to it and consider a report of the outgoing Secretary-General, among other substantive matters.
Its technical body, the Legal and Technical Commission, has been meeting a week ahead of the main session from 19 May to continue its work on the draft regulations for cobalt-rich crusts and to consider applications sponsored by Nauru and Tonga for exploration licenses for deep seabed polymetallic nodules. It was also scheduled to consider the annual reports of the eight contractors for polymetallic nodule exploration while the 36-member Council will focus on the regulations for prospecting and exploration for polymetallic sulphides.