The Council of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) closed the meetings of Part II of its 28th session on Friday, 21 July 2023. The Council met in person for ten days. A total of 32 of the 36 Members of the Council were in attendance, along with 23 other Members and 20 observers. The negotiations of the draft regulations on the exploitation of mineral resources in the Area (ISBA/25/C/WP.1) remained the main item on the agenda. The Council also continued to discuss other important matters, including the operationalization of the Enterprise.
Progress on the draft exploitation regulations and roadmap to July 2024
The Council made significant progress concerning the negotiations on the draft exploitation regulations for mineral resources in the Area in an informal setting in plenary (President’s text) and in the four working groups on i) a financial model and payment mechanism for deep-sea mining, ii) the protection and preservation of the marine environment, iii) inspection, compliance and enforcement and iv) institutional matters.
The Council expressed its intention to continue the work on the exploitation regulations with a view to adopting them during the 30th session in 2025. In this respect, the Council adopted a roadmap for continued work until Part II of its 29th session in July 2024 (ISBA/28/C/24).
According to the roadmap, the facilitators of the different working groups of the Council invited substantive written textual submissions on the regulations and the outcomes of all the informal intersessional working groups by 15 September 2023.
The facilitators will then present revised texts ahead of Part III of the 28th session of the Council scheduled to take place from 30 October to 8 November 2023.
The roadmap foresees that a consolidated negotiating text of the draft regulations identifying possible areas of overlap, duplication or omission and presenting streamlined provisions and annexes will be issued after the end of part III of the 28th session.
The Head of the Spanish delegation, H.E. Mr. Diego Bermejo Romero de Terreros, Ambassador of Spain and Permanent Representative of Spain to ISA, welcomed the consensus on the way forward as a key outcome of the meetings. “It will allow us to fulfill our mandate to complete the regulations while ensuring the effective protection of the marine environment,” he said.
The Seabed Minerals Commissioner of the Cook Islands, Ms. Alex Herman, stated: “We all united in our commitment to ensure the protection of the ocean. We continue progressing positively on the draft Exploitation Regulations, including in this latest Council session. We must continue to use this momentum to complete a fit-for-purpose regulatory regime. With robust laws in place and science-based decision-making, we can ensure the effective protection of our marine environment and also realize the vision of UNCLOS for the common heritage of humankind.”
Consideration of a potential application for a plan of work for exploitation
The Council continued its discussions in the informal intersessional dialogue to build further consensus concerning the “two-year rule” and the possible scenarios foreseen in the context of the implementation of section 1, paragraph 15 of the Annex to the 1994 Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of UNCLOS and on any other pertinent legal considerations facilitated by Belgium and Singapore.
The so-called “two-year rule” expired on 9 July 2023. However, no application for a plan of work has been received to date.
The Council also adopted a decision relating to the understanding and application of section 1, paragraph 15, of the Annex to the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of UNCLOS including steps to be taken if an application for a plan of work for exploitation is submitted before the Council has completed the rules, regulations and procedures (ISBA/28/C/25).
Operationalization of the Enterprise
The Council approved the creation of the position of Interim Director General of the Enterprise and the supplementary budget for 2023-2024 to cover the costs associated with the establishment of the position, as approved by the Finance Committee during its meetings from 5 to 7 July 2023. The Assembly will consider this decision for approval during its meetings from 24 to 28 July. The Interim Director General of the Enterprise will be a member of the ISA staff and will perform the functions listed in the Annex to the 1994 Agreement.
Other decisions
The Council elected Ms. Rebecca Hitchin, a marine ecologist from the United Kingdom, to fill a seat left vacant on the Legal and Technical Commission after the resignation of a member.
The Council endorsed a cooperation agreement between ISA and the International Labour Organization. A letter of cooperation between the two organizations will be signed in due course.
Finally, upon recommendation of the LTC, the Council decided to defer the relinquishment of 50 per cent of the area allocated to the Government of India under its contract for exploration for polymetallic sulphides signed with ISA on 26 September 2016. The Council agreed that the reasons presented by the Government of India and related to the COVID-19 pandemic qualify as “unforeseen exceptional circumstances arising in connection with the operational activities of the contractor.” The relinquishment is deferred from 26 September 2024 to 30 September 2026.
The President of the Council, H.E. Mr. Juan Jose Gonzalez Mijares (Mexico), congratulated the Member States for making considerable progress in advancing the regulations for exploitation and for approving a roadmap for the next steps. The President also noted the commitment of all the delegations to continue the negotiations in good faith. He also reminded the importance of a robust legal framework as the guarantee for the protection of the marine environment and to provide for the equitable sharing of financial and other economic benefits for humankind as a whole.
For more information, visit https://www.isa.org.jm/sessions/28th-session-2023.
For daily reports, visit https://www.isa.org.jm/sessions/28th-session-2023/?tab=daily-bulletins.
For official photos of the meetings, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/isbahq.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Shanique Gregory, Senior Communications Assistant, sgregory@isa.org.jm