CYIL vol. 15 (2024)

JAN ONDŘEJ the seabed to be ‘the common heritage of mankind’ and contained principles that should be embodied in a future treaty concerning this area. These were a) the prohibition of the appropriation of the seabed, b) its exclusively peaceful use, c) conducting exploration of the seabed and the ocean floor in accordance with the principles and objectives of the UN Charter, d) investigating the interests of humanity in regard to the extraction of the seabed and ocean floor, and e) the use of net financial benefit obtained from the use and mining of the sea and ocean floor, especially to support the development of poor countries. There was reflected an important social and political aspect in this last principle. In the 1960s, the decolonization process peaked, and a number of new states were created, usually very poor. However, these states did not want to remain aloof from international events, and exactly the profit from the extraction of natural resources of the seabed could have contributed to solving the urgent needs of their development. The conclusion of the memorandum envisaged the creation of an international organization aimed at regulating the activity on the seabed and to ensure that the activity is carried out according to the principles and provisions of the proposed treaty. The Malta proposal was the impulse for the UNSC’s action in regard to the seabed. For this purpose, Resolution 2340 (XXII) of 1967 established an Ad Hoc Committee to Study the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction. A year later, this committee was transformed by Resolution 2467 (XXIII) into the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction. A significant result of the Committee’s work was the adoption of the Declaration of Principles Governing the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor, and Subsoil Thereof, beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction by Resolution 2749 (XXV) of 1970, which declared the sea and ocean floor to be the ‘common heritage of mankind’. This Declaration developed the ideas contained in the Malta Memorandum. The Committee operated until 1973, when there was adopted the decision through Resolution 3067 (XXVIII) to organise the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea. According to this resolution, the mandate of the conference was to adopt a convention, that would cover all questions related to the law of the sea, and at the same time the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Seabed was dissolved. The reason for convening the Third Conference on the Law of the Sea was the need to address the unresolved issues that were connected with technical development allowing the use of other parts of the sea and the seabed, as well as the emergence of multiple new developing states, which asserted their interests that were not taken into account in the Geneva Conventions. The conference was held from 1973–1982 and resulted in the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. The aim of the Article is to evaluate the importance of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, its contribution, and also to point out some problems arising from its interpretation and application.

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