France, Japan and USSR register as pioneer investors.

• Position: International Sea-Bed Area, northeastern Pacific Ocean

France, Japan and the Soviet Union became pioneer investors in the International Sea-Bed Area on 16 May joining India, which had registered in 1987. It is considered a significant step towards putting into practice the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, by which the Area has been established.

The registration was made possible by an agreement reached last year by the four countries and four international consortia also aspiring to the pioneer investor status. The settlement resolved overlapping claims in the northeastern Pacific Ocean which had delayed the registration for three years.

Pioneer investors have certain exclusive rights to explore and mine parts of the international sea-bed area, in exchange. for which they have certain obligations, including training personnel of the Enterprise, the mining arm of the International Sea-Bed Authority. From its seat in Kingston, Jamaica, the Authority will control all activities of exploration and exploitation of thc resources of the sea-bed beyond national jurisdiction.

Consultations on obligations of pioneer investors started a few weeks earlier in Kingston, at the sixth session (14 March-8 April) of the Preparatory Commission for the International Sea-Bed Authority and for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the two main institutions created by thc Convention.

The informal group handling those negotiations will try to finish its work in New York at the start of the Commission's summer meeting, scheduled to begin on 15 August.

Resolution II of the Conference requires each pioneer investor to pay a fee of $1 million per annum, make periodic investments in its sea-bed area, and help the International Authority explore areas under its control and train personnel.

Zambia, on behalf of the African Group, warned that the obligations themselves were not subject to negotiations, because they had been established in the Convention. Only modalities of implementing them should be discussed.

France, on behalf of the four registered investors, hoped a sense of realism and a constructive spirit would prevail in the consultations.

Malaysia, on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing nations, reserved the right to be represented in the consultations as potential pioneer investors. Other possibilities, such as a direct dialogue with interested parties or in a wider forum such as the plenary of the Preparatory Commission, were not to be excluded.

How work plans will be approved

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