Registration of BBNJ Research Activities: A Move towards Transparency in Research Governance

• Author: Mary George & Anneliz R. George
• Pages: 121-122

Registration of BBNJ Research Activities 121

XI JEAIL 1 (2018)

Mary George

∗

& Anneliz R. George

∗∗

The Prep Com recommended in July that the UNGA initiate a negotiating conference

on areas beyond national jurisdiction. It is widely expected to make such a decision.

Then, the long haul negotiation will begin. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law

of the Sea does not regulate marine genetic resources in areas beyond the national

jurisdiction of States (BBNJ). Part XIII of the Convention could accommodate BBNJ

research, but not its governance. The triangulation of three factors- the interim absence

of an international framework for governance of BBNJ research, an indirect reference

      

interim laissez- faire attitude in BBNJ exploration and exploitation-leads to a need

for transparency in governance of BBNJ research activities. To address this lacuna, a

United Nations Register on BBNJ Research Activities is recommended, encouraging

scientists from all regions including Asia to engage in BBNJ research.

Keywords

Governance, Marine Scientific Research of Bbnj, UNCLOS, Deep

Seabed Area, Registration Convention

∗ Corresponding Author. Head of the Law and Policy Unit, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences; Professor at Faculty of

Law of the University of Malaya. LL.B. (Univ. of Bangalore, India), LL.M. (LSE), Ph.D. (Sydney). ORCID: https://orcid.

org/0000-0003-1233-0835. The views expressed here are independent of the Bar Council of Malaysia. The author may be

contacted at: maryg@um.edu.my / Address: Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

∗∗ Special Projects Executive officer for the Bar Council of Malaysia. B.Ec. (Sydney), LL.B. (Sydney), M.Ec. (Malaya).

The author may be contacted at: anneliz@gmail.com

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2018.11.1.06

Registration of BBNJ

Research Activities: A Move

towards Transparency in

Research Governance

REGIONAL FOCUS & CONTROVERSIES