Training programme for Enterprise to be in place by 1991.

• Position: Sea-bed mining arm of the International Sea-Bed Authority

The Preparatory Commission for the International SeaBed Authority and for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, at its spring session (Kingston, 5-30 March), adopted measures to put in place by 1991 the training programme for the future Enterprise-the sea-bed mining arm of the Authority. The Commission had approved the training programme in 1989.

The training programme covering all aspects of sea-bed mining activities-aims to help the Enterprise recruit highly qualified personnel. It will be carried out in close co-operation between registered pioneer investors-so far France, India, japan and the Soviet Union and certifying States on the one hand, and the Commission, on the other.

A 15-member expert panel will be established, representing appropriate fields, to elaborate a training schedule, select trainees from a register, evaluate performance reports, and establish procedures for the programme's administration.

The training panel is to be established within the year, and will match training candidates nominated by member States with offers of traineeships on the part of the registered pioneer investors. Information on relevant training programmes in industrialized countries will be compiled.

In recognition of investments already made in sea-bed mining research, development and exploration, the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea decided, in its resolution 11, to establish a special regime to govern "pioneer activities" by States or entities which would be registered as "pioneer investors" by the Preparatory Commission.

To qualify as a pioneer investor, a State or an enterprise must have spent at least $30 million on seabed activities as of I january 1983. Developing countries-other than India-now have until the entry into force of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to fulfil this condition.

Registered pioneer investors have an exclusive right to explore designated areas of the international sea-bed in the north-east Pacific in the case of France, japan and the Soviet Union, and in the Indian Ocean in the case of India), as well as priority treatment when it comes to authorizing actual seabed mining.

Registration also carries with it certain responsibilities and obligations, including a proposed $1 million annual fee, transfer of technology, and training personnel for the Enterprise. Beyond expectations

Commission Chairman jose Luis jesus of Cape Verde said results achieved at the session had gone beyond his...