International Law Obligations Must Inform How Countries Regulate Seabed Mining

As world governments negotiate regulations to manage deep-sea mining, views differ within the membership of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) – the body tasked with overseeing seabed mining activities in international waters – on how to incorporate obligations in international law that fall outside the text of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the international treaty that created the ISA, as well as the legitimacy of discussing this activity at other multilateral bodies.

The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned an independent legal opinion from three eminent international law experts – King’s Counsel Dr. Campbell McLachlan, Matrix Chambers barrister Toby Fisher and Taran Molloy at the University of Cambridge – to advise on why and how States’ rights and obligations under diverse international law should be integrated into the ISA’s work. The opinion finds that international rules applicable to States that are party to UNCLOS are relevant to the work of the ISA and should be incorporated into its own rules and regulations. The opinion also emphasizes the duty to collaborate and cooperate with other international bodies to ensure a coordinated approach to environmental protection. Relevant norms and treaty provisions that States must consider in their engagement at the ISA include those relating to biodiversity conservation, access to information and public participation, climate change and human rights.

The Pew Charitable Trusts provided funding for this project. Pew is not responsible for errors in this paper and does not necessarily endorse its findings or conclusions.