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The Legal and Technical Commission

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The Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) is an organ of the Council of the International Seabed Authority and currently consists of 25 members who are elected by the Council for a period of 5 years on the basis of personal qualifications relevant to the exploration, exploitation and processing of mineral resources, oceanography, economic and/or legal matters relating to ocean mining and related fields.

The Commission is entrusted with various functions relating to activities in the deep seabed area including the review of applications for plans of work, supervision of exploration or mining activities, assessment of the environmental impact of such activities and provide advice to the International Seabed Authority’s Assembly and Council on all matters relating to exploration and exploitation of non-living marine resources (such as polymetallic [manganese] nodules, polymetallic sulphides and cobalt crusts).

The Commission has since its inception developed the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules in the Area and is in the process of finalizing the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Sulphides and Cobalt-Rich Ferromanganese Crusts in the Area.

Meetings of the LTC usually precede the annual sessions of the Authority and tables its report to the Council during the session.

Members of the Legal and Technical Commission were elected on 14 August 2006 (ISBA/12/C/11) for a five-year term of office commencing 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011.

 At its 14th Session, Mr Christian Reichert,  head of the Geophysical Subdivision of the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources of Germany was nominated (ISBA/14/C/5) to replace Michael Wiedicke-Hombach. Mr Reichert will serve out the remaining term through to the end of 2011.

At its 15th Session in 2009, Mr Sandor Mulsow Flores (Chile) was re-elected chairman of the LTC and Mr Andrzej Przybycin (Poland) was elected vice chairman.

Also at its 15th Session,  Messrs Nobuyuki Okamoto (Japan), Zhang Haiqi (China) and Denis Gennadyevich Khramov (Russian Federation) were nominated (ISBA/14/C/2; ISBA/14/C/3 and ISBA/14/C/4) to replace Messrs Yoshiaki Igarashi (Japan), Hongtao Zhang (China) and Sergey I. Fyodorov (Russian Federation) and serve out the remaining terms through to the end of 2011.

 

Jean-Marie AuzendeFrance
David Stewart Martin BILLETTUnited Kingdom
Eusebio Lopera CaballeroSpain
Miguel Dos Santos Alberto ChissanoMozambique
Laleta Davis-MattisJamaica
Baïdy DièneSenegal
Elva G. EscobaR-BRIONESMexico
Sandor Mulsow FloresChile
Kennedy HamutenyaNamibia
Said S. HusseinKenya
Nobuyuki OKAMOTOJapan
Asif InamPakistan
Emmanuel KalnguiCameroon
Woong-Seo Kim Republic of Korea
Walter De Sá LeitãoBrazil
Sudhakar MaruthaduIndia
Isikeli Uluinairai MataitogaFiji
Frida María ARMAS-Pfirter       Argentina
Andrzej PrzybycinPoland
Denis Gennadyevich KhramovRussian Federation
Mahmoud Samy Egypt
Elena ScisoItaly
Adam Mulawarman TugioIndonesia

Christian Reichert

Germany
Zhang Haiqi China