JAMAICA, Kingston (14 July 2016) – The ISA Legal and Technical Commission today issued the initial working draft Regulations and Standard Contract Terms on Exploitation for Mineral Resources in the Area as part of its remit from the Council to develop the Mining Code for activities in the Area.
The draft is a first step toward consolidating the views of the Authority’s stakeholder base following a number of stakeholder consultation initiatives in 2015, workshops and technical discussion papers issued by the Authority.
The working draft represents the first phase in the development of a full suite of regulations that will include inter alia rules, regulations and procedures relating to environmental assessment and management, the setting up of a mining directorate and inspectorate and the equitable sharing of the receipts from mining activities.
The Commission considers the draft as work in progress and that it does not represent the final views of the Commission. At this stage the Commission is seeking the views and opinions on the content and structure (as opposed to any fine-tuning of the drafting language) of the working draft from the Authority’s stakeholder base.
These views will be presented to the newly elected Commission in February 2017 together with a revised working draft. It is intended that the next Commission will formulate a clear methodology with regard to the elaboration of the Mining Code, timelines and stakeholder contribution in the regulatory content and drafting process in connection with regulatory development. Additionally, subsequent development of the Mining Code will also reflect any recommendations adopted by the Authority flowing from the current Article 154 Review.
In the meantime, the current Commission will recommend to the Council, for their consideration at the 22nd Session of the Authority, a number of action areas to advance the further development of the Mining Code.
Members of the Authority and all stakeholders are invited to comment on the working draft.
The closing date of responses to the working draft is Wednesday, 2nd November 2016 at 1800hr (EST). Submissions can be sent via email (in either Word or Pdf format) to consultation@isa.org.jm or by post to:
Working draft – Exploitation regulations (ISBA/Cons/2016/1)
International Seabed Authority
14-20 Port Royal Street
Kingston
Jamaica
Members of the Commission at its July 2016 meetings.
L-R: Nobuyuki Okamoto (Japan), Hussein Mubarak (Egypt), Théophile Ndougsa Mbarga (Cameroon), Pedro Madureira (Portugal) and Eusebio Lopera (Spain)
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