ARVID PARDO AND THE-COMMON HERITAGE OF MANKIND PRINCIPLE

Mr. Arvid Pardo, permanent representative of Malta to United Nation, delivered a speech in Nov. 1967. He warned the United Nation General Assembly that there was a danger that advanced, industrialized countries, who were so equipped, might wish to exploit the ocean floors for their national use, not only to develop its immense resources but also for defense and other purpose. Reacting to his call, the general assembly set up a Seabed Committee to study the various aspects of the problem and to indicate the practical means to promote international co-operation.

The committee’s work was adopted by the general assembly in 1970, proclaiming that the seabed and ocean floor and its resources beyond the limits of national jurisdiction “are the common heritage of mankind” and that no nation should exercise sovereignty or right over any part of the sea. The declaration also called for the establishment of an international regime to govern the exploration and exploitation of the sea’s resources for the benefit of the mankind. The Seabed Committee, in preparation for the conference, also had to deal with not only with international seabed but also with such issues like the regime of high seas, the continental shelf, and territorial sea (including the question of limits, fishing rights, preservation of marine environment, scientific research and access to the sea by land locked states.

Thus a third UN conference on the Law of the Sea was convened to prepare a single comprehensive treaty and is generally known as UNCLOS. Some 140 countries have ratified the resulting Law of the Sea Treaty (1982). This has gained nearly universal acceptance since its entry into force on 16 November 1994.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides, for the first time, a universal legal framework for the rational management of marine resources and their conservation for future generations. Rarely has such radical change been achieved peacefully, by consensus of the world community. It has thus been hailed as the most important international achievement since the approval of the United Nations Charter in 1945.

UNCLOS attempts to codify the international law of the sea. It is a treaty document of 446 articles grouped under 17 part headings and 9 annexes.

UNCLOS I was at Geneva in 1958.

UNCLOS II was also at Geneva in1960.

UNCLOS III was again at Geneva in 1974. It was adopted in 1982, ratified by 140 countries and entered into force on 16^th November 1994.