International Seabed Authority - Origin

Origin

Following at least ten preparatory meetings over the years, the Authority held its first inaugural meeting in its host country, Jamaica, on 16 November 1994, the day the Convention came into force. The articles governing the Authority have been made "noting the political and economic changes, including market-oriented approaches, affecting the implementation" of the Convention. The Authority obtained its observer status to the United Nations in October 1996.

Currently, the Authority has 159 members and the European Community, composed of all parties to the Law of the Sea Convention.

Two principal organs establish the policies and govern the work of the Authority: the Assembly, in which all members are represented, and a 36-member Council elected by the Assembly. Council members are chosen according to a formula designed to ensure equitable representation of countries from various groups, including those engaged in seabed mineral exploration and the land-based producers of minerals found on the seabed. The Authority holds one annual session, usually of two weeks' duration. Its fifteenth session was held in Kingston 25 May - 5 June 2009 and its sixteenth session is scheduled for 26 April to 7 May 2010.

The Authority operates by contracting with private and public corporations and other entities authorizing them to explore, and eventually exploit, specified areas on the deep seabed for mineral resources essential for building most technological products. The Convention also established a body called the Enterprise which is to serve as the Authority’s own mining operator, but no concrete steps have been taken to bring this into being.