GLOSSARY

GEOMORPHIC AND GEOLOGIC TERMS

Abyssal Ocean Floor.-The deep-ocean floor seaward from the continental rises or continental block.

Continental Margin.-a currently used with several different meanings. In a geomorphic sense it is generally used to indicate a zone separating the emergent continents from the deep-sea bottom; and as such generally includes the Continental Shelf, continental slope and continental rise (Heezen et al., 1959). However, Guilcher (1963) and others have used the term "margin" to include only the Shelf and the slope. The U.S. Geological Survey has used the term in a geologic or 3-dimensional sense to indicate the submerged part of the continental block.

Continental Rise.—A geomorphic term for the apron of sediments which slopes very gently oceanward from the base of the continental slope. The contact between the slope and the rise is usually marked by a change in bottom gradient from more than 1:40 for the slope to less than 1:1,000 for the rise. Water depths on the rise commonly range from 1,500 to 5,000 meters. The width of the rise may be as great as 1,000 km. The oceanward edge of the rise merges with the abyssal ocean floor. The landward portion of the continental rise commonly overlaps the submerged edge of the continental block. Continental rises are not everywhere present at the borders of the continents. They are particularly well developed adjacent to large deltas and may comprise thicknesses of 1 to 10 km. of sediments. Continental Shelf. A geomorphic term for the usually gently seaward-sloping submerged plain bordering the continents and extending seaward from the shoreline to a point where there is an abrupt descent toward the deep-ocean floor. The width of the shelves of the world ranges from less than 1 km. to a much as 1,200 km. The depth at the outer edge varies from 50 to 550 meters. The average inclination of the shelf is generally less than 1:600.

Continental Slope. A geomorphic term for the frontal edge of the Continental Shelf. The width of tle slope is generally about 15 to 50 km. and its water depth usually ranges from 50-550 meters at its upper edge to 1,500-5,500 meters at its lower edge. It is frequently flanked on its seaward side by the continental rise which may meet the slope at depths of 1,200-5,000 meters. On the other hand, where the slope is bordered by a trench, as along part of the western coast of South America, it may extend to depths of as much as 8,000 meters. Although the continental slope is a geomorphic feature, the foot of the slope roughly coincides with the change from continental to oceanic crust.

Continential Terrace.-A geomorphic term used to express the combined continental shelf and continental slope.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION-JOINT REPORT OF SECTIONS OF NATURAL RESOURCES LAW, INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW, AND THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON PEACE AND LAW THROUGH UNITED NATIONS

RECOMMENDATION

The Sections of National Resources Law, International and Comparative Law, and the Standing Committee on Peace and Law Through United Nations, recommend that the following resolution be adopted by the House of Delegates:

Whereas the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil under the high seas are becoming, through technological progress, increasingly available to mankind in ways until recently unforeseen; and

Whereas a Committee of the United Nations General Assembly is presently considering "practical means to promote international co-operation in the exploration, conservation and use of the seabed and the ocean floor, and the subsoil thereof.... and of their resources"; and

Whereas the United States, as a member of that United Nations Committee, has proposed that the exploration and use of the deep ocean floor be open to all states and their nationals without discrimination and in accordance with international law, and as a corollary of this that the exercise of sovereignty or sovereign rights over any part of the deep ocean floor be ruled out; and

Whereas the treaty known as the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf in force between 37 nations, including the United States, recognizes that each coastal state has "exclusive sovereign rights for the purpose of" exploring and exploiting the natural resources of "the sea-bed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast. . . to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that limit. to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas"; and

Whereas it is generally recognized that the definition in the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf of the boundary between the area of exclusive sovereign rights and the deep ocean floor needs to be clarified by an agreed interpretation; and

Whereas the House of Delegates, by its Resolution of August 9, 1966, stated that "prior to framing a policy . . . the United States Government . . . review thoroughly the issues at stake in consultation with representatives of the American Bar Association and others competent in the field of international law. with scientific and technical experts and with leaders of American industry in oceanic development": Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the American Bar Association

Supports the efforts being made in and out of the governments of interested states to protect the seabed and subsoil of the deep ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction from claims of sovereignty or rights of discretionary control by any nation or group or organization of nations;

Supports the call by the United States Government for internationally agreed arrangements governing the exploitation of natural resources of the deep ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction to be established as soon as practicable;

Recommends:

(1) That the United States consult with other parties to the 1958 Continental Shelf Convention with a view to establishing, through the issuance of parallel declarations or by other means, an agreed interpretation of the definition of the boundary between the area of exclusive sovereign rights with respect to natural resources of the seabed and subsoil and the deep ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

(2) That within the area of exclusive sovereign rights adjacent to the United States, the interests of the United States in the natural resources of the submarine areas be protected to the full extent permitted by the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf.

(3) That on the basis of the information now available, the most desirable long-range goal for a regime to govern exploration and development of the mineral resources of the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil beyond the limits of national jurisdiction is not the creation of a supersovereignty with power

to grant or deny mineral concessions, but rather agreement upon norms of conduct designed to minimize conflicts between sovereigns which undertake such exploration and development.

(4) That the resources of the bed and subsoil of the deep sea, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, be the subject of study and consultation with a view of formulating rules and practices to be observed by common restraint or by other arrangements which will assure, inter alia, freedom of exploration by all nations on a nondiscriminatory basis, security of tenure to those engaged in producing the resources in compliance with such rules, encouragement to discover and develop these resources, and optimum use to the benefit of all peoples; and

Authorizes representatives of the Sections of Natural Resources Law and International and Comparative Law and the Standing Committee on Peace and Law Through United Nations to express the foregoing as the views of the American Bar Association to agencies of the Government of the United States and to the Congress of the United States.

REPORT

The House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, on August 10, 1967, adopted Report #97 of the Section of Natural Resources Law which constituted an offer through the Section of the Association's "services and assistance" to the National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development and the Commission on Marine Science, Engineering and Resources and an authorization and instruction to the Section "to establish and maintain a continuing liaison with the Council and the Commission to the end that the Section shall prepare and submit to the House of Delegates, for approval, recommendations with respect to the report or reports proposed by the Council or the Commission." The resolution required that the Section collaborate with the Section of International and Comparative Law and the Section of Administrative Law "with a view towards developing joint recommendations and policies" with regard to matters within the official purview of interest of these sections.

The Section asigned responsibility for implementing this resolution to the Chairman of the Section's committee on Marine Resources. Subsequently, a Consulting Committee on Marine Resources was formed, consisting of representatives of the named sections as well as the Association's Standing Committee on Peace and Law Through United Nations and the Committee on World Peace Through Law.

In the fall of 1967 liaison was established with the Council and the Commission which resulted in the Commission's making inquiry as to a number of subjects affecting the interest of the United States in offshore lands. Work with the Council and Commission is continuing toward the end of assisting in the formulation of a United States policy in these matters. The Council and the Commission have not as yet made any reports or recommendations on these subjects except of the most preliminary nature.

This report discusses some of the issues involved in developing a regime for exploration and exploitation of the mineral resources on and under the floor of the ocean. It also discusses the question of the extent of the area of exclusive mineral resource jurisdiction of the adjacent coastal states.

The matter has taken on some urgency owing to a number of factors. One is the fact that the Convention on the Continental Shelf, to which reference is made later, is, by its terms, subject to amendment after June 10, 1969. Of more immediate concern, however, is the motion submitted to the Twenty-Second Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations by the delegate from Malta. This apparently contemplated establishment of an international agency which would regulate, supervise and control activities on the deep ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. Implicit, of course, is the threshold problem of establishing the line between the area of exclusive seabed jurisdiction of the coastal nations recognized by the Convention on the Continental Shelf, and the deep ocean floor seaward of that jurisdiction. This problem is of grave importance to the United States as a coastal nation engaged in major development of the minerals of the submarine continent.

The General Assembly recognized that so far-reaching a suggestion called for profound study and by resolution decided to establish an ad hoc committee "to study the peaceful uses of the seabed and the ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction." This committee was rquested by the resolution to prepare a study for consideration by the General Assembly at its next (Twenty-Third) session. The committee was asked to include in its study "an indication regarding

practical means to promote international cooperation in the exploration, conservation and use of the seabed and the ocean floor, and the subsoil thereof." The resolution was adopted on December 18, 1967, by a vote of 99 to 0. The United States voted for the resolution and is one of the members of the ad hoc committee consisting of thirty-five nations.

The Convention on the Continental Shelf

The threshold question, vital to the United States, is the geographical extent of the exclusive rights now vested in the coastal nations, as recognized in the 1958 Convention on the Continental Shelf. The relevant articles of this Convention read:

"Article 1

"For the purpose of these articles, the term 'continental shelf' is used as referring (a) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 metres or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas; (b) to the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of islands.

"Article 2

"1. The coastal State exercises over the continental shelf sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources.

"2. The rights referred to in paragraph 1 of this article are exclusive in the sense that if the coastal State does not explore the continental shelf or exploit its natural resources, no one may undertake these activities, or make a claim to the continental shelf, without the express consent of the coastal State.

"3. The rights of the coastal State over the continental shelf do not depend on occupation, effective or notional, or on any express proclamation.

"4. The natural resources referred to in these articles consist of the mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil together with living organisms belonging to sedentary species, that is to say, organisms which, at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or the subsoil. "Article S

"The rights of the coastal State over the continental shelf do not affect the legal status of the superjacent waters as high seas, or that of the air space above those waters."

Interpretation of the Convention

The Convention's definition of the seaward extent of the coastal state's jurisdiction has been subjected to a number of interpretations.

Some argue that the factor of exploitability would carry the coastal nation's exclusive mineral jurisdiction to mid-ocean. We disagree. Others argue that it should be restricted to waters as shallow as 200 meters or 12 miles from shore. We disagree with this, too.

The better view, in our opinion, is that the "exploitability" factor of the Convention is limited by the element of "adjacency." The exclusive sovereign rights of the coastal nations to the exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil encompass "the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea." According to this view, therefore, the exclusive sovereign rights of the coastal nations with respect to the seabed minerals now embrace the submerged land mass of the adjacent continent down to its junction with the deep ocean floor, irrespective of depth.

Importance of the 1958 Convention to the United States

If the minerals underlying the seabed adjacent to our coasts remain under American control, as they now are under the Continental Shelf Convention as we construe it, they continue to be resources available for national defense, essential components of the American economy, and important elements of the federal and state tax base.

We do not believe that it is in the interests of the United States that negotiations for the creation of an international regime to govern mineral development of the ocean floor should proceed on the assumption that this new regime will have authority to take over the administration of, or the governmental revenues derived from, the development of the minerals of any part of the submerged segments of the American continent.

In our opinion, the United States should stand on its right under the Convention as heretofore ratified.

If legal uncertainties are believed to constitute an impediment to utilization of undersea mineral resources, such uncertainties can be eliminated by uniform declarations of the coastal nations which are parties to the Convention on the Continental Shelf, identifying their claims of jurisdiction with the submerged portion of the continental land mass, and reciprocally restricting their claims accordingly. No new conference to amend the Continental Shelf Convention is necessary to accomplish this.

The Seabed Seaward of National Jurisdiction

With respect to the minerals of the deep seabed beyond the exclusive jurisdiction of the coastal nations, three observations are in order: First, the problem is less pressing in point of time because most mineral development will continue to take place first in the shallower waters which are within coastal jurisdiction; second, less is known about the abyssal deeps and therefore about the type of regime that would best effectuate their utilization; third, the negotiation of an international agreement to establish a wholly new regime will consume an extended period of time. Based on the information now available, it appears that the most desirable long-range goal for a mineral regime to govern exploration and exploitation of the mineral resources of the ocean bed and subsoil seaward of the coastal jurisdiction will not be the creation of a supersovereignty with competence to grant or deny mineral concessions. Instead, the desirable goal appears to be an agreement upon norms of conduct by soverign parties, in order to minimize conflicts between the nationals of the respective sovereigns which sponsor such developments.

While there were some early comments supporting the idea that the United Nations should step in as a supersovereign of the ocean depths, it would appear that there is no official support for this in the United States. At the same time there also apears to be general agreement, both in and out of government here and abroad, that no state should be permitted to acquire territorial sovereignty over any portion of the deep ocean floor outside the limits of national jurisdiction, but that such ocean floor should be open for exploration and exploitation by all nations. There is also general agreement that a nation which undertakes the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources on and under the deep seabed should be protected in the exclusive right to occupy the areas involved, with due regard to other uses of the marine environment, and without impairment of the highseas character of the overlying waters.

We strongly endorse the principle that the ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction should be open for exploration and exploitation to the nationals of every country in accordance with accepted principles of international law.

Members of the Committee of the Section of Natural Resources Law and of the Section of International and Comparative Law concerned with the subject of submarine mineral resources, together with members of the Standing Committee on Peace and Law Through United Nations and members of the Committee on Deep Sea Mineral Resources of the American Branch of the International Law Association, have agreed on the following conclusions:

CONCLUSIONS

1. With respect to the gathering of factual information

Full support should be given to the International Decade of Ocean Exploration, now being formulated, and to the continuance of the maximum international cooperation in the acquisition and exchange of information about the ocean floor.