meaning whatsoever and that its only agreeable definition will be the collection of articles which comprise the Law of the Sea Treaty. So that we think it is the kind of word that it is perhaps best not to define except to say that the Treaty will be the common heritage. Senator METCALF. Well, that isn't a very good-a very definite response. Are you going to put your various material in the record here for our appraisal? Mr. RATINER. I think, Mr. Chairman, we can do the research necessary to find each of the instances in which we have made statements in the Seabeds Committee, but the most definitive really of those statements is the draft treaty article which I just quoted for the record which is really our view as succinctly as it could be expressed. Senator METCALF. Yes, thank you. Now I want to turn to a document entitled, "Texts Illustrating Areas of Agreement and Disagreement on Item 1 of the Subcommittee's Program of Work," the text item of which I am sure you are familiar. I will put a copy in the record at this point. [The documents referred to follow:] -2 EXPLANATORY NOTE This document contains articles relating to item 1 of the Sub-Committee's programme of work, entitled "Status, scope and basic provisions of the régime, based on the Declaration of Principles (resolution 2749 (XXV))". With the exception of article I, dealing with "Limits of the Area", and article O "Interpretation] [Definitions]", these articles are the result of the second reading by Working Group I and have been given Arabic numbers. -3.. Introductory note concerning the Draft Ocean Space Treaty prepared Statement by the delegation of Malta The delegation of Malta has presented specific and comprehensive legal principles, incorporated in its Draft Ocean Space Treaty, for cach aspect provided for in the present document. The Maltese Draft Treaty is based on a unitary approach to the problems of ocean space as a whole and consequently holds to the view that a new international order for ocean space must be constructed. The "area" covered by the following articles forms part of international ocean space as conceived by the deleral len of Malta and as defined in its Draft Ocean Space Treaty. As regards the question of international machinery, the proposals made by the delegation of Malta cavienge A machinery that would maintain order in ocean space, would protect the ecological, territorial and jurisdictional integrity of ocean space beyond national Jurisdiction, and provide for the management and orderly development of this area and of its natural resources. For the purposes of brevity and on account of the Maltese delegation's conceptual approach, the Maltese formulation as it appears in its Draft Ocean Space Treaty is not reproduced under each of the texts in the present paper but is referred to in each case by an asterisk referring to the introductory note. Statement by the U.S.S.R. delegation With reference to "the Maltese delegation conceptual approach" as embodied in its Draft Ocean Space Treaty it was stated by the U.S.S.R. delegation that in so far as that approach and the draft concern the status of waters superjacent to the sea-bed, they have no relevance whatsoever to the work of the Working Group of Sub-Committee I. Under the agreement on the organization of work of the Committee of 12 March 1971 Sub-Committee I is entrusted with the task "to prepare draft treaty Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenth-sixth Session, Supplement No. 21 (A/8421), annexes I, II. -4 articles emboying the international régime including an international machinery for the area and the resources of the sea-bed and the ocean floor, and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction...". The Working Group of Sub-Committee I being a subsidiary body of the Sub-Committee can not have any task going beyond the terms of reference of tim Sub-Committee as stated above, and accordingly the Group has no competence to consider any problem "of ocean space as a whole". As it has become clear from the Working Group consideration of the status, scope and basic provisions of the sea-bed régime, any attempt to involve the Working Group in a discussion "of ocean space as a whole" has usually resultou in waste of time, has given rise to disagreements within the Working Group and s diverted its attention from the fulfilment of the task of the Working Group, namely the preparation of draft treaty articles on the international régime including international machinery for the sea-bed and the subsoil thereof and for their resources. |