Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf Concludes Forty-Seventh Session

NEW YORK, 7 September (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its forty-seventh session at United Nations Headquarters from 16 July to 31 August.  The first plenary part of the session was held from 6 to 10 August and the second from 27 to 31 August.  The remaining five weeks were devoted to the technical examination of submissions at the geographic information systems laboratories and other technical facilities of the Division.

Early in the session, the Chair of the Commission received a letter from Wenzheng Lyu, member of the Commission nominated by China, in which he informed the Chair about his decision to resign due to health reasons.  The Commission took note of the resignation and highlighted with appreciation the important contribution of Mr. Lyu to the work of the Commission, as well as his experience and expertise.  The Commission recalled that Mr. Lyu was first elected as its member at the initial election of members by the States Parties to the Convention in 1997 and continued his service on the Commission uninterrupted for more than 21 years.

Ten subcommissions met during the forty-seventh session to consider submissions.  These were the subcommissions established for consideration of the submissions made by:  the Russian Federation in respect of the Arctic Ocean (partial revised submission); Brazil in respect of the Brazilian Southern Region (partial revised submission); France and South Africa jointly in respect of the area of the Crozet Archipelago and the Prince Edward Islands; Kenya; Nigeria; France in respect of La Réunion Island and Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Islands; Côte d’Ivoire; Sri Lanka; Portugal; and Tonga in respect of the eastern part of the Kermadec Ridge.

During the plenary part of the session, the Bahamas presented to the plenary of the Commission its submission made on 6 February 2014.

In addition, the Commission resumed its consideration of the draft recommendations in regard of the partial submission made by the Seychelles in respect of the Northern Plateau Region.  Following extensive deliberations, the Commission approved the draft recommendations prepared by the subcommission.

Also, during the session, upon its request, Norway made an additional presentation pursuant to paragraph 15 (1 bis) of annex III to the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, for the benefit of the new members that had been elected to the Commission.  The Commission had decided to accommodate this request at its forty-fourth session, on the understanding that the Commission would follow, mutatis mutandis, the modus operandi provided for in paragraph 15 (1 bis) and that the presentation would include no new data or information concerning the draft recommendations regarding the submission made by Norway in respect of Bouvetøya.  Following the presentation, the Commission continued its considerations in private and identified key issues that required further discussion.  The Commission decided to resume its consideration of the draft recommendations at its forty-ninth session.

The Commission agreed, for planning purposes, on the tentative schedule of its sessions in 2019:  The forty-ninth session would be held from 28 January to 15 March, with two plenary sessions from 4 to 8 February and from 4 to 8 March subject to the approval of the General Assembly; the fiftieth session would be held from 1 July to 16 August, with two plenary sessions from 29 July to 2 August and from 13 to 16 August subject to the approval of the General Assembly; and the fifty-first session would be held from 14 October to 29 November, without plenary sessions.

Further details of the forty-seventh session will be available in the Statement of the Chair (document CLCS/105).

The Commission will hold its forty-eighth session from 15 October to 30 November, without plenary sessions.

Background

The Commission is a body of 21 experts in the field of geology, geophysics or hydrography, which was established pursuant to article 2, annex II to the Convention.  Members of the Commission are elected for a term of five years by the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention from among their nationals having due regard to the need to ensure equitable geographical representation.  They serve in their personal capacities.

The Convention provides that the State Party which submitted the nomination of a member of the Commission shall defray the expenses of that member while in performance of Commission duties.  However, the participation of several members of the Commission from developing countries has been facilitated by financial assistance from a voluntary trust fund for the purpose of defraying the cost of participation of the members of the Commission from developing countries.

Under rule 23 of its Rules of Procedure (Public and private meetings), the meetings of the Commission, its subcommissions and subsidiary bodies are held in private, unless the Commission decides otherwise.

The Commission makes recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, based on information submitted to it by coastal States.  These recommendations are based on the scientific and technical data and other material provided by States in relation to the implementation of article 76 of the Convention.  The recommendations do not prejudice matters relating to the delimitation of boundaries between States with opposite or adjacent coasts, or prejudice the position of States that are parties to a land or maritime dispute, or application of other parts of the Convention or any other treaties.  The Convention also stipulates that the limits of the continental shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of these recommendations shall be final and binding.  In the case of disagreement by the coastal State with the recommendations of the Commission, the coastal State shall, within a reasonable time, make a revised or new submission to the Commission.

As required under the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, the executive summaries of all the submissions, including all charts and coordinates, have been made public by the Secretary‑General through continental shelf notifications circulated to Member States of the United Nations, as well as States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  The executive summaries are available on the Division’s website at www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/clcs_home.htm.  The summaries of recommendations adopted by the Commission are also available on the above-referenced website.

For additional information, please visit www.un.org/depts/los/index.htm.