Progress in the Preparatory Commission: A secretariat perspective

Abstract

Preparatory Commissions of the United Nations generally function as rule-making bodies for future international organizations. The Preparatory Commission for the International Sea-Bed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has an additional and possibly unique mandate to administer a provisional sea-bed mining regime which will last until entry into force of the Law of the Sea Convention. This paper will examine, within the context of its mandates, the progress the Preparatory Commission has made since its inception with respect to its two principal functions: institution building and regime building. It will show that significant and important progress has been made and suggest what this implies for the future.