Satya Nandan’s Legacy for the Common Heritage of Mankind

Abstract

Slightly over thirty years after the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it seems appropriate to reflect on Satya N. Nandan's contribution to the development of the heritage of mankind, one of the most controversial principles embodied in the Convention. This chapter considers some aspects of the implementation of the common heritage principle in relation to the mineral resources of the deep seabed. It presents a brief review of what is meant by the common heritage principle in the context of Part XI of the Convention. The chapter then examines how successful, or not, the international community has been in implementing the common heritage principle through the mechanism of the International Seabed Authority and what steps may be necessary to improve implementation. Finally, some general comments are made relating to the possible future development of the common heritage principle. Keywords: common heritage of mankind; international community; international seabed authority; Satya N. Nandan's legacy