{"id":13416,"date":"2025-07-22T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T06:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=13416"},"modified":"2025-07-22T13:13:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T07:43:25","slug":"what-is-the-international-seabed-authority-isa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-is-the-international-seabed-authority-isa\/","title":{"rendered":"International Seabed Authority (ISA)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>International Seabed Authority Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After two weeks of negotiations, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) is still far from finalising rules for the extraction of coveted metals on the high seas despite heightened pressure triggered by US efforts to fast-track the controversial practice.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About International Seabed Authority<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is an <\/span><b>autonomous international organization <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">established <\/span><b>under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994 Agreement).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISA, which has its <\/span><b>headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, came into existence on 16 November 1994, upon the entry into force of UNCLOS.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Mandate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: To<\/span><b> regulate mining and related activities in the international seabed beyond national jurisdiction.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>international seabed area<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 the part which is under ISA jurisdiction \u2014 is the <\/span><b>seabed and ocean floor and the subsoil thereof, beyond<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the limits of <\/span><b>national jurisdiction.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The international seabed area covers around <\/span><b>54 percent of the total area of the world\u2019s oceans.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISA is the organization through which states parties to UNCLOS organize and control all mineral-resources-related activities in the international seabed area for the benefit of humankind as a whole.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In so doing, ISA has the <\/span><b>mandate to ensure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">effective <\/span><b>protection of the marine environment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from harmful effects that may arise <\/span><b>from deep-seabed-related activities.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>International Seabed Authority <\/b><b>Membership<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In accordance with UNCLOS, Article 156(2), <\/span><b>all States Parties to UNCLOS are members of ISA.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISA has <\/span><b>169 members,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> including <\/span><b>168 member States and the European Union.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>International Seabed Authority <\/b><b>Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>supreme authority<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the ISA is the <\/span><b>assembly<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in which all ISA members are represented.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The assembly sets general policies, establishes budgets, and <\/span><b>elects a 36-member council, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which serves as the <\/span><b>ISA\u2019s executive authority.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The council <\/span><b>approves contracts with private corporations and government entities for exploration and mining <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in specified areas of the international seabed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The council<\/span><b> oversees implementation of the seabed provisions of the UNCLOS<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>establishes provisional rules<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and procedures (s<\/span><b>ubject to approval by the assembly<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) by which the ISA exercises its regulatory authority.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>secretary-general <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the ISA is nominated by the council and is <\/span><b>elected by the assembly to a four-year term.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Facts about United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCLOS, also called the <\/span><b>Law of the Sea Convention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or the <\/span><b>Law of the Sea Treaty,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an international agreement that establishes a <\/span><b>legal framework for all marine and maritime activities.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It lays down a comprehensive regime of<\/span><b> law and order in the world\u2019s oceans and seas, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">establishing rules <\/span><b>governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCLOS became effective on <\/span><b>16th November 1982.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNCLOS <\/span><b>covers a wide range of issues, including:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>definition of maritime zones<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, such as the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The r<\/span><b>ights and responsibilities of coastal states <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and flag states.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> conservation and management of marine resources.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>protection of the marine environment.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\">The <b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">peaceful settlement of disputes<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_delhi\/issues\/140745\/OPS\/GQNELN0VR.1+GRTELN21G.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>International Seabed Authority is an  international organization to regulate mining and related activities in the international seabed beyond national jurisdiction. Read more about International Seabed Authority (ISA), Mandate, Members, Structure, News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":56231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1723,21,22,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-13416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-international-seabed-authority","9":"tag-prelims-pointers","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}