Legal Aspects of the Recovery of Areas Degraded by Mining in the International Seabed (SpringerBriefs in Law)

This book offers an innovative approach to the recovery of areas degraded by international seabed mining, one that considers the feasibility of a standard that would allow mining in these areas in apparent antinomy with their other potential present and future uses. The book begins by identifying and explaining the legal norms that allow mining in these areas and the rights and obligations in mining exploitation concomitant to other uses of them, based on an analysis of mining operations’ duty of Recovery of Degraded Areas. It reveals an antinomy in international law, namely the compatibility of degraded areas and their various present and future uses with the mining of the international seabed. The freedom to mine these areas could destroy the least impacted biome on the planet and undermine the international law system represented by the Cultural Heritage of Mankind and the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS III”). Recovery of Degraded Areas is an obligation in mining and, as such, requires structural changes in the reading of UNCLOS III; recognizing international roles other than those related to sovereignty; projecting the law into the future; and rereading it in light of international environmental law and its instruments. Foreword Acknowledgements Contents Acronyms Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: About the Area 2.1 The Area Legal Regime? 2.1.1 The Montego Bay Convention/82 and the Governing Principles of the Area 2.1.1.1 Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM) 2.1.1.2 Governing Principles in the Area (as CHM) Obligation to Ensure Compliance with the Law and Liability for Damages Benefit for Mankind Use of the Area Exclusively for Peaceful Purposes Protection of the Marine Environment Protection of Human Life Harmonisation of Activities in the Area and in the Maritime Environment Participation of Developing States in the Activities of the Area What Is Conclusively Understood About CHM and Principles? 2.1.2 The Area as a Global Public Good (GPG) 2.1.3 Dialogue with Other International Regimes and Precepts and the Sustainability of the Oceans 2.2 Area Administration 2.2.1 The International Seabed Authority (ISA) and Its Institutional Mission 2.2.2 Mining and Other Economic Activities in the Area 2.2.2.1 Mining Regimes and Their Code in the Light of ITLOS 2.2.2.2 Environmental Obligations of Mining Actors in the Area and the Obligation to Recover Environmental Damage Chapter 3: Recovery of Degraded Area 3.1 Degraded Area 3.1.1 Mining Area EIA 3.2 The Recovery of Degraded Area Chapter 4: On the Apparent Material Antinomy Between Compliance with Mining Obligations in the Area and Mining Exploitation Ri... 4.1 In the Light of CHM 4.1.1 Right of Access (Mare Liberum) or Right of Distribution (Res Commune Omnium)? 4.2 In the Light of the General Regime of Public International Law 4.2.1 Moratoriums 4.3 In the Light of International Environmental Law 4.3.1 GPGs, Sustainability, SDGs, and International Environmental Governance 4.3.2 Rio/92 Declaration and Preventions, Precautions, Polluter Pays, and Comprehensive Repairs 4.4 The Breakdown of Dialogue Between Regimes and the Emptying of Systems Chapter 5: Conclusions References