ISA Inspections and ISA Inspectorate: What Will be Needed?

Workshop Overview

A broad group of International Seabed Authority (ISA) stakeholders met in Irish Town, Jamaica on Saturday, July 20, 2019 to discuss the requirement for an ISA Inspectorate, what role the Inspectorate would play, and how to make it as functional and effective as possible. The workshop included plenary and small group discussions focused on what needs to be inspected by the Inspectorate regime, what the role(s) of the inspectors could be, what the relationship of the ISA to the inspectors could be, what other ways of monitoring the ISA could employ to complement on-site inspections, likely challenges, and principles that should govern the Inspectorate regime.

The workshop closed with participants reiterating important outstanding questions for the development of an ISA Inspectorate, such as how to finance the Inspectorate and how to take enforcement action on basis of the findings of the Inspectorate. No consensus was sought or reached, other than agreement that independence and impartiality should be cornerstones of any ISA Inspectorate regime, and that the subject matter was important, complicated, and multi-faceted in scope. Participants emphasized that States have a unique opportunity to create a deep seabed mining regime that is fit for purpose before exploitation begins, which will require some challenging policy decisions by the ISA.

Workshop Final Report: 2019 Jamaica Workshop - ISA Inspections and ISA Inspectorate - Summary FINAL

The workshop was sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts and RESOLVE.

CONTACTS

Paul De Morgan