The international legal regime in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction

The international legal regime for marine areas beyond national jurisdiction is made up of a number of global and regional legal instruments. The global instruments include the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements (the 1994 Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the Convention and the 1995 Fish Stocks Agreement), the Convention on Biological Diversity, the 1993 FAO Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas, the 1946 International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). The regional instruments include the various regional seas conventions, regional fisheries management conventions, and regional species-specific agreements under the Convention on Migratory Species. An analysis of the adequacy of the existing international legal regime as a framework for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in marine areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, as well as major gaps, is contained in the documents below.