【来源】Marine Policy 73 (2016).

【摘要】As prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “LOS Convention”), the international seabed area (the “Area”) and its resources are the common heritage of mankind, and activities in the Area shall be carried out as prescribed in the LOS Convention. Accordingly, in respect of the Area activities, making domestic legislations in accord with international law is particularly necessary. As a State Party to the LOS Convention, and also in order to protect the national interests as well as the common benefit of mankind, the Deep Seabed Area Resource Exploration and Exploitation Law of the People's Republic of China (the “Deep Seabed Law”) was promulgated on 26th February 2016, which marked a significant step forward at both domestic and international level, and will bring effects that cannot be ignored. In order to fully understand the value and shortcomings of the Deep Seabed Law, and also to make recommendations for further improvement where necessary, this paper will examine the provisions of the Deep Seabed Law under the context of both international law and the China legal system. Specific issues under the legislation pertaining to the personal jurisdiction and applicable activities, exploration and exploitation of the Area resources, environmental protection, scientific research and resource survey, and supervision mechanism as well as the liability and penalty rules will be critically analyzed, and suggestions on how to improve this new legislation will also be presented.

【关键词】International seabed area, LOS convention, China deep seabed law, Resource exploration, Resource exploitation, Marine environmental protection.