Oceans and the Law of the Sea

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 39a Law of the sea, published in 1997.

What other versions does this mandate have?

29 versions · 1998–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/110

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/110	Oceans and the law of the sea	26,991	82%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/144	Oceans and the law of the sea	29,051	77%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/69	Oceans and the law of the sea	28,253	71%Compare
2023	A/RES/77/248	Oceans and the law of the sea	30,451	83%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/72	Oceans and the law of the sea	29,565	89%Compare

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited
Subprogramme 4	Supporting the Human Rights Council, its subsidiary bodies and mechanisms	56
Programme 6	Legal affairs	98
Subprogramme 4	Law of the sea and ocean affairs	44

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
Subprogramme 4	Supporting the Human Rights Council, its subsidiary bodies and mechanisms	56	—
Programme 6	Legal affairs	98	—
Subprogramme 4	Law of the sea and ocean affairs	44	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

44 reports · 2003–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2026	A/81/345	Oceans and the law of the sea report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/80/110
2026	A/81/68	Oceans and the law of the sea report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/80/110A/RES/78/69
2025	A/80/364	Oceans and the law of the sea report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/144
2025	A/80/70	Oceans and the law of the sea report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/79/144
2024	A/79/340	Oceans and the law of the sea report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/69

What’s in this document?

28 operative paragraphs

Calls upon all States that have not done so, in order to achieve the goal of universal participation, to become parties to the Convention and the Agreement;

Calls upon States to harmonize their national legislation with the provisions of the Convention, to ensure the consistent application of those provisions and to ensure also that any declarations or statements that they have made or make when signing, ratifying or acceding are in conformity with the Convention and to withdraw any of their declarations or statements that are not in conformity;

Reaffirms the unified character of the Convention;

Requests the Secretary-General to convene the Meeting of States Parties to the Convention from 18 to 22 May 1998;

Approves the convening by the Secretary-General of the third and fourth sessions of the Commission, to be held from 4 to 15 May and 31 August to 4 September 1998 respectively;

Notes with satisfaction the progress in the work of the International Seabed Authority, in particular the approval, during the third session of the Authority in 1997, of seven plans of work for exploration in the Area, and the progress being made by the Legal and Technical Commission towards the formulation of a draft mining code;

Notes with appreciation the adoption of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Tribunal, the progress made towards the conclusion of a headquarters agreement between the Tribunal and Germany and the adoption by the Tribunal of the Rules of the Tribunal, the resolution on internal judicial practice and the guidelines for the preparation and presentation of cases before the tribunal;

Encourages States parties to the Convention to consider making a written declaration choosing from the means set out in article 287 of the Convention for the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention and the Agreement, and invites States to note the provisions of Annexes V, VI, VII and VIII to the Convention concerning, respectively, conciliation, the Tribunal, arbitration and special arbitration;

Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the annual comprehensive report on the law of the sea8 and the activities of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs of the Secretariat, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and the mandate set forth in resolution 49/28;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the institutional capacity of the Organization adequately responds to the needs of States, the newly established institutions (including the International Seabed Authority and the Tribunal) and other competent international organizations by providing advice and assistance, taking into account the special needs of developing countries;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to him in the Convention and related resolutions of the General Assembly and to ensure that the performance of such activities is not adversely affected by savings as may be realized under the approved budget for the Organization; these activities include, inter alia:

Preparing annually a comprehensive report for the consideration of the General Assembly on developments relating to ocean affairs and the law of the sea;

Preparing periodically special reports on specific topics such as fisheries, transit problems of the landlocked developing States or other topics of current interest, including those requested by intergovernmental conferences and bodies, taking into account the provisions of the Convention;

Developing and maintaining the appropriate facilities for the deposit by States of charts and geographical coordinates concerning maritime zones, including lines of delimitation, and to give due publicity thereto, as required by article 16, paragraph 2, article 47, paragraph 9, article 75, paragraph 2, article 76, paragraph 9 and article 84, paragraph 2, of the Convention;

Strengthening the existing system for the collection, compilation and dissemination of information on ocean affairs and the law of the sea and, in cooperation with the relevant international organizations, furthering the development of a centralized system for providing coordinated information and advice;

Undertaking efforts to promote better understanding of the Convention and the Agreement in order to ensure their effective implementation;

Ensuring appropriate responses to requests of States, in particular developing States, for advice and assistance in implementing the provisions of the Convention and the Agreement;

Preparing for and convening the Meetings of States Parties to the Convention and providing the necessary services for such meetings, in accordance with the Convention;

Preparing for and convening the meetings of the Commission and providing it with the necessary services in accordance with the Convention;

Strengthening training activities in ocean and coastal area management and development;

Reaffirms the importance of ensuring the uniform and consistent application of the Convention and a coordinated approach to its overall implementation, and of strengthening technical cooperation and financial assistance for this purpose, stresses once again the continuing importance of the efforts of the Secretary-General to these ends, and reiterates its invitation to the competent international organizations and other international bodies to support these objectives;

Invites Member States and others in a position to do so to contribute to the further development of the Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe Memorial Fellowship Programme on the Law of the Sea and of the training and educational activities on the law of the sea and ocean affairs established by the General Assembly in resolution 35/116 of 10 December 1980, as well as advisory services and assistance in support of effective implementation of the Convention;

Calls upon States to implement its resolution 51/189 of 16 December 1996 and to strengthen the implementation of existing international and regional agreements on marine pollution;

Also calls upon States to take actions, individually or collectively and through their participation in competent global, regional, and subregional forums, to improve the quality and quantity of scientific data as a basis for effective decisions related to protection of the marine environment and the conservation of living marine resources;

Notes that it proclaimed the year 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean;

Reaffirms its decision to undertake an annual review and evaluation of the implementation of the Convention and other developments relating to ocean affairs and the law of the sea;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of the present resolution, including other developments and issues relating to ocean affairs and the law of the sea, in connection with his annual comprehensive report on oceans and the law of the sea, and to circulate the report sufficiently in advance of consideration by the General Assembly of the item concerning oceans and the law of the sea;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-third session the item entitled "Oceans and the law of the sea".

Oceans and the Law of the Sea

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?