International Seabed Authority

International Seabed Authority (ISA), international organization established in 1994 to regulate mining and related activities in the international seabed beyond national jurisdiction, an area that includes most of the world’s oceans. The ISA came into existence upon the entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which codified international law regarding territorial waters, sea-lanes, and ocean resources. The ISA is headquartered in Kingston, Jam., and has more than 150 state members.

The supreme authority of the ISA is the assembly, in which all ISA members are represented. The assembly sets general policies, establishes budgets, and elects a 36-member council, which serves as the ISA’s executive authority. The council approves contracts with private corporations and government entities for exploration and mining in specified areas of the international seabed, oversees implementation of the seabed provisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, and establishes provisional rules and procedures (subject to approval by the assembly) by which the ISA exercises its regulatory authority. The secretary-general of the ISA is nominated by the council and is elected by the assembly to a four-year term. The ISA’s annual plenary sessions, which usually last two weeks, are held in Kingston.

In 2006 the ISA established the Endowment Fund to Support Collaborative Marine Scientific Research on the International Seabed Area to assist and encourage scientists from developing countries to contribute to world marine studies. In 2008 additional efforts were made to recruit new members, to improve multinational cooperation, and to raise funds.