Norwegian elected President of the International Seabed Authority

Deputy Director General Olav Myklebust of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been elected President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority.

The Seabed Authority was established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, among other things to adminster the mineral resources of the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, i.e. the deep ocean floor outside the limits of the continental shelf areas, where coastal states have sovereign rights. The mineral resources in the International Seabed Area are recognised as the common heritage of mankind, and the Seabed Authority is responsible for their management.

Mr Myklebust has been Vice-President of the Assembly since 2003, and is the head of the Section for Treaty Law and Law of the Sea at the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Assembly is the supreme organ of the Seabed Authority. The Seabed Authority is holding its 11 ^th> Session in Kingston, Jamaica, from 15 to 26 August 2005.

More information on the International Seabed Authority is available at http://www.isa.org.jm/en/default.htm.