The International Seabed Authority
is an autonomous international organization established under the 1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement
relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Authority is the organization
through which States Parties to the Convention shall, in accordance with
the regime for the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond
the limits of national jurisdiction (the Area) established in Part XI
and the Agreement, organize and control activities in the Area,
particularly with a view to administering the resources of the Area.
The Authority, which has its headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica,
came into existence on 16 November 1994, upon the entry into force of
the 1982 Convention. The first Secretary-General of the Authority, Satya
Nandan (Fiji) was elected in March 1996, and the Authority became fully
operational as an autonomous international organization in June 1996,
when it took over the premises and facilities in Kingston, Jamaica
previously used by the United Nations Kingston Office for the Law of the
Sea. Meetings of the Authority are held at the Jamaica Conference
Centre in downtown Kingston.
