Philippines Takes Part in Legal and Technical Commission Meeting of the International Seabed Authority
Dr. Mario Aurelio (5th from right, 1st row) with newly elected ISA Secretary-General H.E. Leticia Carvalho (5th from left, 1st row) with other commissioners of the Legal and Technical Commission and members of the ISA Secretariat and staff.
NEW YORK 10 March 2025 – Dr. Mario Aurelio, the first Filipino elected to the Legal and Technical Commission (LTC) of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), participated in the first part of the 30th ISA Session, at the ISA headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, from 03 to 14 March, 2025.
The meeting also marks the participation of the newly elected ISA Secretary-General, H.E. Leticia Carvalho of Brazil, who was joined by LTC Chair Erasmo Lara-Cabrera of Mexico and Vice-Chair Sissel Eriksen of Norway, along with other LTC Commissioners and ISA Secretariat officials. Secretary-General Carvalho’s priorities at ISA include, among others, advancing science-based decision-making and environmental protection.
Dr. Aurelio, who is serving his second five-year term in the LTC, continues to play a crucial role in the governance of seabed resources beyond national jurisdiction, including in ensuring developing states’ participation. He was elected Chair of the LTC Training Subgroup, which oversees capacity-building initiatives for professionals, students, and other stakeholders from developing States in relation to activities in the deep seabed environment. The subgroup also manages the selection of candidates to training placements offered in the Contractor Training Programme (CTP), which are part of the legal obligations of ISA contractors. These opportunities range from at-sea on-board exploration cruises, to laboratory immersions, higher education scholarships in the fields of earth science, marine environmental science, and maritime law and marine policy, among others.
The LTC is responsible for various functions relating to activities in the Area – or the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction – including, inter alia, recommending approval for plans of work, reviewing annual reports of contractors and proposing technical and environmental regulations to the ISA Council. In the current session, the LTC will focus on the status of exploration contracts, status of the contractor training programme, establishment of regional environmental management programs (REMPs), review of environmental impact statements (IES) of contractors, development of environmental thresholds, among others.
ISA, established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is mandated to regulate the exploration and exploitation of seabed resources in the Area, while ensuring the effective protection its marine environment under the precautionary principle. ISA operates under the principle that seabed resources in the Area are a Common Heritage of Mankind. END
For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/.