STATUS AS AT : 19-04-2024 09:15:38 EDT
CHAPTER XXI
LAW OF THE SEA
6 .a Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982
New York, 28 July 1994
Entry into force
:
provisionally on 16 November 1994, in accordance with article 7(1) and definitively on 28 July 1996, in accordance with article 6(1). 1
Registration :
16 November 1994, No. 31364
Status :
Signatories : 79. Parties : 152. 2, 3
Text :
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1836, p. 3;
Doc. A/RES.48/263; and depositary notification C.N.1.1995.TREATIES-1 of  9 February 1995 (procès-verbal of rectification of the original French text).
Note :
The Agreement was adopted by Resolution 48/263, on 28 July 1994, by the General Assembly of the United Nations during its resumed 48th session, held from 27 to 29 July 1994 in New York. In accordance with its article 3, the Agreement shall remain open for signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York by the States and entities referred to in article 305, paragraphs 1 (c), (d), (e) and (f) of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea for 12 months from the date of its adoption i.e. until 28 July 1995.
Participant 4
Signature
 Provisional application by virtue of signature, adoption of the Agreement or accession thereto, Provisional application by virtue of a notification (n)
 Notification of non-provisional application under article 7 (1) (b)
 Simplified procedure(p), Formal confirmation(c), Definitive signature(s), Accession(a), Succession(d), Ratification, Consent to be bound(P)
Afghanistan
   16 Nov 1994
   
Albania
   16 Nov 1994
  23 Jun 2003 P
Algeria
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  11 Jun 1996 P
Andorra
   16 Nov 1994
   
Angola
        7 Sep 2010 a
Antigua and Barbuda
        3 May 2016 a
Argentina
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   1 Dec 1995
Armenia
   16 Nov 1994
   9 Dec 2002 a
Australia
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   5 Oct 1994
Austria
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  14 Jul 1995
Azerbaijan
       16 Jun 2016 a
Bahamas 5
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Bahrain
   16 Nov 1994
   
Bangladesh 6
  16 Nov 1994
  27 Jul 2001 a
Barbados 5
15 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Belarus
   16 Nov 1994
  30 Aug 2006 a
Belgium 6
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  13 Nov 1998 P
Belize
   16 Nov 1994
  21 Oct 1994 s
Benin
   16 Nov 1994
  16 Oct 1997 P
Bhutan
   16 Nov 1994
   
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
   16 Nov 1994
  28 Apr 1995 P
Bosnia and Herzegovina
       26 May 2021 a
Botswana
   16 Nov 1994
  31 Jan 2005 a
Brazil 7
29 Jul 1994
  29 Jul 1994
25 Oct 2007
Brunei Darussalam
   16 Nov 1994
   5 Nov 1996 P
Bulgaria
   15 May 1996
15 Nov 1994
15 May 1996 a
Burkina Faso
 30 Nov 1994
30 Nov 1994
  25 Jan 2005 P
Burundi
   16 Nov 1994
   
Cabo Verde 7
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  23 Apr 2008
Cambodia 6
  16 Nov 1994
   
Cameroon
 24 May 1995
24 May 1995
15 Nov 1994
28 Aug 2002
Canada 6
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   7 Nov 2003
Chad
       14 Aug 2009 P
Chile 6
  16 Nov 1994
  25 Aug 1997 a
China
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   7 Jun 1996 P
Congo 6
  16 Nov 1994
   9 Jul 2008 P
Cook Islands
       15 Feb 1995 a
Costa Rica
       20 Sep 2001 a
Côte d'Ivoire 5
25 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Croatia
        5 Apr 1995 P
Cuba
   16 Nov 1994
  17 Oct 2002 a
Cyprus
  1 Nov 1994
27 Jul 1995
15 Nov 1994
27 Jul 1995
Czech Republic
 16 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  21 Jun 1996
Denmark
 29 Jul 1994
  29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 2004
Dominican Republic
       10 Jul 2009 P
Ecuador
       24 Sep 2012 P
Egypt 7
22 Mar 1995
16 Nov 1994
   
Equatorial Guinea
       21 Jul 1997 P
Eritrea
   16 Nov 1994
   
Estonia
   16 Nov 1994
  26 Aug 2005 a
Eswatini
 12 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  24 Sep 2012 P
Ethiopia
   16 Nov 1994
   
European Union 6, 8
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   1 Apr 1998 c
Fiji
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995
Finland
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  21 Jun 1996
France
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  11 Apr 1996
Gabon 6
 4 Apr 1995
16 Nov 1994
  11 Mar 1998 P
Georgia
       21 Mar 1996 P
Germany
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  14 Oct 1994
Ghana
   16 Nov 1994
  23 Sep 2016 a
Greece
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  21 Jul 1995
Grenada 5
14 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Guatemala
       11 Feb 1997 P
Guinea 5
26 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Guyana
   16 Nov 1994
  25 Sep 2008 a
Haiti
       31 Jul 1996 P
Honduras
   16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 2003 a
Hungary
   16 Nov 1994
   5 Feb 2002 a
Iceland 5
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
India
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  29 Jun 1995
Indonesia 7
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   2 Jun 2000
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
      1 Nov 1994
 
Iraq
   16 Nov 1994
   
Ireland
 29 Jul 1994
  29 Jul 1994
21 Jun 1996
Italy 8, 9
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
29 Jul 1994
13 Jan 1995
Jamaica 5
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Japan
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  20 Jun 1996
Jordan
     14 Nov 1994
27 Nov 1995 P
Kenya
   16 Nov 1994
  29 Jul 1994 s
Kiribati
       24 Feb 2003 P
Kuwait
   16 Nov 1994
   2 Aug 2002 a
Lao People's Democratic Republic 6
27 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
   5 Jun 1998 P
Latvia
       23 Dec 2004 a
Lebanon
        5 Jan 1995 P
Lesotho
       31 May 2007 P
Liberia
       25 Sep 2008 P
Libya
   16 Nov 1994
   
Liechtenstein
   16 Nov 1994
   
Lithuania
       12 Nov 2003 a
Luxembourg 6
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   5 Oct 2000
Madagascar
   16 Nov 1994
  22 Aug 2001 P
Malawi
       28 Sep 2010 P
Malaysia 6
 2 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  14 Oct 1996 P
Maldives
 10 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
   7 Sep 2000 P
Malta 7
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  26 Jun 1996
Marshall Islands
   16 Nov 1994
   
Mauritania
  2 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  17 Jul 1996 P
Mauritius 10
  16 Nov 1994
   4 Nov 1994 P
Mexico
      2 Nov 1994
10 Apr 2003 a
Micronesia (Federated States of) 7
10 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
   6 Sep 1995
Monaco
 30 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  20 Mar 1996 P
Mongolia
 17 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  13 Aug 1996 P
Montenegro 11
      23 Oct 2006 d
Morocco
 19 Oct 1994
  19 Oct 1994
31 May 2007
Mozambique
   16 Nov 1994
  13 Mar 1997 a
Myanmar
   16 Nov 1994
  21 May 1996 a
Namibia
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Nauru
       23 Jan 1996 P
Nepal 6
  16 Nov 1994
   2 Nov 1998 P
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 12
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jun 1996
New Zealand 6
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  19 Jul 1996
Nicaragua
        3 May 2000 P
Niger
        7 Aug 2013 P
Nigeria 5
25 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Niue
       11 Oct 2006 P
North Macedonia
   16 Nov 1994
  19 Aug 1994 P
Norway
   16 Nov 1994
  24 Jun 1996 a
Oman
   16 Nov 1994
  26 Feb 1997 a
Pakistan
 10 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  26 Feb 1997 P
Palau
       30 Sep 1996 P
Panama
        1 Jul 1996 P
Papua New Guinea 6
  16 Nov 1994
  14 Jan 1997 P
Paraguay
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  10 Jul 1995
Philippines 7
15 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  23 Jul 1997
Poland 8
29 Jul 1994
23 Feb 1995
  13 Nov 1998 P
Portugal
 29 Jul 1994
  29 Jul 1994
 3 Nov 1997
Qatar
   16 Nov 1994
   9 Dec 2002 P
Republic of Korea
  7 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
  29 Jan 1996
Republic of Moldova
   16 Nov 1994
   6 Feb 2007 P
Romania
      4 Oct 1994
17 Dec 1996 a
Russian Federation 6
  11 Jan 1995
  12 Mar 1997 a
Rwanda
       18 May 2023 P
Samoa
  7 Jul 1995
16 Nov 1994
  14 Aug 1995 P
Saudi Arabia
      9 Nov 1994
24 Apr 1996 P
Senegal
  9 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  25 Jul 1995
Serbia 13
12 May 1995
    28 Jul 1995 p
Seychelles
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  15 Dec 1994
Sierra Leone
   16 Nov 1994
  12 Dec 1994 P
Singapore
   16 Nov 1994
  17 Nov 1994 P
Slovakia
 14 Nov 1994
16 Nov 1994
   8 May 1996
Slovenia
 19 Jan 1995
16 Jun 1995
15 Nov 1994
16 Jun 1995
Solomon Islands
    8 Feb 1995
  23 Jun 1997 P
South Africa 6
 3 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  23 Dec 1997
Spain 8
29 Jul 1994
    15 Jan 1997
Sri Lanka 5
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
State of Palestine
        2 Jan 2015 P
Sudan 7
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   
Suriname 6
  16 Nov 1994
   9 Jul 1998 P
Sweden
 29 Jul 1994
  29 Jul 1994
25 Jun 1996
Switzerland 6
26 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
   1 May 2009
Thailand
       15 May 2011 a
Timor-Leste
        8 Jan 2013 P
Togo 5
 3 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Tonga
        2 Aug 1995 P
Trinidad and Tobago 5
10 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Tunisia 7
15 May 1995
16 Nov 1994
  24 May 2002
Tuvalu
        9 Dec 2002 P
Uganda 5
 9 Aug 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Ukraine 6
28 Feb 1995
16 Nov 1994
  26 Jul 1999
United Arab Emirates 6
  16 Nov 1994
   
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 6, 14
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  25 Jul 1997
United Republic of Tanzania 7
 7 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  25 Jun 1998
United States of America 6
29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
   
Uruguay 7
29 Jul 1994
  29 Jul 1994
 7 Aug 2007
Vanuatu
 29 Jul 1994
16 Nov 1994
  10 Aug 1999 P
Viet Nam
   16 Nov 1994
  27 Apr 2006 a
Yemen
       13 Oct 2014 a
Zambia 5
13 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Zimbabwe 5
28 Oct 1994
16 Nov 1994
  28 Jul 1995 p
Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made upon notification of provisional
application, ratification, formal confirmation, accession, definitive signature or participation.)
Austria

Austria

Upon signature:

Declaration:

       "Austria declares that it understands the provisions of its article 7 paragraph 2 to signify with regard to its own position that pending parliamentary approval of the Convention and of the Agreement and their subsequent ratification it will have access to the organs for the International Sea-Bed authority."
Belgium

Belgium

Upon signature:

Declaration:

       This signature also commits the Flemish region, the Wallone region and the region of the capital Brussels.
Russian Federation

Russian Federation

Declaration:

       According to expert opinion, industrial exploitation of deep sea-bed mineral resources will not start earlier than in ten to fifteen years. Therefore, the International body for the sea-bed will not have a subject of real activity for a long time yet, which fact highlights especially the financial aspects of activities of the newly established organization. It is important to avoid non-productive administrative and other expenditures, to abstain from establishing yet unnecessary structures and positions, and to strictly observe the agreements concerning the economy regime reflected in the Agreement.
       The efforts aimed at rendering universal the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 can, in the long run, produce a positive result only if all the States act on the basis of the above-mentioned agreements without trying to seek any unilateral advantages, and if they succeed in establishing a cooperation free of discrimination and with a due account of the interests of potential investors in deep sea-bed mining.
Ukraine

Ukraine

       
[See chapter XXI.6.]


Territorial Application
Participant
 Date of receipt of the notification
 Territories
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) 13 Feb 2009 Netherlands Antilles
End Note
1.On 28 June 1996, the requirements for the entry into force of the Agreement were fulfilled. Consequently the Agreement  entered into force on 28 July 1996 (C.N.214.1996 of 19 July 1996), in accordance with article 6 (1).

In accordance with its article 7 (3), the provisional application of the Agreement shall terminate upon the date of its entry into force, i.e., on 28 July 1996. In accordance with the provisions of section 1, paragraph 12 (a) of the Annex to the said Agreement, " ... Upon entry into force of this Agreement, States and entities referred to in article 3 of this Agreement which have been applying it provisionally in accordance with article 7 and for which it is not in force, may continue to be members of the Authority on a provisional basis pending its entry into force of such States and entities, in accordance with the following sub-paragraphs:

(a) If this Agreement enters into force before 16 November 1996, such States and entities shall be entitled to continue to participate as members of the Authority on a provisional basis upon notification to the depositary of the Agreement by such a State or entity of its intention to participate as a member on a provisional basis. Such membership shall terminate either on 16 November 1996 or upon the entry into force of this Agreement and the Convention for such member, whichever is earlier. The Council may, upon the request of the State or entity concerned, extend such membership beyond 16 November 1996 for a further period or periods not exceeding a total of two years...".
2.Number of Parties does not include the Provisional members of the International Seabed Authority.
3.In accordance with Article 4 of the Agreement which reads as follows:  "After the adoption of this Agreement, any instrument of ratification or formal confirmation of or accession to the Convention shall also represent consent to be bound by this Agreement."
4.States and regional economic integration organizations listed under " Participants " include those States and regional economic integration organizations having either signed or adopted the Agreement.  According to article 7 (1) (a) of the Agreement, the Agreement shall be applied provisionally as of 16 November pending its entry into force by a) States which have consented to its adoption in the General Assembly of the United Nations, except any such State which before 16 November 1994 notifies the depositary either that it will not apply the Agreement or that it will consent to such application only upon subsequent signature or notification; b) States and entities which sign the Agreement (unless notification to the contrary at the time of signature); c) States and entities which consent to its provisional application; and/or d) States which accede to the Agreement.
5.State which upon signature or at a later date, notified that it has selected the application of the simplified procedure set out in articles 4 (3) (c)  and 5.
6.State or regional economic integration organization which, upon the entry into force of the Agreement, notified the Secretary-General of its intention to continue to participate as a member of the International Seabed Authority on a provisional basis, in accordance with paragraph 12 (a), first sentence, section I of the Annex (see note 1).
7.State which, upon signature or at a later date, notified that it is not availing itself of the simplified procedure set out in article 5 and that consequently it will establish its consent to be bound by the Agreement under the provisions of article 4, paragraph 3 (b), by subsequent ratification.
8.State or regional economic integration organization which has specified that its consent to the provisional application will be subject to subsequent notification to the depositary in writing, in accordance with article 7 (1) (a), or that it will not apply the Agreement provisionally in accordance with article 7 (1) (b).
9.On 14 November 1994, the Government of Italy notified the Secretary-General that it would apply the Agreement provisionally.
10.On 9 January 2020, the Secretary-General received a communication from the Government of Mauritius relating to the Chagos Archipelago.

      See C.N.50.2020.TREATIES-XXI.6.a of 31 January 2020 for the text of the above-mentioned communication.
11.See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.
12.For the Kingdom in Europe.

13 February 2009

For the Netherlands Antilles.

23 July 2014

Territorial Application in respect of Aruba.
13.Upon depositing its notification of succession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on 12 March 2001, the Government of Yugoslavia confirmed the signature affixed to the Agreement on 12 May 1995 and its notification of application of the simplified procedure under article 5 of the Agreement.

See also note 1 under “Bosnia and Herzegovina", "Croatia", "former Yugoslavia", "Slovenia", "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and "Yugoslavia"  in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.
14.Upon depositing its instrument of ratification, the Government of the United Kingdom also stated the following

“ Extent

[This] instrument of [...] ratification extend[s] to:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The Bailiwick of Jersey

The Bailiwick of Guernsey

The Isle of Man

Anguilla

Bermuda

British Antarctic Territory

British Indian Ocean Territory

British Virgin Islands

The Cayman Islands

Falkland Islands

Gibraltar, Montserrat

Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands

St. Helena and Dependencies

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands.”