ABSTRACT
The underlying reason for declaring the area to be the common heritage of humankind was to ensure that all states, no matter their economic status, would share the benefits of the mineral resources that lie beyond national jurisdiction. This would prevent a small number of technologically advanced states from reaping all the benefits at the expense of the international community. This chapter introduces the actors of the seabed mining regime and offers reflections on the challenges created by the international seabed authorities contractual system. As the ISA's focus is limited to mineral resources, unrelated seabed activities, such as deep sea fishing or laying submarine cables and pipelines, fall outside of its mandate. The exceptionally far-reaching regulatory powers must be understood in light of the ISA's mandate to act on behalf of humankind as a whole. The lack of transparency may be partially explained by the fact that legal framework for the Area regime was negotiated more than four decades ago.
