Justice, Equity, and Approaches for Sharing Benefits from Deep Sea Mining Operations in the Area

Abstract This article critically examines the current benefit-sharing regime on the international seabed (the Area) and the proposed modalities for benefit-sharing. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea contains few and vague rules on this issue. The only obligation is that benefit-sharing should be ‘equitable’ and the interests of developing States must be considered. To determine what may constitute equitable sharing the practice of other law of the sea legal regimes are examined and proposed distribution mechanisms are critically analysed. The article offers a unique perspective by trying to identify the scope of the vague equitable criterion for sharing or distributing benefits, rather than referring to it as a general goal or principle. Doing so, the article offers a practical account for the feasibility of different distribution modalities, which may yield new insights for institutional design to better deal with challenges in this well-researched but still unclear issue.