Marine genetic resources as common heritage of mankind under the BBNJ Agreement; the international community toward a pragmatic benefit-sharing approach?

Abstract Marine biological diversity, and more specifically, marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction are valuable resources that belong to all of humanity and need to be preserved for future generations. The new landmark BBNJ Agreement, also known as the “High Seas Biodiversity Treaty”, after all the intensive negotiations revolving around the legal status of MGRs, recognized that the conservation and sustainable use of these resources are to be achieved through the “Common Heritage of Humankind” as a guiding principle under Article 7 of the BBNJ Agreement. The key consideration in the following article acknowledges a paradigm shift from the CHM towards a more pragmatic benefit-sharing regime and whether all component parts of the CHM principle, including sustainable equity and more specifically, inter-generational and intra-generational equity are sufficiently addressed in the BBNJ Agreement. The following research suggests that a proper application of the common heritage of mankind principle, along with all its constituent elements, including equitable benefit-sharing, shared stewardship, sustainable management and inter-generational equity, guarantees a comprehensive balance between distributive justice and conservation approaches to marine genetic resources while serving the legitimate interests of present and future generations.