Approach of the Convention on the Law of the Sea in Relation to Management and Exploitation of Genetic Resources of the High Seas and its Benefits-Sharing

Mechanism ofexploitation of genetic resources in the High Seas and its benefits-sharing is one of the neglected issues in the Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). Therefore, this issue was later raised in the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) by identifying genetic resources and Nagoya Protocol (2010) by its benefits-sharing. However, the identification of genetic resources and the its benefits-sharing in these Conventions on the Law of the Sea are limited to areas in jurisdiction of coastal states. New United Nations’ model to address these rules, with the requirements of the Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Area and the High Seas, faces the challenge of giving priority free access and the principle of the common heritage of humanity or vice versa and enjoying privileges and adherence to its constraints in this area, which is the subject and goal of this article. This paper based on descriptive-analytic approach to respond to this question, what is the approach of the Convention on the Law of the Sea to exploitation of genetic resources in the Area and High Seas and the its benefits-sharing? The findings of this research show that the two approaches of the Convention on the Law of the Sea include free access and the principle of the common heritage of humanity, which are also contagious and generalizable to marine genetic resources. Choosing either of these approaches, gives rise to privileges and the necessity to comply with their requirements.