This Agreement shall remain open for signature at United Nations Headquarters by the States and entities referred to in article 305, paragraphs 1(a), (c), (d), (e) and (f), of the Convention for 12 months from the date of its adoption.

Article IV

1. 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.

2. No State or entity may establish its consent to be bound by this Agreement unless it has previously established or establishes at the same time its consent to be bound by the Convention.

3. A State or entity referred to in article 3 may express its consent to be bound by this Agreement by:

• (a) Signature not subject to ratification, formal confirmation or the procedure set out in article 5;
• (b) Signature subject to ratification or formal confirmation, followed by ratification or formal confirmation;
• (c) Signature subject to the procedure set out in article 5; or
• (d) Accession.

4. Formal confirmation by the entities referred to in article 305, paragraph 1(f), of the Convention shall be in accordance with Annex IX of the Convention.

5. The instruments of ratification, formal confirmation or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article V

1. A State or entity which has deposited before the date of adoption of this Agreement an instrument of ratification or formal confirmation of or accession to the Convention and which has signed this Agreement in accordance with article 4, paragraph 3(c), shall be considered to have established its consent to be bound by this Agreement 12 months after the date of its adoption, unless that State or entity notifies the depository in writing before that date that it is not availing itself of the simplified procedure set out in this article.

2. In the event of such notification, consent to be bound by this Agreement shall be established in accordance with article 4, paragraph 3(b).

ENTRY INTO FORCE

Article VI

1. This Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date on which 40 States have established their consent to be bound in accordance with articles 4 and 5, provided that such States include at least seven of the States referred to in paragraph 1(a) of resolution II of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter referred to as “resolution II”) and that at least five of those States are developed States. If these conditions for entry into force are fulfilled before 16 November 1994, this Agreement shall enter into force on 16 November 1994.

2. For each State or entity establishing its consent to be bound by this Agreement after the requirements set out in paragraph 1 have been fulfilled, this Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of establishment of its consent to be bound.

Article VII

1. If on 16 November 1994 this Agreement has not entered into force, it shall be applied provisionally 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 depository in writing either that it will not so apply this Agreement or that it will consent to such application only upon subsequent signature or notification in writing;
• (b) States and entities which sign this Agreement, except any such State or entity which notifies the depository in writing at the time of signature that it will not so apply this Agreement;
• (c) States and entities which consent to its provisional application by so notifying the depository in writing;
• (d) States which accede to this Agreement.

2. All such States and entities shall apply this Agreement provisionally in accordance with their national or internal laws and regulations with effect from 16 November 1994 or the date of signature, notification of consent or accession, if later.

3. Provisional application shall terminate upon the date of entry into force of this Agreement. In any event, provisional application shall terminate on 16 November 1998 if at that date the requirement in article 6, paragraph 1, of consent to be bound by this Agreement by at least seven of the States (of which five must be developed States) referred to in paragraph 1(a) of resolution II has not been fulfilled.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS AGREEMENT AND PART XI

Article 2

1. The provisions of this Agreement and Part XI shall be interpreted and applied as a single instrument. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and Part XI, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail.

2. Articles 309 to 319 of the Convention shall apply to this Agreement as they apply to the Convention.

Upon signature of the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 Austria declares that it understands the provisions of its article 7 para. 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 of the International Sea-Bed Authority.

Belgium

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

Russian Federation

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.