§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Lord Privy Seal what progress has been made in the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference on the proposals for a sea bed mining system, the financing of the system, a definition of the continental shelf and rules for marine scientific research; what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on these matters; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdIt was decided in New York (3 March–4 April) to include, in a second revision of the informal composite negotiating text, certain proposals on these issues which are judged to provide a better basis for consensus. This marks useful progress. But on a number of these issues, further negotiations will be required when the ninth session resumes at Geneva (28 July–29 August).