HL Deb 10 February 1997 vol 578 cc3-4WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there are fewer nominations than positions in the next tranche of appointments to Institutions under the UN Law of the Sea Convention, particularly to the body concerned with definitions of the continental shelf, and whether the Institutions and the United Kingdom will not suffer unless some of the British experts who are available are nominated, which they cannot be if Her Majesty's Government has not ratified the convention by 5th February.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for a Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf comprising 21 members. At the close of nominations for the election to the Commission, there were 26 candidates. There is no United Kingdom candidate. We shall be working closely with our partners to seek to ensure the election of the most competent experts in the fields of geology, geophysics and hydrography.