Abstract

This article comments upon the list of governance principles for areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) advanced in the Report by Alex Oude Elferink. It begins by considering the meaning of governance principles, and how they can contribute to the development of the legal regime for ABNJ. It suggests that such principles need to be rooted in more than existing rules, although such rules provide an important means of inducing the existence of general principles. Governance principles need to be properly aligned with the nature of the spaces and resources found in ABNJ, as well as with fundamental values of the international community and contours of legal authority. The article offers some further comments on the specific principles, emphasising the importance of not just strong procedural approaches, but also principles that facilitate a sound and reliable knowledge basis for decision-making and that advance a strong version of integrated management