A Commentary on the BBNJ Agreement Using the History of the Making of UNCLOS and Its Implementation Agreements

Abstract In the wake of the recent adoption of the BBNJ Agreement, the commentary has focused on the final agreed text of the Agreement. This commentary takes a different approach and considers the BBNJ Agreement within the broader context of UNCLOS and its implementation agreements, namely, the Part XI Agreement and the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, given that when the BBNJ Agreement enters into force, it will take its place as the third implementation agreement under UNCLOS. As the point of departure, this commentary uses the work and words of one of the key architects of the UNCLOS regime, the late Ambassador Satya Nandan, as a historical lens through which to comment on the BBNJ Agreement. This commentary considers how the BBNJ Agreement was influenced by the history of the making of UNCLOS and its implementation agreements, how that history may inform the BBNJ Agreement’s entry into force, and how the BBNJ Agreement may further develop the UNCLOS regime. This commentary concludes that the making of the BBNJ Agreement is not only a continuation of that shared history—but that the BBNJ Agreement “rhymes” with that history in such a way that progresses the law of the sea.