The first submission was made by the Russian Federa- tion in 20018, however most submissions were received shortly before 13 May 20099. With the large volume of submissions received in a short time the Commission’s workload has substantially increased. Although the CLCS is a permanent body it only meets for a few months each year, so it may take many years for the Commission to process the current batch of submissions.


In the coming years, the workload of the Commission is set to increase further, as almost half the States who submitted preliminary information, have indi- cated that they intend to complete their submissions within the next five years. One quarter indicated they will make a submission between five and 10 years, the remaining quarter did not specify a submission date10. In addition some States may decide to resub- mit following the release of recommendations.


Growing expertise and experience within the Commission, com- bined with increased predictability of recommendations (due to submissions with similar geological or physiographical settings), may speed up the process. In addition a number of submissions will not be dealt with immediately because of instructions from States. However, it is expected that a large number of submis- sions are under development and that for some years at least the backlog might increase as submissions come in faster than recommendations are issued.


The ability of the CLCS to cope with the predicted workload is a real issue and is of concern, especially for developing coastal States and SIDS. When States made submissions they did not necessarily anticipate that it would take many years to receive recommendations. These countries face institutional memory loss if the process does not speed up. It may be necessary in the future to change the workings of the Commission in order to issue recommendations more quickly so as not to disadvantage States.


The Last Maritime Zone 13


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