In a surprising turn of events, on December 1st last year, the Norwegian government announced that the upcoming licencing round for seabed minerals was halted, due to budget negotiations with the Socialist Left Party.
The decision carries significant implications. The postponement introduces uncertainty for companies that had anticipated participating in the licensing round and duly worked towards the established timeframes, expecting they would be followed.
Industry representatives have expressed concerns that such unpredictability in regulatory frameworks could deter investments in emerging sectors like deep-sea mining.
Additionally, the delay will almost certainly slow the pace of data acquisition and knowledge gathering regarding the deep-sea environment, geology, and resources.
In international seabed areas, governed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a similar dispute has arisen. As highlighted by a letter from the Republic of Nauru to the ISA, at the international level the authority has failed to fulfill those legal guarantees and undertakings, see:
geo365.no: ISA: No hasty decisions despite deadline breach
Against this backdrop, we are pleased to welcome Nathan Eastwood, partner in the international law firm Watson Farley & Williams, to give a presentation at the Deep Sea Minerals 2025 conference in Bergen in April.
Eastwood will clarify how international investment law and the principle of “Fair and Equitable Treatment” can protect seabed mining investors from sudden regulatory changes.
The presentation will be divided into two parts, focusing on how ISA contractors and Norwegian operators can utilize legal protections, including international treaties and dispute resolution mechanisms, to safeguard their investments.
Deep Sea Minerals 2025 will take place in Bergen from 1-3 April. The program and registration page can be found on the conference website.
For ISA contractors and operators in Norway
In relation to ISA contractors, the presentation will:
- Explain the range of protections contained within contracts with the ISA, including through their incorporation of international law rules and principles, such as customary international investment law and the principle of legitimate expectations;
- Consider the application of the principle of legitimate expectations in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of UNCLOS (1994 Agreement) and representations and actions of the ISA and its Member States, and how legitimate expectations could be used to contest improper action by the ISA or its Member States; and
- Outline the dispute settlement options available to ISA contractors to enforce their rights against the ISA and use the principle of legitimate expectations to seek a remedy for harm suffered.
In relation to operators in Norway, the presentation will:
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Outline the range of potentially applicable investment treaties that Norway is party to and how they can be used to protect the legitimate expectations of investors and companies operating in the seabed mining sector, including through binding dispute settlement via international arbitration;
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Explain how investors in seabed mining in Norway can protect their investments through appropriate corporate structuring to ensure the availability of treaty protections; and
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Consider the availability of legitimate expectations protections under Norwegian law and discuss how this could be used to safeguard deep seabed mining investments against sovereign risk.