Abstract Beyond the boundaries of national jurisdiction, the ocean floor and its minerals are governed by a comprehensive international regime, which determines by whom and under what conditions these natural resources can be prospected, explored and exploited. The main principles are set out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Implementation Agreement, while more detailed rules are included in specific regulations of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA has issued rules for the first phases of deep sea mining activities (prospecting and exploration), but has yet to adopt exploitation regulations. A draft version is however being developed and provides a good indication of the current state of play. With regard to transparency and public participation, significant improvements can be identified, but considering the influence of NGOs and their crucial role as watchdogs, the power of third-party stakeholders can still be deemed fairly limited. This article analyzes the existing principles and available options regarding transparency, public participation and access to justice in all phases of deep sea mining activities, identifies the main weaknesses and suggests possible corrections, all the while assessing whether such provisions should be considered a luxury or rather the implementation of an enforceable legal obligation.

中文翻译：

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深海采矿背景下的公众参与：奢侈还是法律义务？

摘要 在国家管辖范围之外，洋底及其矿物受综合国际制度的管辖，该制度决定了由谁以及在何种条件下可以勘探、勘探和开发这些自然资源。主要原则载于《联合国海洋法公约》和 1994 年的执行协定，而更详细的规则载于国际海底管理局（ISA）的具体规定。ISA 已经为深海采矿活动的第一阶段（勘探和勘探）发布了规则，但尚未通过开采法规。然而，草稿版本正在开发中，它很好地表明了当前的游戏状态。在透明度和公众参与方面，可以确定重大改进，但考虑到非政府组织的影响力及其作为监督者的关键作用，第三方利益相关者的权力仍然可以被认为是相当有限的。本文分析了有关深海采矿活动各个阶段的透明度、公众参与和诉诸司法的现有原则和可用选项，确定了主要弱点并提出了可能的纠正措施，同时评估了此类规定是否应被视为奢侈或更确切地说执行可强制执行的法律义务。