On Access And Benefit-sharing Of Marine Genetic Resources Beyond National Jurisdiction

There is no clear legal system in the international community regarding what legal systems should be applied to regulate marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction.Therefore,the issue of access to and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction has become one of the key issues for discussion in the field of the law of the sea.The main reason leading to the dilemma of access to and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction is the unclear legal status of marine genetic resources outside national jurisdiction.Various countries have put forward different ideas based on their own interests.Developing countries have expressed their own advantages on the principle of “common inheritance of human property”and developed countries have expressed their own positions on the principle of “freedom of the high seas”,and they are in opposition to each other.Secondly,there are a large number of legal loopholes in the relevant provisions of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction.These loopholes have led to irregular access and thus affected the protection of resources.The existence of legal loopholes also affected the fair and reasonable sharing of benefits of this resource.Finally,the “patent monopoly” formed by developed countries on marine genetic resources makes it impossible for other countries to effectively share the benefits brought by marine genetic resources.We can find international legal norms on genetic resources in many international conventions and regulatory legal documents.However,a review of the current international legal norms reveals that the relevant international legal norms also have their own limitations.The European Union and some countries have proposed a third option,which is to address the issue of access and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources under the framework of the marine scientific research system.The long-standing disputes over the legal status of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction by different interest groups have prevented the progress of negotiations on the access and benefit-sharing system of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction to move forward and stagnate.This situation is not conducive to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.Therefore,it is a pragmatic method to solve this problem under the framework of marine scientific research system.Analyzing the applicability of the marine scientific research system from the scope,definition,category and other aspects of the marine scientific research system can provide new ideas for the solution of this problem.China has not expressed its position on the international legal system of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction.In consideration of the status of China's marine genetic resources investigation and research and development and utilization,the relevance and applicability of marine scientific research have been pointed out and emphasized many times in the discussions of the Ad Hoc Working Group and the preparatory committee on marine genetic resources.The scientific research system applicable to the acquisition and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources beyond national jurisdiction is in the national interest of China,and China may consider proposing the applicability of the system in a subsequent intergovernmental meeting.If China considers the marine scientific research system as a path choice,then China should speed up the research on the marine scientific research system,adhere to the multi-channel communication method based on the first track and attach importance to the second track,and actively participate in the marine genetic resources law outside the national jurisdiction Rule making activities.