Common Heritage Of Mankind Essay

The “common heritage of mankind” (CHM), sometimes also called the common heritage of humankind or humanity, compared with age-old concepts such as res nullius and res communis, is of relatively recent origin. It represents the notion that certain global commons or elements regarded as beneficial to humanity as a whole should not be unilaterally exploited by individual states or their nationals, nor by corporations or other entities, but rather should be exploited under some sort of international arrangement or regime for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Although there is some debate as to the actual origin of the concept of CHM, there is no doubt that the concept actually assumed prominence after the speech of Arvid Pardo, the Maltese ambassador

First, there can be no private or public appropriation; no one legally owns common heritage spaces. Second, representatives from all nations must manage resources contained in such a territorial or conceptual area on behalf of all since a commons area is considered to belong to everyone; this practically necessitating a special agency to coordinate shared management. Third, all nations must actively share with each other the benefits acquired from exploitation of the resources from the commons heritage region, this requiring restraint on the profit-making activities of private corporate entities; this linking the concept to that of global public good. Fourth, there can be no weaponry or military installations established in territorial commons areas. Fifth, the commons should be preserved for the benefit of future generations, and to avoid a "tragedy of the commons" scenario. Academic claims have been made that where the principle requires the establishment of an international resource management regime, prior to establishment of such a regime a moratorium on resource exploitation should be enforced. Such a position does not appear to have been supported by most states during the respective drafting