Foreword

his foreword and the introduction that follows were written and submitted for publication prior to the resumed ninth session of the Third Unites Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea that was held in Jule and August of 1980. In the report he made to the General Assembly summarizing the results of that session, the Secretary-General states that acceptable formulations were found on the remaining hard-core issues and that the work which remains outstanding could be completed at the next and last session of the Conference. This, in his view, would bring to fruition one of the most arduous and complex negotiations ever undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations, or perhaps in human history.