of obtaining a treaty has been as slow as, if not slower than, the arrangements dealing with the space environment. Thus, at the close of the sixth session of the UN Third Law of the Sea Conference on July 15, 1977, final agreement had not been reached on the governing structures for the deep seabed and ocean floor area. This issue first came to the attention of the UN in 1967. However, full-scale negotiations had begun only in 1970, and had been institutionalized in the form of the conference only in 1974. Since the law of the sea conference has accepted basic legal principles very similar to those set out in Articles 1 through 3 of the 1967 Principles Treaty, the plan for institutions to manage ocean resources is relevant. The 1977 ocean text calls for the formation of a governing instrumentality to be known as the Authority, and it will function through an assembly, a council, a secretariat, an enterprise, and will be assisted in the resolution of legal disputes by a Sea-bed Disputes Chamber of the Law of the Sea Tribunal. A principal reason for the inability of the law of the sea conference to bring its negotiations to an end with an acceptable treaty relates specifically to the exploitation of the mineral resources on the deep seabed and ocean floor. The approach taken by this conference may well provide some important instruction to those who may, at some future time, wish to form an international institution to deal with the natural resources of the space environment. Article 136 of the 1977 text provides that "The Area and its resources are the common heritage of mankind," thus not employing the comparable expression "province of mankind" found in Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Principles Treaty. Article 137 of the 1977 text follow Article 2 of the Principles Treaty in excluding sovereignty in the Area. 'Articles 154-192.
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