국가관할권 이원지역의 해양유전자원의 이익공유에 관한 BBNJ 협정의 발효와 국내적 이행방안

초록

On 27 January 2026, the BBNJ Agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction is expected to enter into force, since its sixtieth ratification was deposited on 19 September 2025 to satisfy the requirements for its entry into force. After twenty years of intensive negotiations, the BBNJ Agreement was successfully adopted on 19 June 2023 and finally satisfied its requirement for entry into force only two years and three months later. The BBNJ Agreement provides several important implications to the global society for several reasons. First, it deserves our attention in that it established the first international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to conserve and sustainably use the marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction where no country can claim the exclusive sovereign rights. Secondly, it was successfully concluded under the umbrella of the United Nations with the highest authority in the international legal hierarchy. The official entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement would force the Republic of Korea to take a quicker step for its domestic implementation, because the Republic of Korea made an earlier ratification compared to the other developed counterparts such as USA, Japan, and European countries, etc,. The ROK deposited its ratification on 19 March 2025 to be the first ratifying country among the Northeast Asia countries and the 21st country in the world. The entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement two years and three months only after its adoption could be attributable to the global common understanding and recognition of the importance and urgency for conserving the marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction such as High Sea. The ROK would be one of a handful of the developed Contracting Parties to the BBNJ Agreement together with France at this early stage of ratification and therefore should assume the important responsibilities under its Conference of Parties. In addition, it should also enhance its responsibilities and capabilities by joining the several important subsidiary bodies such as the Access and Benefit-Sharing Committee. The roles of the ROK will eventually depend on how actively and enthusiastically it participates in the importance processes.

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