L’interazione tra accordo BBNJ e strumenti, quadri giuridici e organismi regionali e subregionali che si applicano alle aree marine al di là delle giurisdizioni nazionali

Article 5(2) of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) defines the interaction between this new Agreement and other existing conventional regimes. The above-mentioned clause is clearly intended not to undermine the functionality of "relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies" with competence over marine areas beyond national jurisdiction in the interpretation and application of the new Convention, but its wording leaves some important interpretive doubts. The purpose of this article is to focus in particular on the area-based management instruments, including marine protected areas (MPAs), established by the other relevant conventional regimes mentioned, and to assess their compatibility with Part III of the BBNJ Agreement.