Scholars interested in the history and significance of the idea of declaring the seabed (beyond national jurisdiction) an international Common Heritage, will find this book an essential reference source. This proposal was made by Malta's Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr Arvid Pardo, in a seminal speech to the UN General Assembly in 1967. Principally aimed at the promotion of world peace, his proposal launched the UN on a long and massive negotiating conference that culminated in the adoption of the landmark 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.On that long, hard trail Arvid Pardo was vigorously accompanied by Mme Elisabeth Mann Borgese and further helped and encouraged by innumerable scholars, lawyers, scientists, engineers and statesmen. The eminent theologian Father Peter Serracino Inglott, to whom this book is dedicated, made significant contributions to the ethical fundaments of the Common Heritage. The efforts of all were arduous and triumphant.