Benefits of becoming party to the BBNJ Agreement
Given the importance 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) to improving the health and resilience of the ocean, everyone stands to benefit from its implementation. The objective of the Agreement will most effectively be achieved with universal participation.
All Parties to the Agreement, whether coastal or landlocked, stand to benefit individually from the Agreement. They will benefit from the sharing of benefits from activities with respect to marine genetic resources and digital sequence information. They will also be able to contribute to decision-making on, and benefit from, the establishment and implementation of measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, and participate in the environmental impact assessment processes under the Agreement. They will also benefit from access to capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
Becoming party to the Agreement also comes with obligations, including to exercise the necessary jurisdiction or control to ensure that its provisions are implemented and enforced, and to contribute to the budget to be decided upon by the Conference of the Parties and to the functioning of the institutions under the Agreement. However, assistance will be available for those States with limited capacity.
How to become party to the BBNJ Agreement?
A State or regional economic integration organization may become party to the Agreement, either through the two-step process of signature followed by ratification, approval or acceptance, or through the single-step process of accession.
From 20 September 2023 until 20 September 2025, the Agreement is open for signature by all States and regional economic integration organizations at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Agreement may be signed during this time by making an appointment with the . The signatories to the Agreement are under an obligation to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the Agreement.
However, signature is only the first step in the process of becoming party to the Agreement.
To become party to the Agreement, a State or regional economic integration organization must express, through a concrete act, its consent to be bound by the Agreement. In other words, it must demonstrate its willingness to undertake the legal rights and obligations contained in the Agreement.
For those that have signed the Agreement, the consent to be bound may be established through ratification, approval or acceptance.
From 21 September 2025, after the period for signature has closed, a State or regional economic integration organization wishing to become party to the Agreement may do so through the single-step process of accession.
The acts of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession at the international level are different from the acts of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession at the domestic level, which take place in accordance with internal procedures.
At the international level, the consent to be bound by the Agreement must be expressed through the deposit of an instrument of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who is the depositary of the Agreement. The Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations has prepared a model instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of the BBNJ Agreement, which may be used for that purpose (see the model instrument in English and the model instrument in French). Questions concerning the signature of the Agreement, or the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval thereof can be addressed to the Treaty Section (treatysection@un.org).
The provides further information on many aspects of treaty law and practice, including how to sign and ratify, accept, approve or accede to a treaty.
The list of States and regional economic integration organizations that have signed, ratified, approved, accepted, or acceded to, the Agreement is available on the website.
The Agreement will take effect (known under treaty law as “entering into force”) 120 days after the date of the deposit of the 60th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. At that point, the Agreement will become binding on all those who have become parties, meaning that all of the rights and obligations thereunder will take effect.
Other actions for consideration by a State or regional economic integration organization wishing to become party to the BBNJ Agreement
States and regional economic integration organizations may wish to consider several matters when signing, ratifying, approving, accepting or acceding to the Agreement.
Provisional application
Pending its entry into force, the Agreement may be provisionally applied by any State or regional economic integration organization. Consent to such provisional application must be expressed by means of a written notification to the depositary, when signing, ratifying, approving, accepting or acceding to the Agreement. It will terminate upon entry into force of the Agreement for that Party, unless terminated in writing earlier.
Choice of dispute settlement procedures
Disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Agreement are to be settled in accordance with the provisions for the settlement of disputes provided for in Part XV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention). States and regional economic integration organizations can give consideration to which of the procedures for dispute settlement contained in Part XV they wish to apply to the settlement of disputes under the Agreement.
For those that are parties to the Convention:
The procedures they have accepted pursuant to article 287 of the Convention (which provides a choice of procedure between the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Court of Justice, an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII of the Convention or a special arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VIII of the Convention) will apply unless the entity accepts another procedure upon signing, ratifying, approving, accepting or acceding to the Agreement, or at any time thereafter; and
Any declaration made pursuant to article 298 of the Convention (which allows Parties to exclude certain categories of disputes from compulsory dispute settlement procedures) will apply unless the entity makes a different declaration upon signing, ratifying, approving, accepting or acceding to the Agreement, or at any time thereafter.
For those that are not Parties to the Convention:
They will be free to choose, by means of a written declaration submitted to the depositary, one or more of the procedures for the settlement of disputes set out in article 287 of the Convention. In the absence of a declaration, an entity is deemed to have accepted an Annex VII arbitral tribunal as their choice of procedure; and
They may declare in writing that they do not accept any or more of the compulsory dispute settlement procedures with respect to one or more of the categories of disputes set out in article 298 of the Convention for the settlement of disputes under the Agreement.
Reservations, exceptions, unilateral declarations or statements
No reservations or exceptions may be made to the Agreement, unless expressly permitted by certain articles of the Agreement. Reservations or exceptions are statements purporting to exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of a treaty. Pursuant to Article 10 of the Agreement, Parties may exclude the application of the Agreement to the utilization of marine genetic resources and digital sequence information on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction collected or generated before its entry into force. To do so, a Party must make a written exception to the depositary, when signing, ratifying, approving, accepting or acceding to the Agreement.
Unlike reservations, declarations or statements made by a State or regional economic integration organization, with a view, inter alia, to the harmonization of its laws and regulations with the provisions of the Agreement, are permissible, provided that such declarations or statements do not purport to exclude or to modify the legal effect of the provisions of the Agreement.
Additional information relating to reservations and unilateral declarations may be found in the Treaty Handbook prepared by the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations. A in the six official languages of the United Nations is available here.