UK government introduces bill to ratify landmark High Seas Treaty
Published on 19th September 2025
Legislation creating a domestic framework to meet international obligations has first reading in Parliament, but still some way before ratification can occur
The UK government has acted on its promise to take steps to ratify the "High Seas Treaty" – an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction – which is also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction or BBNJ Agreement.
Legislation that sets out a domestic law framework for the UK to meet the treaty's obligations has been introduced to Parliament. This is the first step in the ratification process. This bill will need to pass through Parliament, which could be a lengthy process given industry concerns around the implementation of the access and benefits sharing mechanisms in the treaty. Assuming that the legislation does get enacted (in its present or an amended form), further secondary legislation will be needed to ratify the treaty.
Those involved in biotechnology and genetic research using marine genetic resources from the high seas will want to closely follow the implementation of the access and benefits sharing mechanisms into national law.
BBNJ Agreement
The treaty aims to protect marine ecosystems that may otherwise be vulnerable to issues such as resource exploitation, ocean degradation and deep-sea mining. It introduces mechanisms for the establishment of marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments for activities on the high seas, and equitable access and benefit sharing mechanisms for marine genetic resources and digital sequence information.
It builds on the existing ocean governance regime and complements agreements under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) such as the Nagoya Protocol, which governs access and benefits sharing relating to tangible genetic materials within national boundaries (as opposed to digital genetic data, which is another issues recently sought to be addressed by the voluntary Cali Fund).
Benefits sharing in the BBNJ bill
Among other things, the bill deals with the use of marine genetic resources from areas beyond national jurisdiction. It focuses on the provision of information required by projects that collect and utilise marine genetic resources from the high seas, and the sharing of benefits concerning activities related to those resources (including digital sequence information).
The benefits sharing provisions relate only to the sharing of non-monetary benefits (reflecting Article 14(2) of the BBNJ Agreement) – that is, depositing samples in "suitable" repositories and digital sequence information in "suitable" databases. The government seems to view these provisions as uncontroversial.
The explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill notes that "[d]epositing genetic data in open access databases prior to publication is well-established in the scientific community and required by peer-reviewed scientific journals", as well as required by those receiving funding from UK research councils.
The implementation of the monetary benefits sharing provisions in the BBNJ Agreement and their enforcement mechanisms are delegated to the secretary of state to introduce via secondary legislation. Any statutory instruments made enabling or facilitating the implementation of monetary benefits sharing arrangements or those creating a civil sanctions or varying a monetary penalty for their enforcement are subject to the draft affirmative Parliamentary procedure.
This means that the secondary legislation must be actively approved by both Houses of Parliament following a debate, which ensures that the proposed regulations receive a higher level of scrutiny.
It is necessary for the bill to provide for a deferred means for the monetary benefits sharing to be (potentially) introduced as the BBNJ Agreement leaves it open to Conference of Parties to decide on the modalities of any payments required. It is not clear how long (or if at all) it will take for an agreement to be reached on these provisions. Given that it has taken nearly two decades to agree the text of the BBNJ Agreement, this process may well be slow, especially because of the controversial nature of these provisions.
It is clear that the government will want to proceed with some caution and proportionality in any agreement on the monetary benefits sharing provisions in light of industry concerns and its commitment to and growth aspirations for the engineering biology sector – for which access to genetic resources and digital sequence information is crucial.
Ratification progress
The BBNJ Agreement will only enter into force 120 days after the sixtieth ratification, approval, acceptance or accession. There are currently 58 of the required 60 ratifications, accessions, acceptances and approvals. The UK's steps towards ratification will eventually edge closer to the required number but another country will need to take action before the required number is met.
If the bill is enacted in the UK, ratification of the BBNJ Agreement will need to take place separately by statutory instrument, adding further length to the process.
Additionally, various provisions of the bill, including the benefits sharing provisions, will need to be separately brought into force by statutory instrument. Varying levels of Parliamentary scrutiny are required depending on the nature of the statutory instrument.
Osborne Clarke comment
The BBNJ Agreement itself and the renewed vigour behind it following the UN Oceans Conference earlier this year mark a significant change in international attitudes towards the protection and governance of extra-territorial marine resources.
Although the UK government has taken a step towards ratification, there is still a long way to go, with many further implementing steps to be taken by statutory instrument. Depending on the nature of the secondary legislation and its subject matter, there may be higher levels of Parliamentary scrutiny, which could lengthen the implementation process further.
As this bill has started its Parliamentary journey in the Commons, during the Commons committee stage the committee is able to take evidence from experts and interest groups from outside of Parliament. This will be a particularly important time for interested parties to share any concerns around the implementation of the treaty's obligations into national law.
Edward Cator, trainee solicitor at Osborne Clarke, contributed to this Insight.
