THE Assembly of the International Seabed Authority, meeting in Kingston yesterday, paid tribute to the late Kenneth Osborne Rattray, a prominent Jamaican jurist who was involved for many years in the negotiations leading to the conclusion of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

A minute of silence was observed by the Assembly in honour of one of its own and for many years permanent representative of Jamaica to the International Seabed Authority.

Dr Rattray died January 3 of this year. He was 72.

In his tribute, the secretary-general of the authority Satya N Nandan said Dr Rattray was associated with the Law of the Sea since 1968 when the jurist participated as a representative of Jamaica in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Seabed and the Ocean Floor Beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction.

In 1970, the committee became the Preparatory Committee for the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, and three years later, it was formally convened. He was elected as its Rapporteur General.

“Dr Rattray was an able and articulate representative of Jamaica whose views were much respected by his colleagues in the conference. He contributed to the development of the 1982 Convention, especially to its deep seabed mining provisions. Subsequently, between 1982 and 1994, he was an active participant in the Preparatory Commission for the establishment of the Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,” said Nandan.

The Secretary-general said Dr Rattray was also successful in persuading the conference to choose Jamaica as the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority.

Launching the tributes from the floor, Indonesia hailed Dr Rattray as a founding father of the International Seabed Authority and not only a great son of Jamaica, but the Caribbean and Latin America.

Austria said that as a “household name” in Law of the Sea circles since 1968, Dr Rattray was one of the strongest defenders of the deep seabed being the common heritage of mankind. Brazil also echoed those sentiments, saying the magnitude of Rattray’s contribution was eloquently grasped by the secretary-general.

Trinidad & Tobago, in the meantime, hoped that his family would be comforted in the thought that long after his passing, his work and convictions would continue to be an inspiration and guiding light for the Authority. Cameroon, in the meantime, praised his erudition and eloquence as a man of law and urged members of the assembly to keep Dr Rattray’s memory alive “as we work to protect the common heritage of mankind”.

Russia, for its part, remembered Dr Rattray as an outstanding jurist and major contributor to the Convention on the Law of the Sea, while Nigeria, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea recognised Dr Rattray for his invaluable contribution to the authority and his sensitivity to the concerns of developing States. Canada said two generations of that country’s delegation regarded the authority as a tribute to the work of Kenneth Rattray.

Responding on behalf of the Government of Jamaica, Raymond Wolfe, its permanent representative to the authority, thanked the secretary-general and members of the assembly for their tributes which highlighted the extent of Dr Rattray’s contribution to the authority.