PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller is today expected to bring greetings at the International Seabed Authority’s special commemorative session dedicated to its 20th anniversary.

The special session will convene at the Jamaica Conference Centre, beginning at 10:00 am and closing around 4:00 pm, with a two-hour break at 1:00 pm.

It will feature some of the authority’s founding fathers, including Professor Tommy Koh, president of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1980-1982); Satya Nandan, former secretary general of the ISA (1996-2008); Judge Jose Luis Jesus, chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the ISA (1987 -1994); Professor Hasjim Djalal, former member of the Indonesian delegation to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973-1982) and the first president of the Assembly (1996).

Jamaica’s founding fathers include the late Dr Kenneth Rattray, the first rapporteur-general of the committee for the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea; and Judge Patrick Robinson and Dr Allan Kirton, all of whom had a hand in drafting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982), are also to be recognised.

The ISA was established by entry into force of the UNCLOS in November 1994 and is charged with governing and managing the resources of the deep seabed, which is beyond national jurisdiction.

Its 20th annual session will come to an end this Friday, July 25.