A/RES/52/26 Page 2 Recalling its resolution S-19/2 of 28 June 1997, to which is annexed the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, in particular paragraph 36 thereof dealing with oceans and seas, as well as its decision that oceans and seas will be the sectoral theme discussed at the seventh session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in 1999, Recalling also its resolution 49/131 of 19 December 1994 on the International Year of the Ocean, Considering that, in its resolution 2749 (XXV) of 17 December 1970, it proclaimed that the seabed and ocean floor, and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction ("the Area"), as well as the resources of the Area, are the common heritage of mankind, and considering also that the Convention, together with the Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 ("the Agreement"),3 provides the regime to be applied to the Area and its resources, Noting with satisfaction the increase in the number of States parties to the Convention and the Agreement, Aware of the importance of the effective implementation of the Convention and its uniform and consistent application, as well as of the growing need to promote and facilitate international cooperation on the law of the sea and ocean affairs at the global, regional and subregional levels, Recognizing the impact on States of the entry into force of the Convention and the increasing need, particularly of developing States, for advice and assistance in its implementation in order to benefit thereunder, Recalling the provisions of Part XV of the Convention establishing a comprehensive dispute settlement system and article 287 regarding the choice of means for the settlement of disputes, Recalling also the establishment of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ("the Tribunal")4 in accordance with Annex VI to the Convention as a new means for the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention and the Agreement, Welcoming the establishment of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ("the Commission") during the sixth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention,5 Noting the progress in the work of the Commission during its first6 and second7 sessions, held in June and September 1997, on developing its rules of procedure and its modus operandi, Recalling that the institutions established by the Convention shall be cost-effective, 3 Resolution 48/263, annex. 4 SPLOS/14, chap. III. 5 SPLOS/20, chap. III. 6 CLCS/1. 7 CLCS/4. /...