Abstract
This chapter aims to analyze international legal regimes governing utilization of natural resources located in areas recognized as res communis omnium, to demonstrate an important paradigm shift from the national interest-driven approach to the global interest-driven regime reflecting cosmopolitan ideas. Special attention is given to the regime governing deep seabed mining created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
This regime represents the most cosmopolitan regime ever established. Natural resources located on the deep seabed have been declared the common heritage of mankind, and their exploration and exploitation shall be either carried out or controlled by the International Seabed Authority - a body representing mankind as a whole.
We argue that an ownership of natural resources located in the deep seabed vested in mankind constitutes an important step in the materialization of cosmopolitan ideas.