Common heritage of humanity

[3] Conceptually, the common heritage arose in response to the Roman civil law principle of res communis, which described items or areas that anyone could access or use, but none could own.

[10] In his book titled Cries of the Sea: World Inequality, Sustainable Development and the Common Heritage of Humanity, Payoyo argues that the common heritage of humanity principle in Part XI of the Law of the Sea Treaty should favour developing states who were the voice of conscience in establishing it, and not merely in some transient 'affirmative action' manner.

[11] He claims, however, that the 1994 Implementation Agreement facilitated control by industrialised countries of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), allowing access by the private sector to the deep sea bed and inhibiting constructive dialogue on sustainable development.

[12] In July 2024, during the International Seabed Authority’s 29th General Assembly, Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr., in his address entitled Upholding the Common Heritage of Humankind," emphasized the importance of safeguarding the ocean from exploitation and modern-day colonialism.

Justice Lionel Murphy wrote in that case (Commonwealth v Tasmania) about the Common Heritage of Humanity principle: "The preservation of the world's heritage must not be looked at in isolation but as part of the co-operation between nations which is calculated to achieve intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind and so reinforce the bonds between people which promote peace and displace those of narrow nationalism and alienation which promote war ... [t]he encouragement of people to think internationally, to regard the culture of their own country as part of world culture, to conceive a physical, spiritual and intellectual world heritage, is important in the endeavour to avoid the destruction of humanity.

To that end, they should avoid exposing future generations to the harmful consequences of armed conflicts as well as all other forms of aggression and use of weapons, contrary to humanitarian principles.

It was argued at the World Summit on the Information Society and has been advocated by academics that global communication between individuals over the internet should be regarded as part of the Common Heritage of Mankind.

[30] Kemal Baslar has stated that the Common Heritage of Mankind principle "is a philosophical idea that questions the regimes of globally important resources regardless of their situation, and requires major changes in the world to apply its provisions.

[32][33] The article critically analyzes a dilemma in which multiple individuals, acting independently after rationally consulting self-interest, ultimately destroy a shared limited resource even when each acknowledges that outcome is not in anyone's long-term interest.

[34] Hardin's views have been noted by scholars and policy-makers supporting privatization of common spaces and suggesting economic rationalism on such social and ecosystems.

[19] As world oil, coal and mineral reserves are depleted there will be increasing pressure to commercially exploit Common Heritage of Mankind areas.