Headline: "What if" revisited: Open legal questions in light of the two-year rule at the ISA

The invocation of a treaty provision known as the "two-year rule" at the International Seabed Authority effectively placed a deadline on the Authority to complete the adoption of regulations for exploitation activities within two years, i.e. by 9 July 2023. However, it is not a hard "deadline" and it is likely that the Authority might miss this deadline. In recent months, the member states of the Authority have commenced discussions on what would happen if the deadline is missed (or the "what if scenario"). It follows that missing the deadline will give rise to a host of open legal questions. Building on previous work, this discussion paper attempts to provide some insights and possible interpretations to answer some of those questions.