Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Questions and research tasks
1 What is your overall view of the law of state responsibility in cases of envi-
ronmental damage? Would a different framework of legal responsibility be
better? What might it look like?
2 Find a few treaties based on strict liability and think about the meaning
of strict liability. Do the treaties have any other function besides imposing
compensation for innocent injured parties? If so, what is the function?
3 Why is it increasingly common to demand that the states bearing the great-
est responsibility for climate change should be made legally responsible?
Are such efforts realistic? What are their strengths and their weaknesses?
4 Increasingly, individuals and groups are using human rights mechanisms to
address environmental issues, including climate change. Do you think this is
a positive development? What advantages and disadvantages can you see in
relying on individuals to bring such claims, rather than states bringing claims
against one another? Can you imagine any benefi ts of bringing such an action
even if the case is ultimately rejected by the court or human rights body?
5 Should a 'global fund' for climate change damage be established by the
UN to compensate the inhabitants of islands such as Tuvalu and Palau?
Which states should contribute and how would it be administered?
Notes
1
Similarly disputed is a state's right to launch an
actio popularis
(an action on behalf of
everyone), for instance against a state that has caused widespread pollution of seas
and the atmosphere.
2
The only generally applicable liability agreement resembling the Commission's
principles was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1993. It is the highly innova-
tive Convention on Civil Liability for Damage resulting from Activities Dangerous
to the Environment. However, it has not yet been ratifi ed by any state and it will
probably never enter into force.
3
Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris
4
International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage,
http://
www.admiraltylawguide.com/conven/civilpol1969.html
. The Convention has
been amended a couple of times and was renewed in 1992.
5
International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Com-
pensation for Oil Pollution Damage,
http://www.imo.org/about/conventions/
6
Protocol of 1992 to Amend the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil
Pollution Damage,
http://www.imo.org/about/conventions/listofconventions/pages/
7
Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage,
http://www.
8
The Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects en-
tered into force in 1972;
http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/SpaceLaw/liability.html
9
Basel Protocol on Liability and Compensation for Damage Resulting from
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal Basel,
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