Recent development in the field of international liability regimes to tackle environmental risks

The polluter-pays principle requires States to take any actions that may be necessary to ensure that polluters bear the full environmental and social costs of their activities. One step to implement this principle is the development of regulations on environmental Civil Liability. The adoption of the UN-ECE Protocol on Civil Liability and Compensation for Damage caused by the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents on Transboundary Waters (Kiev Protocol) in May 2003 was the result of a three-year negotiation process undertaken in the aftermath of the Baia Mare accident in Romania. The accident caused transboundary water pollution in the downstream countries Hungary and Yugoslavia. Owing to the absence of applicable liability rules, no compensation was ever paid for the damage caused by the pollution. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety mandates the Parties to establish rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress. Here there is likely to be a longer negotiation process before an agreed regime on liability and redress for damage arising from the use of living modified organisms (LMOs) becomes available, owing to the complexity and the particularities of gene technology.