The responsibility issue in international environmental law

Abstract

The article considers the peculiarities of the institute of liability in international environmental law. The author examines the issue of international responsibility and liability of states and private entities; criminal and civil liability; fault-based and strict liability in the realm of environmental protection.

The author makes a conclusion that the issue of international liability and re- sponsibility is poorly elaborated in modern internatinal law literature. Though no one international court or tribunal had ever ruled on the individual criminal re- sponsibility for environmental crime, international legal documents do envisage such a possibility. The most efficient way to compensate for environmental harm nowadays is to realize legal rules on absolute/strict/objective responsibility.

The article also considers the results of work of the UN International Law Com- mission on the issue of transboundary harm prevention and allocation of loss in the case of transboundary harm arising out of hazardous activities. The author stresses that the first task is to prevent harm by realizing the principle of «due diligence» and the second one is to punish the guilty for having caused environmental harm and damage. These scheme will show the real effectiveness of international environ- mental law.