Responsibility and Liability in the Context of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes by Sea

Transcription

1 Jan Albers Responsibility and Liability in the Context of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes by Sea Existing Rules and the 1999 Liability Protocol to the Basel Convention ^ Springer

2 Contents C h ap ter 1: I n t r o d u c t io n... A. The Factual Perspective: Transboundary M ovements of Hazardous W astes by S e a... B. The Legal Perspective: Existing Rules and the 1999 Liability Protocol to the Basel C onvention... C. The Structure of This B ook C h ap ter 2: T he In ternational T rade in H azardous W astes and Its E conom ic B a ck g ro u n d... A. Hazardous W astes: Properties and Econom ic Importance... I. Sources and Com position of Hazardous W a ste s... II. Volumes of Generated Hazardous W a ste s... III. Forms of W aste Treatm ent and D isposal... IV. The Com mercial Value of Hazardous W a s te s... V. Sum m ary... B. The Transboundary M ovement of W a ste s... I. Reasons for the Em ergence of Hazardous W aste M o v e m en ts... II. Q uantities and Typical Patterns of Hazardous W astes M ovem ents... III. The Involvem ent of W aste Brokers and W aste Dealers. IV. Illegal Traffic and Shipments O ff the Official Path... V. Sum m ary... C. The Interests In v o lv e d... I. Private P a rtie s... II. State I n te re s ts... III. Hazardous W aste Trade as Environm ental R acism?. IV. Sum m ary... D. The Risk Potential o f Hazardous W aste M ovem ents I IX

3 X C ontent.s C h a p te r 3: T he P resen t Legal F ra m e w o rk A. The Legal Concept of International R esponsibility I. The Principle of State Responsibility for Internationally W rongful A c ts II. Is There a Need for A utonomous Rules on State Liability for Lawful but Injurious A ctivities? False Cases of Liability Sine D elicto (a) The General A p p ro a c h (aa) O bligations o f Conduct and O bligations of Result (bb) Distinction Between Legal Acts and Factual A ctivities (cc) Im plications for the Application of Stale R esponsibility (b) Further Enhancements of this A p p ro a c h (aa) Equation of Activities and Its C onsequences fbb) A Com prehensive Obligation to Prevent D a m a g e (c) S um m ary True Cases of Liability Sine D elicto (a) Explicit Rules of State L ia b ility (b) Recognition as a General Principle of International L a w? (c) Implications of the Non-existence of a General Principle of State L ia b ility The Relationship Between Both C oncepts III. The Importance of Civil Liability C o n v e n tio n s B. The Contribution of the International Law C o m m issio n I. State R e sp o n sib ility II. State L ia b ility C. State Responsibility in the Context of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous W astes by S e a I. Explicit Provisions of State Responsibility in International Treaty L a w The Basel Convention (a) Article (b) Article (c) Article (d) S um m ary Other Conventions Relevant to the Trade in and Transport of Hazardous W a s te s... 68

4 C o n te n ts x) 3. The Law of the Sea Convention (U N C L O S ) Other Conventions Relevant to the Protection of the Marine E nvironm ent Summar y II. The Customary Principle of State R esponsibility Act of the S ta te (a) Slate Organs and Persons Empowered by the S ta te (b) Persons in Fact Acting for the S ta te (c) Conduct Ultra V ir e s (d) Interstate A ttribution (e) Persons Solely Acting in Private C apacity (f) S um m ary Breach o f an International O bligation (a) Requirements in G e n e ra l (aa) Relevance of the Respective Primary O b lig a tio n (bb) A General Requirement of D a m a g e? (cc) A General Requirement of F a u lt? (dd) Due Diligence as the Relevant Standard of B ehaviour (b) Obligations Arising from International C onventions (aa) The Basel C o n v e n tio n (1) Background and Basic Legal Features o f the Convention (2) Obligations Imposed on S tates (i) General Obligation: M inimisation of G eneration and Transportation of Hazardous W a ste s (ii) First Tier: Absolute Trade R estrictions (iii) Second Tier: Environmentally Sound M anagem ent (iv) Third Tier: Prior Informed Consent P rin c ip le (v) Further Obligations Imposed by the Basel C o n v e n tio n (3) The Application of the Basel Convention to End-of-Life S h ip s 104 (i) The D ism antling of End-of-Life S h ip s

5 xii C ontents (ii) The Definition of W aste 105 (iii) Simultaneity of Ship and W aste? (4) Sum m ary (bb) Other Conventions and Regulations Relevant to the Trade in and Transport of Hazardous W a ste s... I l l (1) The Bamako C onvention... I l l (i) Background of the C onvention... I l l (ii) The O bligations Imposed by the C onvention (iii) S u m m a ry (2) The W aigani C onvention (3) The Cotonou A greem ent (4) OECD Council D e c isio n s (5) European Union L e g is la tio n (cc) The Law of the Sea C o n v e n tio n (1) Background and Basic Legal Features of the Convention (2) Obligations Imposed on S tate s (i) The Obligation to Protect and Preserve the M arine Environm ent, A rticles 192, 194(1) (ii) The Obligation to Prevent Transboundary Pollution to the M arine Environm ent, Article 1 94(2) (iii) Further O b lig a tio n s (3) Sum m ary (dd) Further Conventions Relevant to the Protection of the M arine E n v iro n m en t 131 (1) MARPOL 73/78 C o n v en tio n (2) OPRC C o n v e n tio n (3) London Dumping C o n v e n tio n (4) The UNEP Regional Seas P ro g ram m e (i) Regional Seas C onventions 136 (ii) The 1996 Izm ir Protocol to the B arcelona C onvention (iii) The 1998 Tehran Protocol to the Kuwait C onvention 140

6 C ontents xiii (es) Conventions Relevant to the Trade and Transport o f Hazardous Substances fl) Rotterdam P IC -C onvention (2) Stockholm POPs C onvention (3) Hong Kong C o n v e n tio n (4) Agreem ents and Conventions Concerning the Safe Transport and Handling of Dangerous Goods (c) Obligations Arising from General International L a w (aa) The Obligation not to Cause Significant Harm to the Environm ent of Another Stale s T e rrito ry (1) Recognition in International L a w 145 fi) The Origin o f this O bligation (ii) Exception from the Prevalence of Territorial Integrity in Case of Insignificant H arm (2) The Content of this O bligation (i) Geographical S co p e (ii) Prohibitive and Preventive E le m e n ts (iii) Legal C haracter (3) The Burden of Proof (4) Application to Transboundary M ovements of Hazardous W astes by S e a fbb) The O bligation to Protect and Preserve the M arine Environm ent (d) Circumstances Precluding W ro ngfulness (e) S um m ary Legal C onsequences (a) Continuation of the Prim ary O bligation (b) R eparation (aa) Causal L i n k (bb) Forms of R e p a ra tio n (c) Invocation by the Injured S tate (d) Serious Breaches o f Peremptory O b lig a tio n s Jurisdictional I s s u e s III. Summary: State Responsibility

7 xiv C ontents D. Existing Civil Liability C onventions I Protocol to the Basel C onvention... i Evolution of the P ro to c o l Legal Objectives and Main C o n te n t II. 1996/2010 HNS C o n v e n tio n The Evolution of the 1996 HNS Convention and Its Main C o n te n t Perceived D eficiencies and Obstacles to Ratification (a) Contribution o f Packaged Cargo to the HNS F u n d (b) Contributions o f the LNG A cco u n t (c) Non-submission of Contributing Cargo Reports (d) C onclusion The 2010 Protocol to the HNS Convention and Further D ev e lo p m e n t III. Further Civil Liability C o n v e n tio n s Liability for Oil Pollution from S h ip s Liability for Nuclear D a m a g e Liability for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by L a n d Other Civil Liability C o n v e n tio n s IV. Regional Civil Liability R egulations Lugano C o n v e n tio n EU Environmental Liability D irective V. The LLMC Convention VI. Sum m ary E. Relationship Between Civil Liability Conventions and the Principle of Slate R esponsibility F. Summary: Responsibility and Liability de lege la ta C h apter 4: A ttem pting an In terim C onclusion: P reconditions for an Effective Legal Regim e on L iability an d C o m p e n s a tio n 193 A. Necessity of a Regime o f Liability and C o m p en satio n I. Insufficiency of Non-financially Oriented Treaty Com pliance M echanism s II. Liability Rules as a Remedy for Environm ental D am age B. The Appropriate Form of L iab ility I. National, Regional or Global A pproach? II. Slate Liability or Civil L iab ility? C. Limitations Set by Other Areas of L a w D. S u m m a ry

8 C o n te n ts xv C h a p te r 5: T he 1999 Basel Protocol on L iability and C o m p en satio n A. The Regulatory Content of the Basel P rotocol I. Scope of A p p lic a tio n Transboundary M ovements of Hazardous W astes and Other W astes (a) W astes Subject to the Basel P ro to c o l (aa) Hazardous W a ste s (1) Autonomous D efinition (2) National D efin itio n s (bb) Other W astes (cc) W astes Excluded from the Scope of the P ro to c o l (b) Transboundary M ovements and Other Activities Covered by the P ro to c o l (aa) Transboundary M ovem ent (bb) Other A ctivities Incidents Covered by the Basel P rotocol (a) Terminological Scope of Incidents (b) Geographical and Tem poral Coverage of In c id e n ts Damage Covered by the P rotocol (a) Terminological Scope of D am age (aa) Personal Damage and Damage to P ro p e rty (bb) Loss of In c o m e (cc) M easures o f Reinstatem ent and Preventive M e a s u re s (1) D e fin itio n s (2) D istinction from Salvage R e m u n e ra tio n (dd) Purely Ecological D a m a g e (g) Geographical Scope of Covered D am age Sum m ary II. Relationship to Other Civil Liability R eg im es Requirements in G eneral (a) Article 3(7) of the P ro to c o l (aa) Legal R equirem ents (bb) Objections Raised A gainst This Provision (b) Article 11 of the P ro to c o l (aa) Difficulties Related to the Dual Coverage of M ovem ents

9 xvi C o n te n ts (bb) M eaning of Portion of a Transboundary M ovem ent (cc) Insufficiency of the Formal C rite rio n Relationship to Single Civil Liability In s tru m e n ts 234 (a) Relationship to the HNS C onvention (b) Relationship to the CRTD C o n v e n tio n (c) Relationship to the Civil Liability Convention (d) Relationship to O ther Regim es of Liability and Com pensation in the Field of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous W a ste s (e) Relationship to the OECD and EU R egulations (f) Relationship to Regimes of Liability for Cargo D a m a g e (g) Relationship to the LLM C C o n v e n tio n Sum m ary III. The Liability Regime of the Basel Protocol The Basic Concept of Liability of the Basel P ro to co l (a) The Concept of Com bining Strict and Fault-Based L iability (b) No Subsidiary Liability of the S t a t e (c) Com mon but D ifferentiated Civil L iab ilities? Strict Liability According to Article (a) The Approach of Channelling Strict Liability According to Spheres of R esponsibility (b) A llocation of Strict Liability U nder the Basel Protocol (aa) The Regulation in D e ta il (bb) The Tem poral Break W hen Liability Shifts to the D isposer (cc) N on-establishm ent of a G eneral Secondary Liability of the G enerator (dd) Liability of the G enerator for A ftercare O p e ra tio n s (c) Exceptions to Strict L ia b ility (aa) Article 4 (5 ) (bb) Article 6 (2 ) Fault-Based Liability According to Article The Requirement of a Causal L in k (a) Differences Between Strict and Fault-Based L iability (b) Com bined Causes o f Damage, Article Contributory Fault, Article Right of Recourse, Article Sum m ary

10 C ontents xvii IV. The Regim e of Limitation o f L ia b ility Financial Limitation of L ia b ility (a) Potential Conflicts with the LLMC Convention (b) The Legal Arrangement of Lim itation of Liability (c) Practical Im p lic atio n s (d) Procedural I s s u e s (e) Revision of the Financial Limits Established by Annex B (f) S um m ary Tem poral Limitation of L ia b ility V. Further Financial Instruments Im plem ented by the Basel P ro to c o l Compulsory Insurance or Sim ilar G uarantees The Non-establishm ent of a Com pensation F u n d 282 (a) The Need for an Additional Financial In stru m en t (b) The Utilisation of the Technical Cooperation Trust F u n d (c) Interim Solution Insufficient Only upon Entry into Force of the Basel P ro to col VI. Rules of P ro ced u res Rules on Com petent C ourts Rules on the Applicable Law Mutual Recognition and Enforcem ent of Judgm ents VII. Overview of the Protocol s Final C la u se s B. Excursus: The Cases of the M/V Khian Sea and the M/V Probo Koala C. An Assessment of the Basel P ro to co l I. Summary of the M ajor Achievem ents and the M ajor Defects of the Basel P ro to c o l II. Reasons for the Protocol s not Entering into Force Lack o f Political Incentive to Ratify the Basel P ro to c o l Shortcomings of the Protocol and Obstacles for Im plem entation Sum m ary III. Consequences of the Protocol s not Entering into Force C h apter 6: C onclu din g S u m m a ry

11 xviii C ontent's A p pendix I: T ext o f the B asel C onven tion (E x c e r p ts)... 3l 1 A p pendix II: T ext o f the Basel P ro to co l... 3]9 B ib lio g ra p h y T able o f C ases ? T able o f International C onventions and A greem en ts, O E C D, EU and O ther L egal In stru m en ts A bout the International M ax P lan ck R esearch School for M aritim e A ffairs at the U niversity o f H a m b u r g