State responsibility and private civil liability for oil pollution

Abstract

This thesis is inspired by the present day international awareness of the need of protecting the global environment of, what by many is considered as, a sick world. Thus the Introduction gives a historical perspective of the significant steps taken by multilateral bodies, such as the United Nations, towards the creation of Environmental Law, so that now acts of pollution are considered as violative of the individual's Human Rights. Chapter One then discusses the principle of State Responsibility as propounded by different writers and by the International Law Commission. The two main ideas about this topic are (i) that State Responsibility is the duty to make reparation for any damage caused, (ii) that State Responsibility arises even out of general principles of law and equity and out of the principle of good neighbourliness, i.e. even without there being an actual breach of obligation. The subject dealt with herein is that of civil liability for oil pollution from ships and the different ways in which a victim of oil pollution damage may be compensated. In this regard two important international Conventions of the IMO are discussed. Chapter Two deals with the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage of 1969, and its three amending Protocols of 1976, 1984 and 1992 (the latter two are not yet in force). Chapter Three on the other hand discusses the Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage of 1971, as well as its three Protocols of 1976, 1984 and 1992. Again the latter two Protocols have not yet come into force. Since these two Conventions were considerably slow to come about, two voluntary private industry schemes were set up by tanker owners and oil companies. These are in short known as TOY ALOP and CRISTAL and Chapter Four discusses the main provisions of these two agreements, their sphere of application and the way in which they differ from the respective International Conventions. The Conclusion discusses the way in which the principle of State Responsibility is related to the adoption of international conventions, especially those discussed here. A brief look is then given at the obtaining position under Maltese law after ratification of the two Conventions.