Transnational operator liability

Betlem, Gerrit (2006) Transnational operator liability. In, Betlem, Gerrit and Brans, Edward (eds.) Environmental Liability in the EU: The 2004 Directive Compared with US and Member State Law. London, UK. Cameron May, pp. 149-188.

Abstract

Environmental Liability in the EU focuses on the 2004 EU Environmental Liability Directive - one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation of the last ten years. The book provides an overview and introduction to the scheme of the Directive and discusses various specific aspects such as its measure of damages, its rules regarding the liability for damage caused by genetically modified organisms and soil pollution, the issue of standing and its relationship with international civil liability conventions that cover environmental harm, in particular the ones dealing with oil pollution. GMO damage is likewise examined against the backdrop of developments at the global level, i.e. the emerging liability regime under the Cartagena Protocol.
Environmental Liability in the EU also addresses the issue of who can be held liable for damage covered by the Directive (operator liability), the available defences and its relation to the general principles of EC Environmental Law, notably the polluter-pays principle and the precautionary principle. Given the fact that the Directive is partly based on US and Member State law, a comparison is made with relevant US federal laws, namely the US Oil Pollution Act and CERCLA, as well as with the law of some Member States (Germany and the United Kingdom). A scientific paper considers, by way of case study, complex questions of proof of causation of (environmental) damage caused by arsenic.

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