ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the law of international responsibility and liability for environmental harm. It notes that there is broad agreement on the principle that states have a responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause environmental damage outside their territory. However, few specific legal rules have been developed to implement this principle effectively. After reviewing the historical development of customary international law governing transboundary harm, the chapter explores the work of the International Law Commission to develop more specific principles. It notes that more specific international civil liability regimes have been established by treaty for particular high-risk activities such as those involving oil, nuclear materials, and space objects. The chapter reviews the European Commission’s directives on environment liability and environmental crime and it discusses private, transnational liability litigation. Although transnational litigation has not been effective in holding extractive industries liable for harm in developing countries, it has subjected multinationals to greater, global public scrutiny.
