Book Review: Liability for Transboundary Pollution at the Intersection of Public and Private International Law (Hart Monographs in Transnational and International Law)

Abstract

Although liability for transboundary pollution has been discussed widely and contentiously, the connection and intersection between how Public International Law (hereafter PubIL) and Private International Law (hereafter PrIL) address civil liability for transboundary pollution remain poorly understood. This book engages and provides a meaningful dialogue between these two fields, offering a unique perspective for the study of transboundary environmental disputes. It uses Canadian PrIL as a case study and relies on a variety of sources and instruments from European countries. Reassessing the relevance of earlier debates on transboundary pollution to the rise of human rights discourse, the book focuses on the private law aspects of environmental liability and examines how domestic PrIL reflects policies developed in international environmental law. Its real aim is to examine precisely how PrIL and its regulatory function fit into the current landscape of international environmental law (p. 21). Under international law, states are obligated to ensure Prompt and Adequate Compensation (the Compensation) to victims of transboundary pollution, through measures such as assuming liabilities or providing civil remedies. Although treaty-based civil liability regimes are difficult to implement because of conflicting state interests, PrIL may address the gap by helping victims to pursue claims against transboundary polluters. This first part of the book (chapter 1 and chapter 2) demonstrates that the journey from early work on state responsibility to increased treaty-making in the area of civil liability has not been entirely successful, but the effort of which provides the International Law Commission (ILC) with enough precedents to settle on a promising way forward (p. 76). Chapter 1 introduces and explores the concept of responsibility and liability in international environmental law, paving the way for the proliferation of civil liability regimes and the development of an obligation to ensure Compensation, and thus assesses the scope and content of that obligation. Guillaume argues that it is reasonable for international law to turn to civil liability as the main method to deal with transboundary pollution compensation. States can ensure the availability of compensation for transboundary pollution through non-treaty solutions that provide the necessary conditions for civil actions by strengthening domestic liability regimes. Domestic liability regimes, in turn, can only be effective if appropriate PrIL rules are in place because Book Reviews