Testing limited environmental liability against human rights requirements. IES WORKING PAPER 3/2009

Questions regarding oil spills remain high on the political agenda. Legal scholars, legislators as well as the international, European and national Courts struggle to determine key issues, such as who is to be held liable for oil spills, under which conditions and for which damage. The international regime on oil spills was meant to establish an “equilibrium” between the needs of the victims (being compensated for their harm) and the needs of the economic actors (being able to continue their activities). There is, however, a constantly increasing array of legal scholars’ work that criticizes the regime. Indeed, the victims of a recent oil spill, the Erika, have tried to escape the international regime on oil spills and to rely instead on the provisions of national criminal law or EC waste legislation. In parallel, the EC legislator has questioned the sufficiency of the international regime, as it has started preparing legislative acts of its own. One can in fact wonder whether challenging the international liability regime with the European Convention on Human Rights could prove to be a way forward, both for the EC regulators as well as the victims of oil spills. This paper claims that the right to property, as enshrined in Article P1-1 of the Human Rights Convention, could be used to challenge the limited environmental liability provisions of the international frameworks.

An EU mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights. CEPS Paper in Liberty and Security in Europe No. 91/April 2016 Thursday, 21 April 2016

The European Union is founded on a set of common principles of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights, as enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union. Whereas future Member States are vetted for their compliance with these values before they accede to the Union, no similar method exists to supervise adherence to these foundational principles after accession. EU history proved that this ‘Copenhagen dilemma’ was far from theoretical. EU Member State governments’ adherence to foundational EU values cannot be taken for granted. Violations may happen in individual cases, or in a systemic way, which may go as far as overthrowing the rule of law. Against this background the European Parliament initiated a Legislative Own-Initiative Report on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights and proposed among others a Scoreboard on the basis of common and objective indicators by which foundational values can be measured. This Research Paper assesses the need and possibilities for the establishment of an EU Scoreboard, as well as its related social, economic, legal and political ‘costs and benefits’.

Human rights in El Salvador [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittees on Human Rights and International Organizations and on Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, first session, July 26, 1983.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 83 H381-89

Human rights in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador : implications for U.S. policy : hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, second session, June 8 and 9, 1976.

Includes bibliographical references.

Review of the United Nations 33d Commission on Human Rights : hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session, May 19, 1977.

Mode of access: Internet.

Human rights in Guatemala : hearing before the Subcommittees on Human Rights and International Organizations and on Inter-American Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, July 30, 1981.

Item 1017-A, 1017-B (microfiche)

Human rights in Haiti : hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, first session, November 18, 1975.

"Report of Senator Edward W. Brooke, 'United States foreign assistance for Haiti', April 1974": p. 73-120.

Human rights in Chile : hearings before the Subcommittees on Inter-American Affairs and on International Organizations and Movements of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-third Congress, second session ...

Subcommittees' names in reverse order in pt. 2.

Religious persecution of the Baha'is in Iran, 1988 [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, June 29, 1988.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 89 H381-15

Recent developments concerning foreign agent harassment of people in the United States [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, April 21, 1988.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 89 H381-53

Human rights in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union : hearing and markup before the Committee on Foreign Affairs and its Subcommittee on International Organizations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, on H. Con. Res. 434, September 16 and 24, 1980.

Item 1017.

U.S. policy in El Salvador : hearings before the Subcommittees on Human Rights and International Organizations and on Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety- eighth Congress, first session ... February 4, 28; March 7, 17, 1983.

Mode of access: Internet.

Human rights in Chile : hearing before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations and On Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, March 20, 1985.

Mode of access: Internet.

Human rights in Romania : hearing before the Subcommittees on Europe and the Middle East and on Human Rights and International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, May 14, 1985.

Mode of access: Internet.

Human rights and the phenomenon of disappearances [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, September 20, 25, and October 18, 1979.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.