Ssignment Opic: This Assignment Report Is A Partial Fulfillment of Course "Admiralty & Maritime Law"
Ssignment Opic: This Assignment Report Is A Partial Fulfillment of Course "Admiralty & Maritime Law"
Ssignment Opic: This Assignment Report Is A Partial Fulfillment of Course "Admiralty & Maritime Law"
This assignment report is a partial fulfillment of course Admiralty & Maritime Law
Submitted To,
Hillol Shaha
Lecturer
Department of Law
Submitted By,
Tasmia Iislam
LLM (1st Semester)
ID: 1501720101090
Date of Submission
_ _ _ December, 2015
_ _ _ December, 2015
Hillol Shaha
Lecturer, Department of Law
Premier University, Chittagong
Subject:
Dear Sir,
This is to inform you that I have completed my assignment report on How Far
International Instrument is Effective to Prevent Marine Environmental Pollution. This
assignment report was assigned to me as a partial requirement of the Admiralty &
Maritime Law course in LLM, first semester.
Here I tried my best to evaluate the effectiveness of international instruments to prevent
marine environmental pollution.
I have tried sincerely to comprehend and translate my knowledge in writing this
assignment report. I enjoyed this study & project work and gladly attend any of your calls
to clarify points, if necessary.
In preparing this report I have followed the instructions of yours. I will be glad to clarify
any discrepancy that may arise.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Tasmia Iislam
LLM (1st Semester)
ID: 1501720101090
Premier University, Chittagong
At the beginning I would like to convey my sincere appreciation to the almighty Allah for
giving me the strength & the ability to finish the task within the planned time. This
assignment report is an accumulation of many peoples endeavor. So I would like to expressly
sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed towards preparing & making this successfully.
First of all, I would like to express my Sincere & Immense gratitude to my course teacher Mr.
Hillol Shaha, Lecturer, Department of Law, Premier University, Chittagong. I am deeply
indebted to him for whole hearted supervision to me during the study period. His valuable
suggestion & guideline helped us a lot to prepare the report in a well-organized manner.
Tasmia Iislam
LLM (1st Semester)
ID: 1501720101090
Premier University, Chittagong
As natural resources come under increasing pressure around the world, national
governments, international agencies, communities and businesses are increasingly called
upon to address environmental problems. However, continual budget constraints and
institutional weaknesses often make it difficult to achieve the necessary levels of
environmental protection.
International instruments make use of market mechanisms and provide one important
approach to address this challenge. They encompass a broad array of policy tools, ranging
from pollution taxes and marketable permits to deposit-refund systems and performance
bonds. International instruments are applied across a similarly wide-ranging set
of policy sectors, including land, water and air management, and control or reduction of
pollutants. They either drive up the cost of environmentally harmful activities or increase
the returns from sustainable approaches, thereby creating economic incentives to behave
in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable manner.
Finally, this report seeks to help policy makers, especially in the developing world, to
identify, evaluate and apply international instruments to address a country's
environmental problems within its national and local circumstances. It presents an
innovative approach by offering tools for a comprehensive assessment of the country
context and conditions and by tailoring solutions to the specific country needs. The report
also provides practical guidance on identifying when economic instruments may be most
appropriate, and on strengthening the support framework needed to introduce them.
NAME
Page no
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CHAPTER - 01
Introduction
CHAPTER - 02
CHAPTER - 03
CHAPTER - 04
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9
CHAPTER - 05
Prevention
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CHAPTER - 06
12
Bibliography
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Threats to human health and environmental quality continue to grow worldwide. Patterns of
industrial production, as well as the use of natural and land resources, are important
contributing factors. While environmental problems vary in their details, they generally
involve either overuse of a natural resource or emission of damaging pollutants.
Transitioning to more sustainable use patterns is both difficult and expensive even under
optimum conditions. Developing countries face the added challenges of severe funding
constraints, weak institutional capacity, and a dependence on environmental and natural
resources for economic development.
1.5 Methodology
This study is based on secondary data. Secondary data collected by the following waysMethodology
Study
Information
Data collection
Data Analysis
Personal Evaluation
How Far International Instrument is Effective to Prevent Marine
Environmental Pollution
Journals, Publications, international conferences.
Qualitative
Quantitative
UN websites & publications.
In-depth study on international instruments &
Primary data
effectiveness to prevent marine environmental
pollution.
Secondary information Websites, online articles.
Qualitative content analysis
1.6 Limitations
The present study was not out of limitations. But it was a great opportunity for me to know about
international instruments & effectiveness to prevent marine environmental pollution. Some
constraints are as follows:
The main constraints of the dissertation are inadequate access to information, which has
hampered the scope of analysis required for the dissertation.
Due to time limitations many of the aspects could not be discussed in the dissertation.
Lack of current information.
Because of time shortage many related area cannot be focused in depth.
Recent data and information on different activities was unavailable.
I was short in hands.
Lack of the part of experience of the researchers.
Unconfirmed accuracy of certain information acquired.
Lack of information from the primary source.
The evaluation may not be effective enough.
CHAPTER 2
the introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine
environment, including estuaries, which results or is likely to result in such deleterious
effects as harm to living resources and marine life, hazards to human health, hindrance
to marine activities, including fishing and other legitimate uses of the sea, impairment of
quality for use of sea water and reduction of amenities.
The 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships as amended by the
1978 Protocol [MARPOL] defines vessel-sourced pollution incidents as:
An event involving the actual or probable discharge into the sea of a harmful
substance, or effluents containing such substances.
In principle, vessel-sourced pollution comprises all categories of pollutants originating from all
types of vessels engaged in navigation or transportation. This term extends to pollution wherever
it may occur affecting the marine environment of whichever section of the oceans and seas.
Accidental pollution by oil when carried as cargo is still believed to be the most common
pollutant originating from ships. According to International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation
Limited (ITOPF), the number of oil spills caused by tankers has decreased dramatically since the
1970s when the annual average of spills was 25.2, in comparison to 3.8 spills average in the
period revising 2000-2004.
Despite the decrease in the number of incidents, their severity, however, remains alarming when
considering the quantities of oil spilt.12 Moreover, contrary to general perception, the greatest
threat of ecological harm from ships comes from operational discharges, and in particular the
illegal discharge of oil through routine operations. The 2003 OECD Report indicates that:
The illegal discharge of oil into the sea through routine operations is equal
to over eight times the Exxon Valdez oil spill or over 48 times the 1997
Nakhodka spill off the coast of Japan - every year.
Aside from oil, seaborne transport of hazardous substances carried in packaged forms, or
noxious liquid chemicals carried in bulk, also have the potential for environmental catastrophe.
The IMO warns that over 50 percent of goods carried in dry cargo ships, including chemical
tankers, are potentially dangerous. Though rare, accidents involving nuclear ships or ships
carrying radioactive matter also still occur.
In addition, it was only in the past 15 years that the scientific community managed to persuade
States and maritime related industries to address the serious detrimental effects of ballast waters
released in pristine marine eco-systems, the dumping of sewage and garbage from ships, and the
harmful characteristics of certain substances used as anti-fouling systems for ships hulls.17 It is
also important to note that the dumping of waste at sea18 and atmospheric pollution19 fall
outside the notion of vessel sourced pollution and will not therefore be examined here.
Pollution by ships must also be distinguished from marine pollution caused by seabed activities
and land-based sources. Still, where an incident is such that it was caused by a
This assignment report has been prepared by Tasmia Islam
vessel that was not engaged in the activities in the Area as defined in UNCLOS,
in particular that of exploration and exploitation of the seabed and the subsoil, such incidents are
taken into account.
CHAPTER 3
Pollution by Oil
Apart from the abovementioned treaties, a number of other international agreements and
supplementary legal instruments have been negotiated regarding tanker oil pollution. None of
these establish liability and compensation regimes:
1969 International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil
Pollution Casualties [1969 Intervention Convention];
1990 International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation [OPRC 1990];
Annex I to MARPOL.
Pollution by nuclear ships is effectively left unregulated given that the sole instrument governing
such incidents is the 1962 Nuclear Ships Convention that has never come into force. On the one
hand, nuclear incident occurring during transboundary transport of radioactive substances is
extensively regulated under domestic law, and a number of treaties and other soft law
international instruments.
establishes uniform rules on limitation of liability for maritime claims as a general category, thus
possibly including claims for environmental damage pursuant to vessel-sourced pollution.
CHAPTER 4
Table 1 also indicates whether an MMEA is in force or not, the number of its State parties, and
the percentage of the world fleet that it is representative of.
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CHAPTER 5
PREVENTION
International liability and compensation regimes contribute to pollution prevention given that
they attribute harmful consequences for inflicted environmental harm to the polluter. Liability in
general is designed as one of the many subsidiary means of deterrence. Strict liability as
envisaged in the international maritime liability and compensation schemes, is not a strong
deterrent given that its primary focus is placed on providing compensation, rather than
punishing/deterring the polluter. It is the amount of damages awarded on account of pollution
damage, which determines the potentially preventive effect.
Liability holds greater importance in pollution prevention when damage is the result of
someones negligence or intent, rather than being purely accidental. But even in this case, only
when the liability is defined as unlimited, or when the set limits go beyond the threshold of
reasonableness, can preventive effect of fault liability be significant. Limits of strict liability are
presently at an inadequate level so as to deter polluters.
Prevention through liability and the award of damages would best be achieved
by punitive damages in cases when the polluter acted with intent and malice in
causing environmental harm. Punitive damages would be particularly effective
when attributed solely based on the violation of an environmental obligation, or the threat of
environmental harm, regardless of whether injurious consequences occurred or not.
Similarly, it is not the international liability and compensation regimes that will ever assume the
role, or be the most effective deterrents.
The central role lies with regulatory mechanisms, and maximizing cooperation between States, in
particular capacity building and technical assistance to developing States and States in transition.
Domestic environmental liability regimes, and in some cases regional ones, will have a stronger
deterrent component as they often employ instruments such as unlimited fault liability, imposing
of punitive damages, and in case of the EU, even criminal liability for vessel-sourced pollution.
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CHAPTER 6
6.3 Conclusion
his study has demonstrated that the present formula of strict liability plus reasonable
compensation in relation to marine environmental pollution, suffers many shortcomings
resulting in the complete lack of regulatory response regarding certain types of pollution
incidents, the delayed coming into force of the negotiated treaties, and the incompleteness of the
international regimes which are in force.
12
Regimes in relation to highly hazardous activities have been established, and out of those only
the tanker oil pollution regime is enforced successfully.
The number of negotiated treaties that are not implemented or complied with reveals the
inconsistency between actual States positions concerning international liability for
environmental harm and the attitudes expressed in the negotiated and adopted international
agreements. This study questioned international civil liability as the most appropriate means by
which to keep raising the bar when it comes to the level of compensation available concerning
pure environmental damage.
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Bibliography
Websites
For the status of the Ballast Water Convention, see the IMO:
<www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D12617/status.xls>
(Accessed on: 06.12.2015)
IOPC Funds Annual Report 2004:
<www.iopcfund.org/npdf/AR2003English.pdf>
(Accessed on: 06.12.2015)
the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for
Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage
<wwww.iopcfunds.org> (Accessed on: 06.12.2015)
UNCLOS,
art. 236; MARPOL, art. 3(3); see also 1926 International convention for the
unification of certain rules concerning the immunity of state-owned ships, with the Protocol of 24
May 1934, 176 LNTS 199, (in force 8 January 1937).
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