International liability for environmental damage

Abstract

Pollution is a transboundary phenomenon that involves the entire international community and has therefore become a global problem. The intensification and diversification of pollution and the degradation of environmental elements have led to international cooperation and surveillance of environmental protection issues at international and national levels. Time has shown that industrial, agricultural and technological activities carried out on the territory of one country can have harmful effects on the territory of another country or on areas that are not under the jurisdiction of any country. This type of cross-border damage has led to theories about state liability and how to remedy these damages. The most well-known case of transboundary pollution is the Chernobyl accident. The Chernobyl accident was the worst in the history of nuclear accidents. Radioactivity reached alarming levels and the harmful consequences went beyond the borders of the USSR. In this case, there was a big difference between theory and practice in the issue of state liability for transboundary environmental damage. The question arose to what extent a State can be liable under international law for environmental damage caused to other States, and what jurisdictional means are available to the State or even to the affected individuals, to invoke the liability of a State for the damage suffered as a consequence of transboundary environmental damage. These questions will be answered throughout the study, becoming the central element of this research theme, around which the entire analyzed issue will revolve.