Article 16 of the 1991 Environment Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty requires member countries to negotiate an annex on comprehensive liability for harm to the Antarctic environment. This obligation was never popular with a number of governments, including the US, Russia and Japan. Hence, it took until 2005 to agree on a liability annex, which is rooted in Article 15 on emergency response action and is not comprehensive. The past few years a New Zealand diplomat, Don McKay, has had the task of chairing this negotiation to its conclusion at the XXVIII Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Stockholm.
The papers in this section of the website include an analysis of the new Liability Annex by ASOC attorneys; the Chairman's report of the last intersessional negotiation in April, which set the stage for agreement in Stockholml ASOC Information papers on some of the issues that were submitted to the Treaty Parties in 2002; the special issue of ECO welcoming the new liability regime published at the 2005 ATCM; and an ECO article published at the 2003 ATCM.
Selected Liability Regime Documents:
Liability Regime Summary (ASOC occasional paper, August 2005)
A LIABILITY ANNEX IN STOCKHOLM (Well done the Kiwis) (ECO Newsletter, XXVIII ATCM, 2005)
Chairman's Report on Liability Negotiations (IP 109 to XXVIII ATCM, 2005)
On Worst Case Scenarios (ASOC Information paper to XXV ATCM, 2002)
Liability (ASOC Information Paper to XXV ATCM, 2002)
Liability Annex: Finish It! (ECO Newsletter, XXVI ATCM, 2003)
Liability Arising from Environmental Emergencies (Chairman's Draft Working Paper to XXV ATCM, 2002)
Liability Arising from Environmental Emergencies (Revised Charman's Draft Information Paper to XXVII ATCM, 2004)
For More Information on ASOC's Liability views, please contact:
In Europe: Jim Barnes jimbo0826@mac.com or Ricardo Roura ricardo.roura@worldonline.nl
In Australia/Pacific/Asia: Alan Hemmings alan.d.hemmings@bigpond.com
In the US: David Bederman lawdjb@law.emory.edu
For any other questions or document requests, contact the ASOC Secretariat.