Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Resulting from Activities Dangerous to the Environment

 

Article 4 — Exceptions

1. This Convention shall not apply to damage arising from carriage;
carriage includes the period from the beginning of the process of loading
until the end of the process of unloading. However, the Convention shall
apply to carriage by pipeline, as well as to carriage performed entirely
in an installation or on a site unaccessible to the public where it is
accessory to other activities and is an integral part thereof.

2. This Convention shall not apply to damage caused by a nuclear
substance:

a arising from a nuclear incident the liability of which is regulated
either by the Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 on third party
liability in the field of nuclear energy, and its Additional
Protocol of 28 January 1964, or the Vienna Convention of 21 May
1963 on civil liability for nuclear damage; or

b if liability for such damage is regulated by a specific internal
law, provided that such law is as favourable, with regard to
compensation for damage, as any of the instruments referred to
under sub-paragraph a above.

3. This Convention shall not apply to the extent that it is incompatible
with the rules of the applicable law relating to workmen’s compensation
or social security schemes.

Chapter II — Liability

Article 5 — Transitional provisions

1. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to incidents occurring
after the entry into force of the Convention in respect of a Party. When
the incident consists of a continuous occurrence or a series of
occurrences having the same origin and part of these occurrences took
place before the entry into force of this Convention, this chapter shall
only apply to damage caused by occurrences or part of a continuous
occurrence taking place after the entry into force.

2. In respect of damage caused by waste deposited at a site for the
permanent deposit of waste the provisions of this chapter shall apply to
damage which becomes known after the entry into force of the Convention
in respect of the Party on the territory of which the site is situated.
However this chapter shall not apply if:

a the site was closed in accordance with the provisions of internal
law before the entry into force of the Convention;

b the operator proves, in the case where the operation of the site
continues after that entry into force of the Convention, that the
damage was caused solely by waste deposited there before that entry
into force.

Article 6 — Liability in respect of substances,
organisms and certain waste installations or sites
1. The operator in respect of a dangerous activity mentioned under
Article 2, paragraph 1, sub-paragraphs a to c shall be liable for the
damage caused by the activity as a result of incidents at the time or
during the period when he was exercising the control of that activity.

2. If an incident consists of a continuous occurrence, all operators
successively exercising the control of the dangerous activity during that
occurrence shall be jointly and severally liable. However, the operator
who proves that the occurrence during the period when he was exercising
the control of the dangerous activity caused only a part of the damage
shall be liable for that part of the damage only.

3. If an incident consists of a series of occurrences having the same
origin, the operators at the time of any such occurrence shall be jointly
and severally liable. However, the operator who proves that the
occurrence at the time when he was exercising the control of the
dangerous activity caused only a part of the damage shall be liable for
that part of the damage only.

4. If the damage resulting from a dangerous activity becomes known after
all such dangerous activity in the installation or on the site has
ceased, the last operator of this activity shall be liable for that
damage unless he or the person who suffered damage proves that all or
part of the damage resulted from an incident which occurred at a time
before he became the operator. If it is so proved, the provisions of
paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall apply.

5. Nothing in this Convention shall prejudice any right of recourse of
the operator against any third party.

Article 7 — Liability in respect of sites
for the permanent deposit of waste

1. The operator of a site for the permanent deposit of waste at the time
when damage caused by waste deposited at that site becomes known, shall
be liable for this damage. Should the damage caused by waste deposited
before the closure of such a site become known after that closure, the
last operator shall be liable.

2. Liability under this Article shall apply to the exclusion of any
liability of the operator under Article 6, irrespective of the nature of
the waste.

3. Liability under this Article shall apply to the exclusion of any
liability of the operator under Article 6 if the same operator conducts
another dangerous activity on the site for the permanent deposit of
waste.

However, if this operator or the person who has suffered damage proves
that only a part of the damage was caused by the activity concerning the
permanent deposit of waste, this Article shall only apply to that part of
the damage.

4. Nothing in this Convention shall prejudice any right of recourse of
the operator against any third party.

Article 8 — Exemptions

The operator shall not be liable under this Convention for damage which
he proves:

a was caused by an act of war, hostilities, civil war, insurrection
or a natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable and
irresistible character;

b was caused by an act done with the intent to cause damage by a
third party,despite safety measures appropriate to the type of
dangerous activity in question;

c resulted necessarily from compliance with a specific order or
compulsory measure of a public authority;

d was caused by pollution at tolerable levels under local relevant
circumstances; or

e was caused by a dangerous activity taken lawfully in the interests
of the person who suffered the damage, whereby it was reasonable
towards this person to expose him to the risks of the dangerous
activity.

Article 9 — Fault of the person who suffered the damage

If the person who suffered the damage or a person for whom he is
responsible under internal law, has, by his own fault, contributed to the
damage, the compensation may be reduced or disallowed having regard to
all the circumstances.

Article 10 — Causality

When considering evidence of the causal link between the incident and the
damage or, in the context of a dangerous activity as defined in Article
2, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph d, between the activity and the damage, the
court shall take due account of the increased danger of causing such
damage inherent in the dangerous activity.

Article 11 — Plurality of installations or sites

When damage results from incidents which have occurred in several
installations or on several sites where dangerous activities are
conducted or from dangerous activities under Article 2, paragraph 1,
sub-paragraph d, the operators of the installations or sites concerned
shall be jointly and severally liable for all such damage. However, the
operator who proves that only part of the damage was caused by an
incident in the installation or on the site where he conducts the
dangerous activity or by a dangerous activity under Article 2, paragraph
1, sub-paragraph d, shall be liable for that part of the damage only.

Article 12 — Compulsory financial security scheme

Each Party shall ensure that where appropriate, taking due account of the
risks of the activity, operators conducting a dangerous activity on its
territory be required to participate in a financial security scheme or to
have and maintain a financial guarantee up to a certain limit, of such
type and terms as specified by internal law, to cover the liability under
this Convention.

Chapter III — Access to information

Article 13 — Definition of public authorities

For the purpose of this Chapter “public authorities”means any public
administration of a Party at national, regional or local level with
responsibilities, and possessing information relating to the environment,
with the exception of bodies acting in a judicial or legislative
capacity.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Resulting from Activities Dangerous to the Environment.