Taking Responsibility for Transboundary Environmental Effects

There are recent encouraging examples of cooperation in international environmental affairs. However, nations have made only disappointing progress in developing international law to assign liability among nations for environmental injury. One positive step was taken when the U.N.-sponsored World Commission on Environment and Development appointed an Experts Group on Environmental Law. This Article describes and critiques the report of the Experts Group, taking some guidance from its principles, but finding many conclusions that should be changed.

The Article proposes that international law should include expanded strict liability concepts applied to actual damages from environmental injury.