Gunther Handl

Territorial Sovereignty and the Problem of Transnational Pollution

In the case concerning the legality of French atmospheric nuclear testing in the South Pacific presently before the ICJ, an issue has been raised of far-reaching implications for the general law of state responsibility for environmental damage.

International Legal Perspective on the Conduct of Abnormally Dangerous Activities in Frontier Areas: The Case of Nuclear Power Plant Siting, An

The question is examined of whether it is permissible under international law to site nuclear facilities imposing a risk on a neighboring state where benefits to the risk-exposed state are either non-existent or unacceptable because of the associated risks.

Liability as an obligation established by a primary rule of international law: Some basic reflections on the International Law Commission's work

Few undertakings of the International Law Commission have proved to be as controversial as its study of “International Liability for Injurious Consequences Arising out of Acts not Prohibited by International Law”. Despite an encouraging initial report by a working group of the Commission on the suitability of the topic for codification and progressive development, the undertaking, once launched, immediately met with strong scepticism, at times outright rejection. It is true that over the last two years support for the Commissions work on the topic has grown appreciably both within and outside the Commission. However, detractors of the study remain strongly in evidence.

Nuclear Off-site Emergency Preparedness and Response: Some International Legal Aspects

The accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant, much like Chernobyl before, is a stark reminder of the critical role of off-site emergency preparedness and response (EPR) in nuclear accident management notwithstanding continuous improvements in nuclear safety worldwide. EPR is a matter of intrinsic international concern, not only between neighboring States, but globally as shortcomings in EPR anywhere tend to undermine confidence in nuclear safety everywhere. Post-Fukushima, EPR therefore has been a focal point of international regulatory attention which this Chapter sets out to describe in the context of nuclear accidents with radiological off-site effects. The Chapter first discusses the international normative setting for EPR, principally the IAEA-centered framework (including relevant conventions, safety standards, operational arrangements and services). It then addresses some of the major international public policy and legal challenges that have presented themselves in the aftermath of Fukushima: The drive to harmonize EPR and the intrinsic difficulties in reaching that goal; transboundary emergency notification/communication arrangements bilaterally, regionally and globally, that are insufficiently anchored to a firm legal basis; enhanced independent peer review and regular testing to ensure quality and reliability of EPR plans; and stronger State support for IAEA’s international emergency assistance mechanism. In summarizing how the international community—concerned States, international organizations, the nuclear industry and other stakeholders—has reacted to these issues, the author concludes that while EPR notionally remains, of course, a national responsibility, many of its key aspects are increasingly being ‘internationalized.’

AMERICAN-CANADIAN BOUNDARY DISPUTES AND COOPERATION

This chapter describes the American–Canadian boundary disputes and cooperation. The United States–Canadian boundary, which extends over 8000 km, is not only one of the longest in the world but also one of the most remarkable. It is open, undefended, and the disputes to which it has given rise over the last two centuries have invariably been settled peacefully. Most of the boundary the third commission was mandated to trace was to run over water, in the middle of the lakes as well as their connecting waters, and communications. It is found that while the use of the equidistance principle for determining the boundary in the lakes was uncontroversial, its extension to rivers, and channels was challenged upon the ground that it tended to locate many navigable channels in Canadian territory. The Commission therefore adopted the American proposed thalweg method for establishing river boundaries.