| Abstract [eng] |
The Protection of Water and its Environment Under International and EU Law Gretė Bagdonaitė These days, waters and their environment face significant pollution from many sources. About 8 % of water oil pollution is caused by incidents involving the oil transportation by ships and the oil exploitation in offshore installations. Oil pollution prevention and liability for oil pollution damage are extensively regulated by international law in the shipping sector. However, the opposite situation exists in the case of offshore installations. The lack of international law in the offshore installations sector shows that waters and their environment are not fully protected from oil pollution. As development of scientific knowledge and technology allows extract oil from deeper and more remote areas, there is an increased risk of oil pollution incidents at offshore installations. Therefore, this thesis examines the development of an international framework for the prevention of oil pollution from ships, revealing the incident response behaviour of the international community. The applicability of international conventions to offshore installations and EU framework for offshore oil pollution are further analysed, highlighting the limitations and shortcomings of these regulations. Moreover, the thesis examines the regulation of the liability of states and private entities for oil pollution damage from offshore installations. The analysis of the liability of states examines the states obligations to protect waters and not to cause transboundary harm, emphasizing the limitations of the state liability institute and the difficulty of application due to the lack of uniform standards in the implementation of these obligations. The issue of private entities liability is analysed through the applicability of international civil liability for oil pollution damage from ships regime to offshore installations and the scope of its application. Thesis also reveals the liability under EU law for oil pollution damage from offshore installations, while comparing it with the international regime in order to reveal which of the regimes is more effective in protecting waters and their environment. |
