JEAIL > Volume 2(2); 2009 > Issue Focus
Research Paper
Published online: November 30, 2009
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2009.2.2.04

Legal Remedies for Marine Ecological Damage in China: As Illustrated by the Tasman Sea Oil Spills Case

Xiaoqin Zhu & Lin Dong
Xiamen University, China
School of Law, Xiamen University, 361005, Fujian Province, China.
Corresponding Author: xqinz98@gmail.com

ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This paper analyzes legal remedies for marine ecological damage as provided in Article 90, Section 2 of the Marine Environment Protection Law of the People's Republic of China. In doing so, the paper examines the Tasman Sea Oil Spills Case, the first civil case in China to claim marine ecological damage involving foreign interests. The paper finds that many issues arise in practice due to the simplicity of the relevant legal provisions. The existing international treaties on marine oil pollution damage caused by ships do not cover marine ecological damage. However, domestic courts of some countries have relevant judicial practice on the matter. Hence, it is urgent to establish a set of new rules on marine ecological damage compensation in China and to specify the claimants, the scope for compensation and the measure of indemnity with the aim of providing an effective legal remedy for marine ecological damage.

Keywords : Tasman Sea Case, Marine Ecological Damage, Legal Remedy, Tianjin Maritime Court

View the Full Text