Analysis of Green Liability on Environmental Damage--State Responsibility in International Investment Law

Abstract

Long before the birth of international environmental law, disputes over transboundary environmental damage have long existed in global trade and investment. Since the promulgation of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, with the arrival of the Period of Liberalization in international investment, the environmental issues involved in cross-border investment have skyrocketed, and international judicial bodies such as the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea have adjudicated a number of disputes over transboundary environmental damage. These post-Rio transboundary environmental damage disputes are characterized by complex afflictions, wide scope and serious damage. At this stage of adjudication, international judicial institutions have not developed relatively stable standards, principles and systems for ex post facto remedies for transboundary environmental damage. From the perspective of state responsibility, this paper analyzes the issue of transboundary environmental damage theoretically and practically, and explores the attribution, standards, and requirements of responsibility for cross-border environmental damage arising from international investment and the formation of the ex post facto remedy system, in order to provide reference for the establishment of a more sound and refined remedy mechanism of transboundary environmental damage in future international investment practice.