Liability for Damage to Public Natural Resources under the 2004 EC Environmental Liability Directive: Standing and Assessment of Damages

Abstract

This article focuses on the April 2004 EC Directive on Environmental Liability (Directive 2004/35/CE). It examines its measure of damages, its framework for assessing damages and its provisions regarding the issue of standing. Comparisons will regularly be made with the United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990, its natural resource damage regulations and its provisions on locus standi. Finally, a comparison is made with international civil liability conventions that cover damage to natural resources. The goal of the analysis is to show that the Directive's rules on assessing damages are inspired by the natural resource damage regulations of the US Oil Pollution Act, and secondly, to show that there is a difference between the measure of damages in the international civil liability conventions and the new Directive. *