Negotiating liability under biosafety protocol

Abstract

The issue of redress and liability under the biosafety protocol remained one of the contentious and unresolved issues from the onset of the negotiations. During the negotiations, this issue gave rise to considerable debate and disagreement between negotiating countries. This paper aims to analyse the debate in the context of the ongoing work of the Open-Ended Ad Hoc group of legal and technical experts with reference to other existing international laws and treaties on similar issues. Finally the paper proposes a framework on the issue for wider discussion.