Academic literature on the topic 'Insurance, Pollution liability – European Union countries'

"One of the most important issues in the design of national work injury compensation systems is how the two main possible routes of liability relate: on the one hand, the non-tort compensation (social security) model and, on the other, the tort compensation (employers’ liability under civil or labour law) model. In the Hungarian system of accident compensation in labour law, the employee is primarily entitled to certain benefits within the framework of social insurance and may claim damages in excess of this in damages lawsuits. Employers’ liability schemes can be supplemented by voluntary liability insurance solutions. Liability insurance contracts protect both parties: employers are protected against unplanned payments, possibly large amounts of compensation, and the outcome of potentially unpredictable compensation lawsuits, while it means guaranteed coverage for the employee in case of damage. The introduction of compulsory liability insurance for employers is an issue that arises from time to time. In some countries, employers are required to take out liability insurance, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Austria. In insurance-based models, the route of compensation plays a marginal role. In Hungary, the penetration of liability insurance is low; however, there is currently no legislative intention to make liability insurance more extensive or mandatory for employers. In general, however, there is no universal model for accident compensation in labour law. There is no such benchmark at the European Union level either, and it can be said that there is no explicit intention to fully harmonize Member State regulations. In this study, I examine the consequences of the mandatory or wider application of liability insurance, the regulatory concepts that exist, and the role that the European Union plays in regulating the issue."

Admissibility of Claims of Social Security Institutions of the European Union Countries to the Polish Insurer of Civil Liability Insured who is Responsible for the DamageSummary The paper contains a general overview of the legal nature and the specific character of the recourse under the EU regulations on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the EU concerning civil liability insurer. It was underlined specific position of the social insurance institutions form EU Members versus Polish insurer. It was expressed that necessity of amendment of the Polish insurance regulation to create a base for recourse as in EU regulation.

The main goal of the article is to study both advantages and disadvantages of the approaches of the European Union (EU) states to criminal law prevention of land pollution. As a result of this an optimal legislative model should be developed to protect this element of the environment from criminal encroachment, which can be further used by the EU states in improving existing or creating new rules aimed at criminal law protection of land resources from pollution or the creation of new rules aimed at criminal law protection of land resources from pollution. The following research methods have been used to study criminal law provisions of the selected countries, to prove the stated hypotheses and to formulate conclusions: comparative law, system analysis, formal-logical, dialectical and modeling method. As a result of the study of various models of criminal law protection of land resources embodied in the legislation of nineteen European Union states, it has been proved that: 1) such protection should be carried out by a single universal rule on criminal liability for pollution not only of land but also of other components of the environment (water, air, forest); 2) only such land pollution shall be considered criminal, which has led to real (non-potential) damage to the environment, human health or property damage; 3) liability for land pollution should be differentiated depending on: a) weather guilty person’s act was intentional or negligent; b) what the consequences of land pollution have been.

By comparative analysis of the bases of liability for damages and the scope of the right to compensation for damages arising from traffic accidents existing in the legislation of the countries that are undergoing transition, the author reaches a conclusion that the process of overcoming the disadvantages of the former legislative solutions is going on slowly and that significant differences are noticed in respect of the level of protection of the injured person. In comparison to these jurisdictions, the present Yugoslav law, especially the solutions accepted in court practice, prove to be much more comprehensive. With the existing changes of the insurance law and with improved efficiency of the judicial protection, Yugoslav legislation could be more successfully adapted to the standards of the European Union.

The paper focuses on formal and practical problems in the field of environmental protection, which occur as a consequence of omissions of the legislative and executive authorities in Serbia. The text analyzes the positive legislation and compliance of domestic legal regulations with international declarations and conventions ratified by our country (from the Stockholm Declaration and the Council of Europe Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Dangerous Activities to the Environment to the Rio Declaration), as well as with European Directives (EU Directive on Industrial Emissions) and Regulations (Regulation No. 525/2013 on monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and reporting on other information relevant to climate change). The candidacy for equal membership in the European family of nations obliges the Serbian Parliament and the Government to make additional efforts in the direction of harmonizing our law with the European one. The paper takes a de lege ferenda approach, so the author explains the need to amend a number of laws, such as the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment, the Law on Strategic Environmental Assessment, the Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods and the Law on Budget system, as well as the enactment of the Law on Climate Change and the Serbian Civil Code as soon as possible (in which dilemmas that hinder the subjects of law in using the environmental lawsuit as an instrument of environmental protection should be resolved). An unacceptable deviation from one of the fundamental principles established by the Rio Declaration was pointed out, which brings with it a number of structural problems and the inability of both the Green Fund institutions and a number of organizations that focus on ecology. The consequences of the discrepancy between the intentions proclaimed by the Constitution of Serbia and the National Strategy of Serbia for the accession of Serbia and Montenegro to the European Union from 2005 on the one hand and the absence of adequate legislative and executive activities in environmental protection, on the other hand, are obvious in the reports of the European Commission and the European Environment Office, as well as in the health risk and increased mortality of a large number of citizens of Serbia and other European countries, due to harmful emissions that cause pollution of air, water and soil in our country. In addition to the proposals for changes in the formal framework in the field of environmental protection, the paper points out the need to use those mechanisms of civil protection, such as environmental lawsuits (established by the Law on Obligations 1978), which is, by its nature, actio popularis and in that sense accessible to the widest range of subjects. The defense of the standards established by the Kyoto Protocol and the Basel Convention would, through the extensive use of this procedural instrument, be placed not only in the hands of representatives of the legislature and the executive, but also, the judiciary (conditionally, of course, because courts can decide only initiate a civil action, but not on its own initiative).

AbstractMining gold with the use of cyanide has always been an inherently dangerous activity requiring strict regulatory oversight and the application of appropriate technology to prevent environmental harm. The cyanide spill from the Aurul S.A. gold-mining operation in Baia Mare, Romania, was a warning to the international community that legal and institutional regimes that should prevent and respond to such accidents may as yet not be fully developed, especially in countries in transition. In particular, the international legal regimes for industrial-accident prevention, liability, and foreign direct investment must be considered as a whole in order to identify gaps and weaknesses in the system that should be addressed in the effort to protect human health and the environment from such accidents. In addition, the gap between legal requirements and commitment to, and capacity for, implementation—especially in transition countries—must be addressed.This article addresses the need to bring attention to the international legal implications of the Baia Mare accident. First, the article sets the stage by briefly identifying the positive responses that the accident has evoked from Romanian and international stakeholders, indicating that steps have already been taken to strengthen the institutional and legal framework governing mining operations. Then, the international legal obligations of Romania at the time of the accident are examined, followed by the identification of international conventions to which Romania was not party at the time of the accident and that could have helped prevent the accident. Gaps in the international legal regimes relevant to the accident are also identified and recommendations are made for filling them, including principles of environmental governance for foreign investors in countries in transition. Recommendations are also made for addressing the issue of implementation.The accident at Baia Mare has resulted in a number of positive responses—both domestically in Romania, as well as regionally and at a broader European level—and it is incumbent upon stakeholders to continue to expand the scope of social learning that the accident has made available. Actions taken in Romania after the spill include closer cooperation between local/regional officials and environmental nongovernmental organizations and a generally increased sensitivity among NGOs to the dangers inherent in mining activities. NGOs have now assumed watchdog and public-education roles. Responses at the European level include greater transboundary cooperation in river management and a strong push by the European Union to amend the Seveso II Directive on industrial-accident prevention to cover mining operations.Romania was not party to several key international conventions that could conceivably, if implemented, have prevented or minimized the effects of the accident at Baia Mare or provided for a more effective long-term response. These include the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents and the Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. In addition to international legal instruments to which Romania was not party, there are also European Union directives that Romania has not yet transposed into domestic law. As a country seeking to join the European Union, transposition of EU legislation is a high priority for Romania. Priority should be given to the Seveso II Directive, which seeks to prevent industrial accidents, and the directive on integrated pollution prevention and control, which requires the use of the best available technology to prevent discharges.Gaps and weaknesses in international law fall into three main categories: industrial-accident prevention, liability for environmental harm, and foreign direct investment.

Defence date: 25 June 2010
Examining Board: Prof. Francesco Francioni, European University Institute (Supervisor) ; Prof. Bruno De Witte, European University Institute; Prof. Ludwig Kramer, University of Bremen ; Prof. Massimiliano Montini, University of Siena
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
The present study examines how the question of reparation for environmental damage that occurred during the operation of economic and industrial activities has been dealt with in international law and within the European Union legal system. In particular, the thesis endeavours to provide a comparative analysis of the Directive 35/2004/EC on Environmental Liability with regard to the Prevention and Remedying of Environmental Damage with relevant developments on the international level, and tries to define a conceptual framework with which to examine the relationship between the two legal systems. The need to find concrete and effective responses to the problem of environmental degradation has prompted the recourse to a plethora of legal instruments and determined the emergence of different approaches to the question of environmental liability. More specifically, the integration of environmental concerns into liability systems has determined a revision of the ultimate goals traditionally assigned to liability and an adjustment of its classic structures to new realities. Therefore, the overall legal framework on environmental liability in Europe and on the international level is gradually evolving towards the coexistence of traditional schemes of civil liability with new regulatory models for prevention and reparation of environmental damage. The starting point for the analysis is the recognition that appropriate and effective responses to the problem of environmental harm require a coherent and coordinated application of different legal tools, private and public, international and European. By looking at the interface between international law and EU law in the field of environmental liability, this study identifies different conceptual and regulatory approaches to the question of prevention and reparation for environmental damage. It explores potential synergies and interactions among them with a view to achieving the ultimate goal of providing effective responses to the problem of environmental harm.

Abstract Radioactive source liability insurance refers to the form of insurance in which the insurer shall be liable for compensation according to law when the insured uses radioactive sources to cause radiation damage or environmental pollution to a third party and is claimed for compensation. This paper deeply investigates the practical experience of various countries in the field of radioactive source liability insurance; this type of insurance has a lot of mature application experience in Europe & US, the two major nuclear damage compensation convention systems have not yet stipulated the liability insurance of radioactive sources, European countries have a strong awareness of applying for radioactive source liability insurance. Then it makes a detailed analysis of the current laws and regulations in the field of nuclear technology utilization and the current situation of liability insurance in the field of radioactive sources in China. At present, there is no special law on liability insurance in the field of radioactive sources, there are still several problems, including the weak awareness of risk prevention of enterprises using nuclear technology, the lack of social responsibility of some enterprises and their unwillingness to buy insurance. In order to solve the above problems, the following four recommendations are made. First, improve the legal and policy system of radioactive source liability insurance in China. Second, pilot the implementation of radioactive source compulsory liability insurance in high-risk industries or enterprises. Third, promote personalized insurance rates and insurance limits. Fourth, carry out health damage insurance for employees in the field of radioactive sources at an appropriate time. Finally, it provides a strong and valuable reference for the future radioactive source liability insurance in China.