Abstract

ROMERO LARES, María Carolina. Measures for the protection of the marine environment in the Wider Caribbean region from pollution damages caused by the offshore industry. Rev. Derecho [online]. 2017, n.47, pp.207-233. ISSN 0121-8697.

The recent oil spill incidents arising from activities in offshore platforms have highlighted the need to develop liability and compensation regimes for all damages caused by the exploration and exploitation of the seabed under national jurisdiction. At the present time there are not any international conventions that address this issue, and the international community has opted in favoured of the development of regional or bilateral instruments. The Wider Caribbean region has a fragile marine ecosystem, which is threatened by the high risk of oil pollution posed by mining activities. Despite this, the only regional convention for the preservation and protection of the Caribbean Sea, known as the Cartagena Convention, includes general principles of liability for activities on the seabed that need to be further developed in protocols or agreements in order to ensure their application. This study provides a description and a comparison of the efforts made at the international and regional levels to develop these rules and suggests three options to achieve an efficient, comprehensive and consistent legal framework to ensure prompt and adequate compensation to victims and to repair all damages.

Keywords : exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the seabed under national jurisdiction; Wider Caribbean region; liability and compensation regimes.

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