International liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law (international liability in case of loss from transboundary harm arising out of hazardous activities)

At its fifty-sixth session, in 2004, the International Law Commission adopted, on first reading, the draft principles on the allocation of loss in the case of transboundary harm arising out of hazardous activities. In paragraph 3 of resolutions 59/41 of 2 December 2004 and 60/22 of 23 November 2005, the General Assembly drew the attention of Governments to the importance, for the Commission, of having their views on the draft principles. On the whole, the draft principles were well received by delegations participating in the debate on the report of the Commission in the Sixth Committee during the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly in 2004. Delight was expressed that the Commission was able to produce the draft principles expeditiously, within one year of the Assembly noting the importance of the Commission completing the remaining portion of its mandate under the agenda item “International liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law”. It will be recalled that at its fifty-sixth session, in 2001, the General Assembly, while expressing its appreciation for the valuable work done on the issue of prevention, requested the Commission to resume its work on the liability aspects, bearing in mind the interrelationship between prevention and liability and taking into account the developments in international law and comments by Governments. In addition to the comments in the Sixth Committee, some Governments also offered written comments on the draft principles of allocation that the Commission finalized in its first reading in 2004.

Related Subject(s): International Law and Justice