Environmental Tort Liability Of Offshore Oil Development

With the introduction of the oil spilling at Penglai19-3oilfield in Bohai Bay in2011.study around the main responsibility for the infringement of China’s offshore oil development, the form of liability and the level of responsibility, compensation range of the civil liability, relief ways and methods of responsibility. Analyzed the flaws of the environmental tort liability system of China’s offshore oil development, and improved recommendations for the environmental tort liability of China’s offshore oil development. The article describes the Research of Chinese experts and scholars on the environment tort liability system in the offshore oil development. In the second part, the article combed the legislative Present Situation of the environmental tort liability of China’s offshore oil development, and analyzed the limitations of the current legislative provisions of the tort liability of the marine environment, highlighted the defects on the administrative responsibility, civil responsibility and government responsibility in the existing environmental tort legislation of offshore oil development. Firstly, in the environmental legislation of offshore oil development, the administrative responsibility deficiency and excessive instead of civil liability too much:The administrative penalties on the low side, can’t deter the offenders or provide effective protection for restoring the destroyed ecological environment; legislation of environmental protection doesn’t set administrative sanctions for the offender management person or the directly responsible person, reduced the legal deterrent; in the marine environment protection legislation, the provisions on the administrative punishment to staff of the state administrative organs is too principally to improve the efficiency of administrative law enforcement; current environment law order the violators to eliminate the hazards and damages with administrative command principally, having the obviously phenomenon about administration instead of civil. Secondly, the civil responsibility, showing great limitations whether on the responsibility main part or the main provisions, cannot protecting victim’s legitimate rights and interests; although the ecological compensation has been incorporated into the scope of damages, but lacking corresponding specific standards and content. Thirdly, the civil liability lacks litigation, victims often at a disadvantage in the environmental tort about marine oil pollution because of lacking proof capability; and environmental protection law of limitation of action about3years time limit provided for victims on the realization of compensation; in addition, the marine environment protection legislation has not given the lawsuit qualification to indirect victims or social group, reduced the suability. In the third part, the article collated and analyzed the law of environment tort and the specific case about foreign offshore oil development, as1990Oil Pollution Act, Amendments of Outer Continental Shelf Act, Oil Pollution Liability Trust Fund and the oil spilling at Mexico gulf in2010for important cases. In the fourth part, the article made the recommendations for environmental tort liability in China’s offshore oil development. At first, proposed to improve the civil subject, scope of responsibility and ways of relief about environmental tort in offshore oil development, giving the indirect victims the claim qualification to claim for compensation, bring the Victim’s indirect loss and compensation for mental damage into the Civil liability compensation and establishing the system about ecological compensation, introducing the punitive compensation system properly, establishing such as the fund for compensation for oil pollution damage and damage liability compulsory insurance system and social compensation system, improving the environmental tort lawsuits and public litigation system. At second, perfecting the administrative liability of environmental tort of offshore oil development, improving the administrative penalty limit greatly, introducing the system of administrative detention and providing the Substitutive execution system. Lastly, perfecting the responsibility of government in environmental tort on offshore oil development:clearing government’s disclosure and the corresponding administrative responsibility to public further in the form of law, perfecting legal laws and regulations on emergency mechanism and accountability mechanisms relating to environment tort about offshore oil development.