Study On The Obligations Of Environmental Protection And The Liability For Environmental Damage Of The Sponsoring States In The International Seabed Area

With the continuous improvement of human deep sea exploration technology,the rich mineral resources in the high seas are gradually known,and the international seabed area has become a new "reclamation" area for human beings.The establishment of the continental shelf system and the promulgation of the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea lay the foundation of international law for the activities of the international seabed area.In order to effectively protect the marine environment,all countries must abide by the principle of common inheritance of human property,and implement the parallel development system for the "regional" resources.Therefore,the guarantor state system came into being.In terms of regional environmental protection,there are not only specialized international legislation such as the Convention,the exploration regulations of the authority and the draft mining regulations,but also important international environmental protection treaties such as the Rio Declaration on environment and development and the Convention on biological diversity,which stipulate the environmental protection obligations and liability for damages of the insured countries in the region.In 2011,the "advisory opinion" issued by the subsea chamber of the International Tribunal for the law of the sea in case No.17 gave birth to the deep-sea resource exploration and development strategies and domestic legal systems of many coastal countries.The environmental protection obligation of the guarantor country in the international seabed area is a "guarantee" obligation and the first obligation.It not only requires the guarantor country to make "regional" environmental legislation,take all necessary administrative measures to achieve "due diligence",but also requires the guarantor country to cooperate with the International Seabed Authority to carry out "regional" environmental management monitoring.The implementation principles of the environmental protection obligations of the guarantor include: risk prevention principle,best scientific evidence principle,international cooperation principle and public participation principle;the specific implementation ways include: preventive measures,best environmental practices / best available technology,environmental impact assessment and international transfer of environmental technology.As a supplementary joint and several liability,the environmental damage liability of the guarantor country is different from the traditional state liability and the cross-border damage liability in the order of performance from the Contractor’s liability.There are three conditions for its undertaking: first,there is a fault in the guarantor country’s failure to perform its legal obligations;second,the "region" of the contractor guaranteed by the guarantor country causes environmental damage;third,there is a causal relationship between the result of damage and the illegal act of the guarantor country,and the scope of compensation should be equivalent to the actual damage.Only when the laws,regulations and administrative measures adopted by the guarantor state can be reasonably determined to make the contractor comply with them can the liability be exempted.As one of the major countries participating in the exploration and development of mineral resources in the international seabed area,China has actively participated in the international practice of fulfilling the obligations of regional environmental protection and constructed a deep sea system with Chinese characteristics.However,due to the late start of the research and practice of "region" as a developing country,there are still some legislative gaps.While improving the construction of "regional" environmental protection system,China should set reasonable access threshold and encourage applicants to actively participate in "regional" activities.Strengthen the sharing of environmental information,introduce the new concept of building a community of shared future for mankind,strive for the preferential treatment of developing countries,solve the problem of residual liability through the establishment of International Trust Fund,and fill the gap of environmental damage compensation liability.