Civil liability for oil pollution damage: examining the evolving scope for environmental compensation in the international regime

The civil liability regime for ship-source oil pollution enables national victims of oil spill damage to make financial claims against domestic and non-domestic tanker owners and, in certain circumstances, the global oil cargo industry. This paper examines the evolving—and contested—parameters of environmental liability set by the international oil pollution liability conventions, focusing on the admissibility of reinstatement costs and the geographical scope of compensation norms. It concludes that although the liability regime can be applauded for its equitable consideration of environmental claims, this is restricted by a narrow definition of damage and national boundaries of entitlement. Oil pollution harm to collective ecological interests represents a key challenge to the liability framework.