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190 F.SimlingerandB.Mayer
tionalcourtortribunal,orpossiblybytheInternationalLawCommission,couldhelp
disentangling thedebates. In2013, the InternationalLawCommissionhas initiated
aprojectontheprotectionof theatmosphere,whichcouldpossiblyaddress theissue
ofclimatechange.
7.4.2 StateResponsibilityFollowingaBreach
of theNo-HarmPrinciple
Thebreachofanobligation is tobesanctioned fora legal systemtobemeaningful.
Accordingly, it is awell-establishedprinciple of customary international law that a
statewhoseconductbreaches its internationalobligationcommitsaninternationally
wrongfulactentailing its international responsibility (ILCArticlesontheResponsi-
bility ofStates for InternationallyWrongfulActs, art. 1 and2).Whereas the above
section discusseswhether andunderwhich assumptions greenhouse gas emissions
couldamounttoabreachoftheno-harmrule,thissectionwilllookatthelegalconse-
quences resultingfromtheseemissions,basedon thehypotheticalpremise that they
constituteaninternationallywrongfulact. It is important tobear inmindthatcertain
questions, suchas foreseeabilityandmultiplicityofactors, areproblematicnotonly
concerningthecharacterisationofastateconductasaninternationallywrongfulact,
but also toassesswhether anyparticular state is responsible for it.
State responsibility involves twomain legal consequences: the continued duty
ofperformance—whichinvolves theobligationtoceaseacontinuinginternationally
wrongfulact—andtheobligationtomakereparationforanyinjury(ibid,art.28–39).
The obligations following a breach of the no-harm rule depends on the content of
thisobligation in thecontextofclimatechange,which isdifficult todetermine.Asa
consequenceof thecontinueddutyofperformance, stateswouldhave tocease these
emissionsthatareconsideredaninternationallywrongfulact.Ofgreater importance
to the present discussion is the other consequence involved by the international
responsibilityof a state, namely, theobligation tomakegood for any injurycaused
bytheinternationallywrongfulact.Thisobligationisgenerallyanalysedbyreference
to the judgment of the Permanent Court of International Justice in the case of the
FactoryatChorzów,accordingtowhich“reparationmust,asfaraspossible,wipeout
alltheconsequencesoftheillegalactandre-establishthesituationwhichwould,inall
probability,haveexistedifthatacthadnotbeencommitted”(at47).Accordingly,the
InternationalLawCommissionconcludedthat“[f]ullreparationfortheinjurycaused
by the internationallywrongful act shall take the formof restitution, compensation
andsatisfaction,eithersinglyorincombination”(ILCArticlesontheResponsibility
ofStates for InternationallyWrongfulActs,art.34).“Full reparation” isunderstood
as reparation for the full value of the injury.Restitution consists often in returning
somethingwrongfully taken,whereascompensation—inpractice themostcommon
formof reparation—is thepayment of thefinancial valueof something that cannot
Loss and Damage from Climate Change
Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Title
- Loss and Damage from Climate Change
- Subtitle
- Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Authors
- Reinhard Mechler
- Laurens M. Bouwer
- Thomas Schinko
- Swenja Surminski
- JoAnne Linnerooth-Bayer
- Publisher
- Springer Open
- Date
- 2019
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-319-72026-5
- Size
- 16.0 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 580
- Keywords
- Environment, Climate change, Environmental law, Environmental policy, Risk management
- Categories
- International
- Naturwissenschaften Umwelt und Klima