Feasibility Study of Development of International Liability of Ultra-Hazardous Activities to Epidemics

Abstract

The occurrence of global epidemics such as SARS, Covid-19, Zika, etc. showed that the conventional rules of international law can hardly prevent the occurrence of catastrophes that apparently can not be attributed to the violation of the obligation by one of the subjects of international law. The reliance of the mechanism of reparations of the system of responsibility for wrongful acts on the occurrence of a prior wrongdoing provides an opportunity for states of origin of epidemics to be free from the obligation to compensate. In these circumstances, it can be beneficial to pay attention to the relatively emerging concept of "Liability for ultra-hazardous activity", which implies the establishment of liability beyond the wrongful act. This article, while explaining this type of liability and examining its legal origin, tries to examine whether it is possible to extend the rules of this kind of liability to the activities that cause epidemics. This article concludes that there are similarities between ultra-hazardous activities and those that lead to epidemics, but in order to use the concept of liability for not-prohibited activities, some components need to be met.

Keywords

• epidemics
• the liability of not-prohibited activities
• ultra-hazardous activities
• casualty
• attribution