Faṣlnāmah-i Pizhūhish-i Huqūq-i Khuṣūṣī (Mar 2015)
Civil Liability of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal within the Frameworks of Iranian Law and the 1999 Protocol To Basel Convention
Abstract
In the late 1980s, imposing stringent environmental regulations in industrializedcountries increased the costs of eliminating hazardous waste, and thus its transportto the developing and Eastern European countries began. Following theenhancement of the amount of hazardous waste and relevant disasters in thesecountries, the export of such wastes was recognized as a serious business by theinternational community. Hence, in 1989, Basel Convention on the Control ofTransboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Principle Disposal wasprepared by the United Nations Environmental Program and adopted by differentcountries. Meanwhile, in1993, Iran became a member of the Conventionsubsequently referring the disposal of special waste overseas to its regulation inArticle 14 of the Law on Waste Management (2005). In relation to the damages oftransporting hazardous waste and its compensation, the Convention has designedan Additional Protocol; attached to the double standard of strict and fault-basedliabilities with limited financial strict liability. Basel Protocol has promoted theBasel Convention regime to ensure minimum compensation through compulsoryinsurance, supplemental financial compensation and time limits for claims.However, unlike other international conventions on hazardous waste, it hasassumed strict liability not to be undertaken by the carrier, but by the people via thetemporal distribution of responsibilities.
