Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission: Environmental Liability

In Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission: Environmental Liability, experts who held leadership positions and worked directly with the UNCC draw on their experience with the institution and provide a comprehensive view of the United Nations Compensation Comission and its work in the aftermath of the Gulf War. In this volume, the first of two on the UNCC's work, the authors explain that the United Nations Security Council established the ad hoc compensation commission to address reparations as a component of the ceasefire following Iraq's 1990-91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The authors also describe how the work of the United Nations Compensation Commission addressed important questions of state responsibility, environmental liability, mass claims processing, international law, and dispute settlement institutions in the post-armed conflict context. Readers will also learn that the scope and the scale of the UNCC was extraordinary, since almost 2.7 million claims from 80-plus countries were submitted to the Commission (which awarded in excess of $55 billion and has paid out more than half of that total), and that this led to the development of innovative procedural, institutional and managerial approaches in handling mass, environmental, and corporate claims at a scale that is unparalleled. Additionally, the books note that the Commission also contributed to the evolution of international jurisprudence in these areas.

Table of Contents:
Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission: Environmental Liability ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CONTRIBUTORS BIOS MAP FOREWORD (T.A. Mensah) Chapter 1 The UNCC Program: Environmental Claims in Context (C.R. Payne) Part I. Claims Preparation and Review Chapter 2 The Process (J.E. Klee) Chapter 3 Assessment and Valuation of Damage to the Environment (M.T. Huguenin, M.C. Donlan, A. van Geel, R.W. Paterson) Chapter 4 Scientific and Technical Advice: The Perspective of Iraq's Experts (L. Wilde) Chapter 5 Tracking and Follow-Up Programmes for Environmental Awards (C.R.Payne) Part II. Jurisprudence and Policy Issues Chapter 6 Points of Law (J.R. Allen) Chapter 7 Environmental Principles Applied (P.H. Sand) Chapter 8 Public Health Claims (P.H. Sand, J.K. Hammitt) Part III. Looking to the Future Chapter 9 Institutionalizing Peacebuilding: The UNCC, Conflict Resources, and the Future of Natural Resources in Transitional Justice (C. Bruch, A. Fishman) Chapter 10 The UNCC as a Model for Climate Change Compensation (D.A. Farber) Chapter 11 Liability for Environmental Damages: Toward Principles of Sustainable Governance (R. Costanza) Chapter 12 The Profound Significance of the UNCC for the Environment (D.D. Caron) APPENDICES Guidance for Researchers (C.R. Payne) Bibliography (articles and books) Basic documents - Security Council resolution 687 - Governing Council decision 7, Criteria for Additional Categories of Claims - Governing Council decision 10, Procedural Rules - Governing Council decision 124, Arrangement to Provide Technical Assistance to Iraq in Respect of Environmental Claims - Governing Council decision 258, Follow-up Programme for Environmental Claims Awards - UNCC solicitation for consulting services, 1999 INDEX

About the Author :
Cymie Payne is a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and was formerly a member of the UNCC Secretariat. Peter Sand is a Professor at the University of Munich and was formerly a UNCC Commissioner for environmental claims.

Review :
"The contributions to this volume combine to create a complete and complex mosaic of the profoundly significant work of the UN Compensation Commission relating to liability for environmental harm. Written by leading experts and participants in the process, the book is an excellent resource for scholars and practitioners in the fields of international and environmental law. From efforts to define the concept of environmental damage to deciding difficult issues of causation, evidence and the appropriate level of compensation, the UNCC blazed a trail for future tribunals faced with claims of liability for environmental damage, whether in peacetime or as a consequence of armed conflict. The authors have provided a superb and much-needed evaluation this innovative institution and its work." --Dinah Shelton Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law, The George Washington University Law School "In this book, insiders tell the fascinating story of the successful pursuit of community interest in the restoration of the natural environment affected by the first Gulf War. The members of the "epistemic community" provided what was intended as an essentially political process of fact-finding with guarantees of due process, thus increasing the legitimacy of the post-conflict regime. With its wisdom and fairness, the achievements of the UNCC F4 Panel are destined to have resonance and relevance for the future of international claims settlement." --Bruno Simma Judge, International Court of Justice "This behind the scenes account of how compensation for environmental damage inflicted by the Gulf War was determined is greatly relevant. The UNCC F4 Panel's innovative methodology, its articulation of international environmental law principles, and its pragmatism surely will guide future architects of environmental compensation schemes as well as arbitrators of environmental cases." --Hans van Houtte President, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal "For centuries, the Gulf's resources, biodiversity and other natural assets have been cornerstones of life and prosperity in the region. Following the invasion of Kuwait in 2000, Iraq ignited more than 600 oil wells and created the world's largest oil spill, estimated at 6-14 million barrels. The authors and editors of Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission provide a comprehensive and informative account of how resource injury was determined, the process of submitting claims by Gulf States affected by the pollution events, and how the environmental claims were evaluated and settled by the UN Compensation Commission. The book's wider message is that environmental damage does not come free." ---- Andrew Price Honorary Professor, University of York; Visiting Professor, University of Warwick