유류오염 손해배상범위 및 태안사고 특별법에 대한 고찰

The Oil Pollution Damage Compensation Guarantee Act defines “Pollution damage” as meaning “loss or damage caused outside the ship by contamination resulting from the escape or discharge of oil from the ship, wherever such escape or discharge may occur, provided that compensation for impairment of the environment other than loss of profit from such impairment shall be limited to costs of reasonable measures of reinstatement actually undertaken or to be undertaken.” However, the said Act does not contain any specific provisions for the scope of compensation for oil pollution damage. This can likewise be said concerning the Civil Liability Convention 1992 and the Fund Convention 1992. Accordingly, the true construction of oil pollution damage and the scope of compensation for it shall be determined by the competent courts applying the law of the forum(lex fori). The Fund also provides, through its Claims Manual, guidance on the types of pollution damage such as environmental damage and pure economic loss that may be covered and admissible for compensation under the international conventions. However, the guideline set by the Fund will not have a binding authority over the court of a contracting state. In this thesis, the precedents of the courts of Korea or foreign jurisdictions concerning the scope of oil pollution damage admissible for compensation are reviewed to derive the general principle applicable to claims for pollution damages. At the last part, this touches on the Special Act Concerning Support to Residents Suffering Damages from the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill and Restoration of Marine Environment.