A Comparative of Legal Study of International Environmental Liability and Dispute Resolution -Focus on the China and Korea-

Transboundary air pollution between China and South Korea starts with desertification in China and southeasterly “yellow dust” storms act as vectors for various kinds of pollutants, including fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, These pollutants are carried by wind towards South Korea sulfur dioxide, aerosols, ozone, and heavy metals. and can cause numerous health problems, including respiratory and eye diseases. While air pollution within China is well understood, attributing causation for this pollution becomes complicated once it reaches South Korea. Studies have estimated as much as 49% of South Korea’s air pollution can be attributed to China. Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led a 2016 international effort which determined that only 15% of South Korea’s particulate matter is attributable to South Korean anthropogenic sources while most of the remainder comes from China. Despite its complexity, the China-South Korea transboundary air pollution problem is not unsolvable. State responsibility entails the violation of an obligation under international law primary norms typically found in treaties, customary international law or general principles of international law. State liability entails the compensation of damage in the absence of a wrongful act.** 2) The latter is concerned with the transboundary risk associated with legitimate activities occurring in a state’s territory (including activities carried out by private actors). Transboundary pollution is a prime example because it occurs as a result of activities which may not be unlawful or inherently reprehensible (energy production, for instance). State responsibility/liability has no direct equivalent in domestic liability law, but the two can easily capture the same kind of conduct. The so-called regulatory liability of the state in tort, for instance, targets the failure of public authorities to ensure compliance with environmental law. Trial and appellate courts have grappled with claims brought by victims against polluters and the public authorities who had been negligent in overseeing or investigating the operations. I will overview the issue for the civil liability of transboundary air pollution in international environmental law context, the present statutory structure, and the future challenges of international environmental law. I introduce the concepts of responsibility and liability in international environmental law, which paved the way for the proliferation of civil liability regimes and the development of the duty to ensure prompt and adequate compensation.