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• Customary Law Obligations and Dispute Resolution Methods under International Law relating to Conflicts over the Shared Use of Transboundary Aquifers

  23-48

  Barbara Bazánth

  Clio Mordivoglia

  Katalin Sulyok

  Views:

  201

  Our paper aims at analyzing the current stance of public international law concerning the utilization and management of transboundary aquifers. 97% of the Earth’s drinking-water supplies are locked up in aquifers placing the question in the spotlight as to, which ways States should utilize and apportion them in a manner consistent with public international law? The paper argues that bilateral and regional agreements ensure most effectively States’ mutual cooperation regarding transboundary aquifers, and they are also essential in providing for clear dispute resolution mechanisms. The paper addresses the obligations of States under international law and examines the efficiency of the possible international dispute resolution methods regarding international water conflicts. The paper also provides an overview of all existing bi- and multilateral aquifer agreements and draws some comparative remarks.

• Scientific Uncertainty and the Enforceability of Environmental Liability

  67-85

  Katalin Sulyok

  Views:

  206

  This study examines the ways in which environmental liability for environmental harm is allocated under Hungarian laws and regulations and in the practice of domestic courts. Specifically, it focuses on how laws handle the uncertain nature of causal links between a given pollution and its possible source, and which actors should bear the costs of remediation. The study posits that the uncertain nature of scientific evidence impacts the way environmental liability can be allocated and enforced, as scientific evidence can never establish requisite causal links with absolute certainty. The article first enumerates and discusses the sources of scientific uncertainty and demonstrates that it inescapably burdens scientific evidence. It then examines how laws and regulations in force handle causal uncertainty and the ways in which liability for environmental harm is distributed among various actors. The study concludes with proposing legislative amendments in order to allocate environmental liability in a more equitable way in cases when the causal processes remain inherently uncertain.