A Study On Criminal Liability System Of Oil Pollution From Ships Of China

Administrative penalties, rather than criminal punishment, are nowbeing used in China against oil spill from ships. However, theadministrative penalties imposed on violations of law are, in most cases,less than the cost saved through violating the law. Therefore, it isnecessary to establish the criminal liability system of oil pollution fromships under Chinese law.Since the United States started the criminalization of oil pollutionfrom ships in late1980s, a number of port countries have followed thepath of the United States by introducing laws and regulations oncriminalizing oil pollution from ships, which turned out to be a greatsuccess in deterring the violations. The strict legal system of criminalliability under American law against oil pollution from ships, especially the enforcement of law and judicial practice, is worth to study.This paper analyzes the existing problems of China’s criminalliability system of oil pollution from ships and studies the practices andexperiences of the United States through legislation, law enforcement andjudicature aspects, followed by perfecting China’s criminal liabilitysystem of oil pollution from ships based on the nation’s actual domesticsituation.