Research On The Forms Of Oil Pollution Liability Deriving From Single Vessel Spilling Collision

Oil spill pollution damage,especially caused by ship collision,has been one of the main causes of marine environmental pollution.The forms of liability between the responsible parties is the leading problem to solve the liability of oil pollution damage,which is related to the actual compensation effect of the injured party and the balance of interests of all parties.The fact of oil spill pollution damage caused by single ship oil spilling collision has both the elements of environmental and general maritime infringement,the complexity leads to differences in the identification of the forms of liability.Currently,judicial practice has made four different judgments on the liability of the spilling and non-spilling party.Respectively,the non-spilling party is not directly liable;the spilling and non-spilling party bear shared liability;the two parties bear joint and several liability;the spilling party shall bear full and the non-spilling party shall bear shared liability.The fourth of these findings is the latest practice made by the Supreme Court in 2019.It can be seen that judicial practice is more controversial.The cause is also very complicated.The qualitative result as the legal relationship of ship collision or oil pollution damage leads to the inconsistency in the choice of law application.The difference in the choice of law application and interpretation directly leads to the difference in the result of the identification of the liability form.The lack of specificity regulations under multiple value orientations is the fundamental reason.The lack of specificity regulations highlights the ambiguity of existing legal regulations.After being impacted by multiple values,it exacerbates the inconsistency in the application of the law.In this regard,the problem should be solved step by step.Firstly,the qualitative conclusion of legal relationship is reached through the analysis of damage facts.It shows that the overall problem of liability form should point to the applicable choice of the legal system of oil pollution infringement.Secondly,analyze the current relevant legal system under the logic of special law to general law,and determine the application of Article3.1 of the two major international conventions and Article 4 of the "Judicial Interpretation of Oil Pollution Damage".Making an in-depth analysis of the choice of applicable legal provisions,it is found that the special law has deficiencies in the provisions on the liability of non-spill parties.Article 1233 of the General Law "Civil Code" and its judicial interpretation should be supplemented.Finally,just using the current law as the analytical framework does not involve rationality discussions.and the analysis result is inconsistent with the "who leaks,who compensates;no oil leakage,no compensation" plan published in the revised draft of the Maritime Law.The application of the general law is actually a helpless move.In the context of the revision of the Maritime Law,we should study the completed path.The system design of liability should take into account four factors,namely the timely,effective and sufficient compensation to the injured party,the formation of an incentive mechanism to prevent oil pollution accidents,the balance of interests,and the self-coordination between the Civil Code and the Maritime Law.In comparison,the fourth judicial practice plan is more reasonable,and has a legal basis and feasibility,which is consistent with international regime as well.Therefore,it is suggested that the Maritime Law directly stipulates that the spilling party shall bear full liability,and the non-spilling party shall bear the fault-based liability under the forms of shared responsibility.