Developments in the Law of Environmental Reparations
The United Nations Compensation Commission (‘UNCC’) is a unique model for liability and compensation of environmental damage in an international context, influencing both jus in bello and jus post bellum. The UNCC provided a legal process that catalogued, assessed, and awarded money to pay to clean and repair the damaged soil, water, coastal ecosystems, and other harms resulting from the 1990–1 Gulf War. Its contributions include integration of environmental law principles into the reparations process; use of advanced techniques for assessment of environmental damage; and use of a multilateral process in a way that balanced confidentiality and transparency. The UNCC environmental programme, viewed as an innovative approach to justice after war, highlights the contribution that the environmental integrity norm can make.