Synthesis

Abstract

Building on a comprehensive study commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Agency in 2018, this book seeks to identify the legal preconditions of the liability of private enterprises for transboundary environmental damage. This goal required an accurate description of the situation de lege lata, i.e. an examination of whether and if so, to what extent existing norms and institutions in international and national law can adequately and effectively address transboundary environmental damage caused by economic actors. However, such an examination would be both incomplete and soon outdated if current and emerging legal developments along with their implications were not also considered in appropriate depth. In addition to the stated goal of identifying existing legal norms and principles, this book has simultaneously endeavoured to focus on current scholarly debates, legal controversies and policy discussions about how liability for environmental damage could and should evolve de lege ferenda.