Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his departmental officials have made any assessment of the paper submitted by Friends of the Earth International, by George C. Kasoulides to the October consultative meeting of the 1972 London convention on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping wastes and other matters (the London dumping convention), entitled "Procedures for the Assessment of Liability Concerning Damage to the Environment Caused at Sea."
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[holding answer 27 October 1988]: I have been asked to reply.
The paper submitted by Friends of the Earth International on the assessment of liability concerning damage to the environment caused at sea was one of a number of papers considered at the 11th consultative meeting of contracting parties to the London dumping convention in October.
Some contracting parties like the United Kingdom questioned the need to establish a liability regime or considered it premature to do so. Contracting parties agreed, however, to set up a small task team of legal experts to take stock of existing domestic law and public international law on civil and state liability applicable to damage resulting from dumping at sea.
The task team will report to the 12th consultative meeting in October 1989.