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33 B. C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 417 (2006)
Civil Liability for Wartime Environmental Damage: Adapting the United Nations Compensation Commission for the Iraq War

handle is hein.journals/bcenv33 and id is 425 raw text is: CIVIL LIABILITY FOR WARTIME ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE: ADAPTING THE UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION FOR THE IRAQ WAR KEITH P. MCMANUS* Abstract: There is little doubt that war has a deleterious effect on the natural environment of battlegrounds. Customary principles of interna- tional law, as well as more formal instruments such as treaties, address wartime environmental protection. An analysis of these mechanisms re- veals that they are inadequate to ensure protection and restoration of environmental resources damaged during war. Thus, a mechanism is needed for assessing civil liability against nations for any wartime envi- ronmental damage. The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), created to compensate victims of the Persian Gulf War, is a mechanism that if modified could fill this void. This Note focuses on the modifications that could make the UNCC a successful mechanism for assessing civil liability for wartime environmental damage. Further, this Note applies the adapted UNCC to the Iraq War, and examines whether U.S.-led coalition forces should be held civilly liable for damage to Iraq's natural environment. INTRODUCTION The effects of war extend well beyond the destruction of strategic targets; civilian casualties are a devastating byproduct of inaccurate weaponry and military intelligence. Beyond human casualties, however, war also has a significant detrimental effect upon a nation's natural en- vironment. What international law provisions exist to protect the envi- ronrment from wartime degradation? Can a nation be held civilly re- sponsible when potentially irreplaceable environmental resources are damaged or destroyed during combat? This Note will address these questions, viewing the latter through the lens of the Iraq War, also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom, that commenced in March 2003. * Senior Articles Editor, BosTON COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS LAW REVIEW, 2005-06.

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