Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission

Cymie R. Payne was a senior lawyer with the UNCC's environmental claims program from 1999-2005. She is a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law where she was also Director of the Global Commons Project and Associate Director of the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. Ms. Payne practiced law with the US Department of the Interior in Washington, DC, and the firm of Goodwin, Procter, LLP in Boston. She is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and a member of the bars of California and Massachusetts.Peter H. Sand is a lecturer in international environmental law at the Faculty of Law, University of Munich, Germany; formerly Associate Professor of Law at McGill University Montreal, Canada. Before serving as UNCC Commissioner on the F4 Panel in 1999-2005, he held a number of international positions, including Senior Legal Officer of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Assistant Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Chief of the Environmental Law Unit of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and Legal Adviser for Environmental Affairs of the World Bank.

"The contributions to this volume combine to create a complete and complex mosaic of the profoundly significant work of the UN Compensation Commission relating to liability for environmental harm. Written by leading experts and participants in the process, the book is an excellent resource for scholars and practitioners in the fields of international and environmental law. From efforts to define the concept of environmental damage to deciding difficult issuesof causation, evidence and the appropriate level of compensation, the UNCC blazed a trail for future tribunals faced with claims of liability for environmental damage, whether in peacetime or as aconsequence of armed conflict. The authors have provided a superb and much-needed evaluation this innovative institution and its work." --Dinah Shelton Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law, The George Washington University Law School"In this book, insiders tell the fascinating story of the successful pursuit of community interest in the restoration of the natural environment affected by the first Gulf War. The members of the "epistemic community" provided what was intended as an essentially political process of fact-finding with guarantees of due process, thus increasing the legitimacy of the post-conflict regime. With its wisdom and fairness, the achievements of the UNCC F4 Panel aredestined to have resonance and relevance for the future of international claims settlement." --Bruno Simma Judge, International Court of Justice"This behind the scenes account of how compensation for environmental damage inflicted by the Gulf War was determined is greatly relevant. The UNCC F4 Panel's innovative methodology, its articulation of international environmental law principles, and its pragmatism surely will guide future architects of environmental compensation schemes as well as arbitrators of environmental cases." --Hans van Houtte President, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal"For centuries, the Gulf's resources, biodiversity and other natural assets have been cornerstones of life and prosperity in the region. Following the invasion of Kuwait in 2000, Iraq ignited more than 600 oil wells and created the world's largest oil spill, estimated at 6-14 million barrels. The authors and editors of Gulf War Reparations and the UN Compensation Commission provide a comprehensive and informative account of how resource injury was determined,the process of submitting claims by Gulf States affected by the pollution events, and how the environmental claims were evaluated and settled by the UN Compensation Commission. The book's wider messageis that environmental damage does not come free." ---- Andrew Price Honorary Professor, University of York; Visiting Professor, University of Warwick

• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; CONTRIBUTORS BIOS ; MAP ; FOREWORD (T.A. Mensah) ; Chapter 1 The UNCC Program: Environmental Claims in Context (C.R. Payne) ; Part I. Claims Preparation and Review ; Chapter 2 The Process (J.E. Klee) ; Chapter 3 Assessment and Valuation of Damage to the Environment (M.T. Huguenin, M.C. Donlan, A. van Geel, R.W. Paterson) ; Chapter 4 Scientific and Technical Advice: The Perspective of Iraq's Experts (L. Wilde) ; Chapter 5 Tracking and Follow-Up Programmes for Environmental Awards (C.R.Payne) ; Part II. Jurisprudence and Policy Issues ; Chapter 6 Points of Law (J.R. Allen) ; Chapter 7 Environmental Principles Applied (P.H. Sand) ; Chapter 8 Public Health Claims (P.H. Sand, J.K. Hammitt) ; Part III. Looking to the Future ; Chapter 9 Institutionalizing Peacebuilding: The UNCC, Conflict Resources, and the Future of Natural Resources in Transitional Justice (C. Bruch, A. Fishman) ; Chapter 10 The UNCC as a Model for Climate Change Compensation (D.A. Farber) ; Chapter 11 Liability for Environmental Damages: Toward Principles of Sustainable Governance (R. Costanza) ; Chapter 12 The Profound Significance of the UNCC for the Environment (D.D. Caron) ; APPENDICES ; Guidance for Researchers (C.R. Payne) ; Bibliography (articles and books) ; Basic documents ; - Security Council resolution 687 ; - Governing Council decision 7, Criteria for Additional Categories of Claims ; - Governing Council decision 10, Procedural Rules ; - Governing Council decision 124, Arrangement to Provide Technical Assistance to Iraq in Respect of Environmental Claims ; - Governing Council decision 258, Follow-up Programme for Environmental Claims Awards ; - UNCC solicitation for consulting services, 1999 ; INDEX