SERIOUS BREACH OF AN INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATION ESSENTIAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AS AN INTERNATIONAL CRIME.

One of the most complex issues considered within the International Law Commission during the codification of rules on state responsibility was the issue of making a distinction between international crimes and international delicts as two categories of internationally wrongful acts. The well-known Article 19 of the Draft Articles on State Responsibility adopted at first reading introduced not only this differentiation but also examples of international obligations whose breach may be qualified as an international crime. Massive environmental pollution or, specifically, a serious breach of an obligation essential for environmental protection, appeared, somewhat unexpectedly, among the examples. This article analyzes the provision contained in Article 19 not only generally, but also in terms of the rules of international environmental law. The focus of the analysis is on the reasons that guided the Commission when drafting Article 19, on the legal consequences of qualifying certain act as a crime or a delict, as well as on the arguments that prevailed when deciding not to include Article 19 in the present Rules on State Responsibility adopted by the International Law Commission at second reading in 2001. In that regard, the author examines the consistency of the Commission's decision with certain rules that still form an integral part of the Rules, but also the perspectives of qualifying massive environmental pollution as an international crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]