Strict Liability as a Panacea for Toxic Waste Disposal Problem in International Law

Trans-boundary disposal of toxic waste is a major issue in international law, and has elicited global reactions from governments, private investors, lawyers and environmentalists in different nations, due to the problems arising from the indiscriminate disposal of toxic wastes. This has manifested itself in the plethora of environmental hazards plaguing humanity. And has thus called for the need to develop tools, particularly, legal tools, which would effectively tackle the act of indiscriminate waste disposal from the source. As a result, the concept of strict liability provides both the legal and environmental basis for tackling the issue of indiscriminate disposal of toxic waste in that it dispenses with the need of proving the mental elements of an offence and requires only a proof that the physical act that constitutes the offence has been committed by the Culprit State. Thus, making it unnecessary to prove that the act constituting the offence was done in a particular state of mind, to wit, recklessly, willingly, intentionally, knowingly, maliciously, etc. or any of the mental elements that usually define criminal offences in law. This paper, therefore attempts to examine the concept of strict liability as it applies, not only to criminal law but, to environmental law as well as its effectiveness in tackling the problem of indiscriminate toxic waste disposal. The paper identified some strict liability acts in regular the sustainable production, use and disposal of radioactive and other toxic wastes and opines that the concept should be used as panacea for controlling Toxic waste disposal in International Law.

Keywords: Strict Liability; Toxic Waste; Disposal Problem; Radio Active Waste; Environmental Sustainability; International Law; International Trade.