CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

ADAM GIERTL CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ due to a rise of sea level and subsequent migration, or the prospect of more people becoming victims of ever more unpredictable weather indicates that the need for an effective response to these phenomena is urgent. While the attention of the majority of scholars is focused on climate related events, especially in the context of global climate change, the other types of disasters cannot be ignored. Every year volcano eruptions, landslides or industrial accidents cause loss of lives, great material damage and displacement of persons. Provision of aid to victims of disaster is indeed the role of various actors in the field. It is clear that legal rules are needed for aid to be delivered in a timely manner to those who are in need. This need is even more obvious when the complexity of humanitarian architecture that is designed to provide aid in the event of disaster is taken into account. 5 This paper is focused on the legal regimes of responsibility within the context of disaster response. In the beginning the paper briefly introduces the basic terms of International disaster response law. Later the paper examines the emerging regimes of international responsibility. The plural is not used accidentally in this place, because disaster response itself is a very complex endeavor that encompasses a wide scope of issues that have to be addressed while many actors are involved in the operation. Under the terms of disaster response, the disaster prevention, disaster risk reduction, the mitigation of negative effects of disasters and, last but not least, the provision of aid and post-disaster reconstruction can be subsumed. 6 On the other hand, there are subjects involved beginning with the affected state itself, through the regional governmental organizations, the United Nations and its organs and agencies, ending with the myriad of nongovernmental organizations and volunteers who are involved in disaster response on the operational level. 7 The presented paper analyses the responsibility of the affected state for disaster risk reduction and disaster mitigation in the context of the duty to seek external assistance and duty to facilitate disaster relief to affected individuals. Then the paper proceeds to the analysis of the responsibility of external actors and their responsibility within the context of legal responsibility governed by the rules of general international law. The dichotomy of a legal responsibility régime can be observed within disaster response. As the emerging rules of IDRL are human rights centered, the obligation of the states under international human rights law is prevalent. On the other hand, the emergence of IDRL gives reason for discussion about the applicability of regimes of international responsibility for wrongful acts. cited article published in National Geographic examines connection between the droughts caused by climate change and its influence on triggering the chain of events that eventually led to the outbreak of civil war in Syria. The article cites the study: KELLEY Colin P., MOHTADI Shahrazad, CANE Mark A., SEAGER Richard, KUSHNIR Yochanan: Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and the implications of the recent Syrian drought. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , March 17, 2015, vol. 112, no. 11, ISSN 1091-6490, Online: http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3241.full. 5 See: BENTON HEATH J.: Managing the ‘Republic of NGOs’: Accountability and Legitimation Problems Facing the U.N. Cluster System. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law , vol. 47, 2014 Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2250835. 6 de GUTTRY, Andrea: Surveying the Law. op. cit. n. 3, pp. 6-7. 7 See: REINECKE Isabelle: International Disaster Response Law and the Coordination of International Organization, The ANU Undergraduate Research Journal , Volume Two 2010, p. 152. Online: http://press-files. anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n1676/pdf/ch09.pdf.

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