CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF DISASTER RESPONSE The conduct of involved actors is often regulated by rules stemming from the sources of soft law . It is the reason, why the terms “ international instruments ” or “ soft law rules ” are used instead of the term “international law”. 1. The Disaster: Specific event with consequences or specific consequences of the event? For a proper assessment of responsibility regime under international law in respect to disaster response, several preliminary issues have to be addressed. The first issue is the applicability ratione materiae , ratione loci and ratione personae of the international disaster response law norms. To achieve this goal, at least a brief explanation of what can be subsumed under the term disaster for the purpose of the international law regime is required. Then the standing international law and other relevant resources that provide the regulatory basis for disaster response shall be addressed. Generally, a legally binding definition of disaster is not yet formulated within international law. However, there are many resources that provide solid ground for the statement that the term disaster is by now settled and if we put aside details and specifics introduced by various sources the definition of disaster, appears to be quite clear. 8 The most authoritative source that comes with the definition of disaster is the ILC’s Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters. 9 Yet the formulation of the definition had not been an easy task as many variations of the definition of disaster in various sources indicate. 10 According to Article 3 of the Draft Articles on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters (hereinafter as “Draft Articles” 11 ) defines disaster as “ calamitous event or series of events resulting in widespread loss of life, great human suffering and distress, mass displacement, or large scale material or environmental damage, thereby seriously disrupting the functioning of society .” As the Commentary of the Draft Articles suggest, the ILC shifted away from the definition of disaster encompassed in earlier instruments of international law or soft law instruments such as the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations (hereinafter as “the Tampere Convention”) 12 or Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 (hereinafter as “Hyogo Framework”). Definitions of disaster brought by those instruments were focused more on the consequences of the event itself, such as a serious disruption of the functioning of society, loss of life or material damage. For example, according to the provisions of the Tampere Convention, disaster means a serious 8 Compare for example: Draft Articles on Protection of Individuals in the Event of Disasters, Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency, ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response. 9 See: Protection of persons in the event of disasters. Adopted by United Nations General Assembly as Resolution A/RES/71/141, 19 December 2016. 10 See: Second report on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, by Mr. Eduardo Valencia-Ospina, Special Rapporteur, document A/CN.4/615, par. 32. 11 In this paper, some other documents titled as the Draft Articles will be mentioned. The term Draft Articles however always refers to Draft Articles on Protection of Persons in the event of Disasters. 12 Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, Article 1 par. 6: “Disaster” means a serious disruption of the functioning of society, posing a significant, widespread threat to human life, health, property or the environment, whether caused by accident, nature or human activity, and whether developing suddenly or as the result of complex, long-term processes.

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