3. Shifting responsibility to private operators

While there is no general system of no-fault liability applicable to governments, in certain specific areas they have shifted their liability towards operators of hazardous activities, whether public or private. To this end, States have set up regimes to promote, organize and harmonize the rules governing the civil liability of "polluters" (strict or no-fault liability), and to facilitate the settlement of disputes that may arise in the event of an accident, as well as the compensation of victims, before their national courts. These regimes apply in particular to oil pollution, nuclear power, the transport of hazardous waste and genetically modified organisms. In practice, therefore, there are relatively few of them. Many have met with limited success, with relatively few ratifications, which sometimes even prevents them from coming into force. What's more, these special civil liability...