Legal responsibility of the state: lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez - Deep-Water Horizon oil rig disasters and the problem of preventing accidents in the Mediterranean

Abstract

Recent oil contamination in the oceans has garnered significant attention from politicians, environmentalists, scientists from several disciplines, legal experts, and other professionals. The heightened scrutiny can be largely ascribed to several catastrophic incidents, including the adverse outcomes of drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel and the sinking of the Torrey Canyon near the English coast.