Volume 5, Issue 2, November 2017
Feature Article

Emergence of Principle of Sic Utere Tuo Ut Alienum Non-Laedes in Environmental Law and Its Endorsement by International and National Courts: An Assessment

T. R. Subramanya
Public Policy ofthe West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
Bio
Shuvro Prosun Sarker
Governance and Public Policy of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
Bio

Published 2017-11-30

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How to Cite

Subramanya, T. R., & Sarker, S. P. (2017). Emergence of Principle of Sic Utere Tuo Ut Alienum Non-Laedes in Environmental Law and Its Endorsement by International and National Courts: An Assessment. Kathmandu School of Law Review, 5(2), 1–13. Retrieved from http://kslreview.org/index.php/kslr/article/view/989

Abstract

The maxim of sic utere tuo ut alienum non-laedes (use your own property in such a way that you do not injure that of another) has been recognized as a fundamental principal of law both in Roman and common law systems. In international law, this principle acts as a limitation on the sovereignty of a State. It is a settled principle of international law that a State has the sovereign right to exercise the basic functions of a state.1 But then the exercise of this right is subject to certain limitations. One limitation is that the state cannot allow certain activities to interfere with the sovereignty of other states. A state will be found liable under international law if the consequences of activities within that state’s control seriously injure persons or property of other states. This principle over a period of time has come to be known as the “no harm rule”. According to this principle, a state isanswerable even for acts of a private person who is under that state’s control.2 State practices clearly show that the laws governing state responsibility will apply to injuries arising out of hazardous activities which are within a state’s control because the riskof consequences posed by such hazardous activities are serious, regardless of their legality within the individual state.3

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References

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