The Role of the Wasting and Causation Rules in Environmental Civil Responsibility

Pollution and destruction of environment and the resulting damages is one of the basic perplexities of modern industrial and urban societies and one of the most essential issues dealt with in environment rights. Thus, given the necessity of indemnification for any damage and loss in most of the legal systems, the study, assessment, and discussion of civil responsibility arising from environmental damages would enjoy a superior status in law. Similarly, in Islamic law there are general principles and rules concerning indemnification and civil responsibility that contain many of the basic functions of civil responsibility. These general rules of remuneration are manifested in such rules as itlāf (wasting), tasbīb (causation,), lā ḍarar (no harm), etc. which construct another important part of jurisprudential principles of environmental civil responsibility. In this writing, some of the most important rules that can justify the environmental indemnification and civil responsibility in Islamic law are put to discussion.