Compensation for Damages Caused to the Environment in the Field of Oil Pollution (Seas) in Iranian and American law

Although oil is a very valuable resource for the production of energy and many chemicals, neglecting the stages of its extraction and transportation can cause a lot of environmental pollution, which is sometimes irreparable. Marine pollution raises the importance of the world community more than any other pollution because human being as an element is directly or indirectly involved in the issue of sea pollution in such a way that this pollution not only harms marine living resources but also harms human health and marine activities as well as sea water. The responsibility resulting from this pollution is a problem that has complex dimensions and has made governments struggle for years to investigate and solve the related issues. Oil pollution caused by oil tankers has always been one of the main complications of sea transportation, which has been able to cause serious damage to the marine environment. Laws of compensation due to marine oil pollution based on civil liability conventions of 1969 and 1971, were amended by protocols of 1992 in order to fix the defects of the previous system and implemented in 1996. Before the establishment of the oil pollution compensation system, responsibility was based on fault, and according to this, in case of pollution, the oil damage sufferer had to prove the ship owner's fault. In this regard, the Islamic Republic of Iran has joined and approved two protocols, CLC 92 and FUND 92, as the framework of the new oil pollution compensation system. These two protocols came into effect for Iran in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In general, the aim of the present study is to examine and explain the compensation of environmental damages in the field of oil pollution (seas) in Iranian and American law.